7 Best Sights in The Acadian Coast, New Brunswick

The warmest salt water in Canada and a 3-km (2-mile) stretch of glistening sand has earned Parlee Beach the title of the best beach in Canada by several surveys, and it has a Blue Flag international eco-certification. It is a popular vacation spot for families, with a campground, and plays host to beach-volleyball and touch-football tournaments; an annual sand-sculpture contest and a triathlon are among a schedule of summer events. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee 9 am–5 pm); showers; toilets. Best for: sunrise; swimming; walking.

The center preserves a superb example of a coastal ecosystem that protects the exceptionally fertile oyster beds in Bouctouche Bay, a salt marsh, and an important 12-km (7½-mile) sand dune. Hiking trails and an 800-meter (½-mile) boardwalk with ramps and stairs to the beach make it possible to explore sensitive areas without disrupting the environment of one of the few remaining great dunes on the northwest coast of the Atlantic Ocean, and electric vehicles provide tours for visitors with mobility issues. An outstanding interpretive center puts the ecosystem in perspective with nature exhibits, a film presentation, a saltwater aquarium and seasonal special events. The staff regularly conducts guided walks. Swimming is allowed.

The oldest art gallery in Canada, first opened to the public in 1895, is on the Mount Allison University campus. It houses nearly 4,000 works of 19th- and 20th-century European, American, and Canadian artwork in its permanent collection, and there are usually rotating exhibits as well.

This waterside public park recalls the area's former shipbuilding industry. It has a nautical-theme playground complete with a "Splash Pad" that sprays water from below and dumps it from buckets above. Shops sell local crafts, and there are several restaurants and docking facilities. An amphitheater showcases local entertainers most evenings and on Sunday afternoon in summer.

In the heart of the town, the park has more than 3½ km (2 miles) of boardwalk and trails through 55 acres of wetlands that are home to some 160 species of birds and 200 species of plants. Throughout the marsh, viewing areas and interpretive signs reveal the rare waterfowl species that nest here. There's an interpretive center, and guided tours (C$6, including info kit and a snack at the end) are available in French and English mid-May through late August. A self-guided tour is also available at the visitor center and some stores in downtown Sackville.

Across a causeway from Shippagan is Île Lamèque and Ste-Cécile Church. Although the church is plain on the outside, every inch of its interior is decorated with folk art, painted in the late 1960s by the priest and two students. Each July, the International Festival of Baroque Music takes place here.

A working artisan soapery, Olivier includes a museum with a fascinating array of bathtime memorabilia, from old bars of soap and soap-making equipment to tubs and basins. There's a skin-care art gallery, featuring paintings commissioned for soap labels throughout the years, and, naturally, plenty of soap and other skin-care products are for sale. By far the best attraction, however, is the soap-making demonstration, late June to early September at 10, 11:30, 2, and 4.