Red ripe apples, orange pumpkins, royal purple grapes - when harvest time arrives, New England and the Canadian Maritimes are ablaze with colors, framed by blue seas and even bluer skies. On Cape Cod Bay and Bar Harbor, there are fewer boaters than in summer, but the air is still warm and strikingly clear. The birds may be heading South, but Boston's graceful Swan boats glide happily across the pond.

In Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley, grapes are ready to be pressed into noble vintages while along the Cape Breton coast, lobsters steam in a traditional clambake. And within the medieval walls of Le Vieux Québec, little bistros emanate irresistible aromas of confit and slow-cooked cassoulet. All this plus the blazing colors of autumn - the perfect time to go.