That Cool Travel Couple

Niagara Falls is an amazing and close option for a weekend trip (maybe a 3 day weekend, if you’re coming from the west coast!). Read on to find out how to make the most of your time in this area! FYI – this post will exclusively be about the Canadian side of the falls, which we have heard is the best side!

Practicalities for Niagara Falls

Currency: Canadian Dollar (CAD)

Recommended length of stay: anywhere from a weekend to a week!

Month of Visit: September

Useful tips: Definitely rent a car! If you’ll be picking up in New York and dropping off in Canada, make sure you verify with the rental company to ensure they have the appropriate vehicle.

Download the ArriveCan app ahead of time and fill it out before you get to the bridges (see what we mean below).

CDC’s Recommended Vaccinations: click here!

Packing List

This really depends on the month that you visit. Canada can be quite cool during the winter, so sweaters and jackets are a must. We visited at the tail end of summer and it was still quite hot and humid, so were mostly in shorts and t-shirts.

Definitely bring a packable rain jacket like this one if you plan to do a boat tour!

Buffalo

We flew a direct red-eye flight from LAX to Buffalo on JetBlue. We really love traveling on JetBlue (read more about our experience here) and got some great sleep on the flight. Once we landed in Buffalo, the pick up process at the airport was easy. We rented with Budget, and the car rental counter is in the terminal. Unfortunately we did have to wait about 20 minutes for the car to become available. Apparently a specific vehicle was needed to cross the border into Canada as we were planning on leaving the car at the Toronto airport. Once we got the car, we were very happy with it and hit the road with destination CANADA.

Quick side note – we stopped for a coffee and breakfast sandwich at Spot, which we loved! The inside of this coffee shop is decorated with the work of local artists. The coffee was pretty good but the standout was the bagel-wich which gave us energy to keep going after our long flight!

Crossing into Canada

There are three bridges that you can take from the Buffalo area into Canada. The closest to Niagara falls is Rainbow bridge. Since we arrived quite early in the morning, we only had to wait about twenty minutes in traffic to pass through immigration. This handy website gives you live traffic and wait time information for the bridges. We had both downloaded the ArriveCan app on our phones before hand. This is the app that Canada uses for entry purposes and takes your passport and Covid vaccination information. You need to show the QR code at the time of crossing along with your passport. Having this all ready before hand definitely makes for a smoother crossing. You can find the link for ArriveCan here.

Once we crossed the border we headed straight to our hotel. We chose to stay at the Tower Hotel at Fallsview. When we looked online for hotels we were shocked at the sky-high prices. That being said, we did stay over Labor Day weekend which is obviously a busy weekend to stay. We paid $400 per night for what was essentially a motel room with an incredible view. The parking was self-park and cost $35 CAD per day and was off-site, though there were frequent shuttles to the lot.

Niagara Falls

Let’s get to it – what you came to see. We ultimately found that the BEST view of the falls was actually from our hotel room. However, it’s worth checking out the falls from closer up.

From the hotel, we wandered across the lock bridge over to the pathway that leads by Fallsview square down to the visitor center. The visitor center was bustling with people – it was a holiday weekend after all! If you plan on doing any of the activities such as Journey Behind The Falls, make sure you get there early to get in line. There’s also a convenient cafe and restaurant to grab a quick bite to eat.

We thought the most impressive close-up view of the falls was from the pavement that borders the falls. From there we had a great view of the Horseshoe Falls. We could also see the falls on the US side as well.

One really cool way to see the falls from up close is to take a cruise. You can take a cruise from either the US or the Canadian side. It costs about $35 CAD and gets you up close and personal to the falls. The whole tour takes about 20 minutes so isn’t too long if you get seasick. Warning – you will get wet! Check out the Hornblower website here to book. Skylon Tower is also worth a mention as a great place to view the falls from up above. This combo tour includes both!

