Moncton, New Brunswick, proudly celebrates its bilingual heritage. Anywhere you travel, you’re likely to hear people conversing in both French and English, sometimes using two languages in the same sentence. Fast food restaurant signs are often in French on one side and English on the other. Moncton is home to Université de Moncton, one of only two French-language universities in Eastern Canada. (The other is Université Sainte-Anne in Nova Scotia.) You’ll frequently encounter the question “Français-Anglais?” when you enter a shop or museum. Don’t worry – everyone who works in tourism knows both languages well.
What to Do
Moncton has established itself as eastern New Brunswick’s tourism hub. The friendly staff at the Tourist Information Center near Tidal Bore Park can help you plan daytrips, find your way around the city and check the tide tables to see when the famous tidal bore, generated when the Bay of Fundy’s waters back up the Petitcodiac River, can be seen.
Tidal Bore Park is one of the best places to view the bore. A helpful digital sign on the Main Street side of the park tells drivers when the next high tide will occur. Sometimes the bore is only an inch or two high, but at other times it may reach a height of 23 inches. Either way, the sight of a wave of water rolling over the river’s muddy waters fascinates visitors and locals who happen to be on hand as the bore works its way upriver.
Moncton’s most famous attraction, Magnetic Hill, sounds completely hokey, but it’s worth your time, especially if you have children or grandchildren with you. Ignore the kitschy souvenir shops and head to Magnetic Hill’s entrance booth. During summer months, you’ll pay $5.00 to visit the hill, but the attraction is free the rest of the year. You’ll drive down the gentle slope and park your car next to a short white post. Next, put your car in neutral gear and release the brake. You’ll be amazed when the car rolls backward, “up” the hill! You can try this stunt again and again. It turns out that Magnetic Hill looks as though it slopes down, but it actually slopes up.
You’ll see signs of the area’s Acadian history wherever you go. Local festivals celebrate Acadian music and food. You can learn about the Acadians’ arrival in Canada and their displacement by the British at the Université de Moncton’s Musée Acadien, located in the dark brown Clément-Cormier Building (website is in French as of this writing, but the staff speaks English).
Dining and Accommodations
Downtown Moncton offers a mix of restaurants that cater to businesspeople as well as university students and visitors. In warmer months, you’ll find outdoor seating tucked away in alleys between the brick buildings. Most parking lots are metered, so you’ll want to bring along some change.
If you plan to spend the night, there are plenty of hotels to choose from. Château Moncton, one of the area’s newest hotels, is near Tidal Bore Park and is conveniently located near restaurants and shops. The Delta Beauséjour, in downtown Moncton, is another upscale option. You’ll find reasonably priced chain hotels, such as the Amsterdam Inn, near the river as well as just off the Trans-Canada Highway.
For longer summertime stays, consider renting a vacation cottage. You can book vacation cottages along New Brunswick’s Northumberland Strait, near the towns of Shediac and Grande Digue, and enjoy the warmest ocean water north of Virginia Beach. You’ll even see jellyfish. Moncton, Shediac and Grand Digue make perfect travel hubs if you’re planning to visit the Acadian Peninsula, Kouchibouguac State Park and La Pays de Sagouine.
Wherever you stay in the Moncton area, you’re bound to find a Tim Hortons restaurant and drive-through nearby. This fast food restaurant chain is an institution in Moncton, which has more Tim Hortons per capita than any other city. Allow plenty of time for your meal, because you’ll wait in line at almost any time of day. Tim Hortons serves breakfast food, doughnuts, coffee, and also serves sandwiches and soups at lunch time.
