Regions in Brief

Nova Scotia

This province is the undisputed star of Canada's Atlantic coast: Its capital, Halifax, is a relative financial and cultural powerhouse compared with the rest of the hamlets scattered through eastern Canada and the surest bet for an outstanding meal, a world-class musical performance, or a great museum. But there's far more to Nova Scotia, including the South Shore (an especially photogenic stretch of fishing villages); the hardscrabble Acadian Coast, with its spruce-topped basalt cliffs and miles of sandy beaches; and astonishing Cape Breton, an enormous northerly island dominated by one of Canada's finest national parks and a tradition of Celtic music.

New Brunswick

On the other hand, New Brunswick is a strangely shaped province that's often passed over in the rush to elsewhere. Glimpsed from up close, however, it turns out to possess some of Canada's quaintest villages and highest tides. The Bay of Fundy is the place to see huge, twice-daily drops and rises of ocean against cliff and learn more about the fascinating marine ecology that has developed here. Fishing villages such as St. Andrews and Caraquet cry out to be photographed; small cities like Fredericton and Moncton offer more than initially meets the eye; and the city of Saint John contains more culture per square inch than any other place in this book except Halifax.

Prince Edward Island

This island leaves the razzle-dazzle to cities on the mainland, choosing instead to soothe visitors' souls by offering places for quiet relaxation. A flat island of red sands, potato farms, and purple lupine fields -- plus healthy doses of fishing boats, golf, Acadian culture, and children's lit (you'll see what I mean) -- PEI is the sort of place best explored by bicycle and then pondered later over a good book at night. The province's harborside capital city of Charlottetown is genuinely attractive, historic, and diverse; this was the place where the deal consolidating Canada into one nation ("the Confederation") was sealed, and it's still a little gem of a town.

Newfoundland

This is the province you need to work hardest to reach, but people here make a serious run for the title of "friendliest in all of Canada" -- which is saying something. The natural wonders here are spectacular, including (to list just a few) shimmering icebergs, migrating whales, and Viking settlement sites. For good measure, there's a major city here (St. John's) with a salty, pubby pulse; fresh fish everywhere; and a hard-to-reach adjacent territory -- Labrador -- of native culture, fishermen, empty landscapes, and absolutely zero crowds.