Niagara Falls ON ??

Planning a anniversary/birthday trip to surprise my wife this fall. She’s never been to the Falls so I’m thinking of heading there, is there much to do in that general area for a 4-5 day trip? Thought we’d head to the Canadian side to visit the falls, maybe the Maid of the Mist boat ride then find a nice bistro for dinner, but I’m trying to find other things after that and have not had much luck. Anyone here have much experience with the area? I found one thread (2+ yrs old) about visiting the Falls but I’m looking for info about other places to see/things to do in that general area.

TIA

The falls are beautiful from the Canadian side, but Niagara Falls, Ont. TOTALLY freaks me out. Garish, loud, crowded, etc. It is my post-apocalyptic vision of Western civilization.

I do like Niagara on the Lake, though, which is a quieter village that you can base yourself out of if you’d like to visit local wineries

4 or 5 days? IMO, not so much. We did the Maid of the Mist, walked around a bunch, stayed over night at the Marriott, did the Cave of the Winds the next morning and left. That was plenty of time for me. Maybe think about spending time in Toronto?

Since I am interested in seeing all aspects of our country, I dragged my family through the nearby ghost town of what was once Love Canal, NY. I love going to see places like that. Most people probably aren’t interested though…

You can also head to Toronto for a couple of days. Much more civilized

Was just there 2 hours ago to see a client.
Apart from the falls itself, it is a hole.
1 day is more than plenty. Niagara on the Lake just down river and somewhat more quaint with considerably nicer places to stay & eat. Dozens of wineries in the area if you wife is interested in wine also. Assuming you get away from the falls area once you’ve seen them long enough, you could manage 2-3 days total at most.

Agree with the above. The falls are cool for about an hour then it is a been there done that sort of thing. Toronto is a pretty nice city. I would go there.

George

Steve

Anyone with Hank Moody as their avatar deserves my attention. NOTL is a great place where you can definitely spend 3-4 days. If you like theater (and even if it is not your thing), check out www.shawfest.com, an annual festival featuring plays by George Bernard Shaw and his contemporaries. Really well done and there is something for everyone. Gets crowded on weekends (some performances will sell out) with folks from all over, but go during the week and you should be able to get tickets to most anything you want. Spend a couple days seeing a show each day, and build around that with mindless strolling through the shops, biking and visiting wineries. Folks here are correct that one day at Niagara Falls will be enough, but NOTL is not to be missed.

I’ll pile on the NOTL bandwagon. Great little Victorian town where you could easily pass a few relaxing days. Several very good food options nearby as well.
Also agree on the 1-2 hours to see the falls and get out of Niagara Falls sentiment.

I’ll stretch it out to a leisurely day for you. I’ve been there several times and like the falls more than “been there done that”.
First, I agree that NF, ON is nothing but a tourist trap. Park somewhere on the NY side. Spend an hour or so walking around Goat Island which gives you some of the best views of the American/Bridal Veil falls. Do the Cave of the Winds tour and prepare to get wet.
WALK (don’t drive) across the Rainbow Bridge. Great view of the falls from the bridge. Bring quarters (and your passports) as there is even a toll to walk (a quarter each way the past couple times I was there though Wikipedia says now 50c entering CA, free to US). Ride the Maid of the Mist (for some reason I enjoy it more when boarding in Canada). I also really enjoy the walk from the Rainbow Bridge to the edge of the Canadian falls. I always fall into a trance watching the water go over the edge on the Canadian side. There’s a nice park along the way from the bridge to the edge and fantastic people-watching. Then walk back to your car, enjoy the night in NY, and get up early enough to beat the traffic driving to NOTL then Toronto for the rest of your trip. If there are fireworks/the light show, they are better viewed from Canada.

Plenty to do for 4-5 days.

You can easily spend 2 full days exploring wine country. I would do a day around the area near NOTL, and then another day around the escarpment area. Even though only separated by maybe 10 miles, they are very different terroirs. Fascinating to compare.

Tons of great restaurants in the entire area. +1 for a visit to NOTL to browse the shops along the main street, see a play, have dinner.

Toronto is 2 hours away if you get bored.

It’s all been said. Lots and lots of wineries to explore. NOTL is a nice place to visit, and you could think about catching a show at the Shaw Festival—they’re running Guys & Dolls among others.

Make sure you do get a look at the falls at night as well, I think they’re the loveliest at that time with the lights playing.

We’d (i.e. wine crew) love to host/see you here in Toronto. Whenabouts were you thinking of visiting?

Thank you very much for the info everyone. We are looking at early October to visit, weeks after the anniversary but before the wife’s b-day. Maybe we could work out an offline in/around Toronto at some point, I’ll have to get exact dates that she approves so I can schedule but it sounds like a fun place to experience!

Sounds good, keep me posted Steve. Note that 2nd weekend of October will be our Thanksgiving weekend, with Thanksgiving taking place on Monday, sometimes snarls traffic at the border quite significantly.

ahhhhhhh, excellent point that I had not considered. Thanks for the great info!




Steve; I would highly recommend some time in Toronto and an off line with Mike and the Toronto crew…Great hosts and a bunch of good folk! flirtysmile


Cheers! champagne.gif

Marshall

You’re biased, Marshall…but we can forgive you for that [grin.gif]

Stone Road Grille in NOTL is a must stop.

My wife and I were out there last fall and had a great week. The Canadian side is the way to go, but it is very touristy. There are a ton of wineries nearby. Go there for the icewine and Riesling.

My mom wants to visit Niagara Falls. Lodging and food are better on the US or Canada side?
No winery visits. We plan to fly from Noo Yawk to Buffalo, and then drive a rental car. Thank you.

Everyone here is on the right track.
Treadwell in NOTL was good restaurant pre covid , have not been since. Also hear great things about Pearl Morissette winery restaurant (wines are shall we say highly individual) also Peninsular Ridge restaurant. If you are planning winery visits do get an appointment for Thomas Bachelder’s ‘ bat cave’. The wines are excellent and he is is both authority on the terroir and terrific raconteur. Plenty of other threads hear on NOTL wineries.

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