In the afternoon, we found our energy was flagging a little after having taken a red-eye flight in. The Fallsview Casino Resort was an awesome place to hang out and explore for a few hours. We’re not really into gambling, but that’s definitely an option if you’re 19 or older. There are also some interesting novelty shops to check out. We enjoyed a glass of red wine on the patio at Reds Kitchen + Wine Bar.

We had scoped out the dinner scene and were super excited to check out the falls at nighttime. The view was the priority for dinner – good food was a plus! We decided that the best view of the falls was actually going to be from the steakhouse in our hotel. At Sky Fallsview Steakhouse, we sat by the window and had a birds-eye view of the beautiful colors of Niagara Falls at night. As far as the food, it was pretty delicious. We ordered the cheese board which had a delightful array of unique cheeses, and split the risotto which was creamy and flavorful. Unfortunately we rushed through it a bit because we realized due to the angles we actually had a much better view of the falls from our hotel room, and wanted to make it back by 10 pm for the fireworks display.

The fireworks display started promptly at 10pm after a warning shot at 9:45 pm. We were underwhelmed by the length and quality of the fireworks (especially for a holiday weekend). It was still a cool experience to watch the fireworks over the falls that were beautifully lit up.

Falls View

There are a few really cool off-the-beaten-path things to do in Fallsview that not everyone talks about.

For one, definitely check out Monastery Cellars in the Monastery of Mount Carmel. Not only will you be able to see their beautiful stained glass and architecture, you’ll also get to try “ice wine”. This is wine that is made from FROZEN grapes and is a special technique in the area!

We were also so happy to stumble upon the Floral Showhouse which is just so much more than it sounds. Not only are there multiple beautiful greenhouses showcasing a variety of plants, there is also an adorable village of tiny houses to explore. The gift shop also has lots of locally made crafts and jewelry for sale as well. It’s across the street from the Old Powerhouse Building on the falls, which has amazing architecture.

Niagara-on-the-Lake

You might think that Niagara Falls is the only interesting thing in that neighborhood, but you would be VERY wrong. Possibly our favorite part of the entire weekend was exploring Niagara-on-the-Lake. This quaint little town has a gorgeous main street with lots of unique shops and restaurants. But first things first – we started our day off with a delicious coffee brew from Tim Horton’s. This is a must if it’s your first time to Canada!

It’s time to share some of the highlights for us in Niagara-on-the-Lake. We both fancy ourselves somewhat of history buffs, so we thoroughly enjoyed checking out the Niagara Apothecary. It’s a free museum full of old-school remedies located in an old-fashioned pharmacy. We also loved the Scottish Loft shop for British and Scottish paraphernalia.

We enjoyed a delicious fish n chips and sampled some of the local cider for lunch. Later we walked around the beautiful Queen’s Royal Park which faces the Niagara River.

Finally, we toured a few wineries and distilleries in the area. Our favorite was the Wayne Gretzky Estates where we sampled a delicious Canadian Cream whiskey! We also really enjoyed Legends Estates Winery because of the amazing view over the lake. Check out this wine tour here!

If you’re particularly interested in film, then you’ll definitely want to know about the Shaw Festival. There are tons of different film and play centered events both indoors and outdoors. Find the link to the calendar of events here!

Toronto

We finished up our weekend in the big city of Toronto. The Westin Harbour Castle is an amazing place to stay as it offers spectacular views across the harbor. Luckily enough, the Canadian air show was going on so we got to watch it from our hotel room! The elevated pool and hot tub have awesome views of the downtown area as well. This hotel is also in a prime location for exploring the waterfront area.

There’s lots to do in Toronto. Firstly, make sure you sample poutine, Canada’s delicacy!

Our favorite part of Toronto was definitely the Distillery District. This was about a 20 to 25 minute walk from our hotel. We wandered around this old-school area and discovered lots of interesting shops and cafes. Our favorite was Cluny Boulangerie and Bistro which has amazing French food and cocktails. Check out Mill Street Brewpub to catch a beer. Tour the Spirit of York Distillery and taste a flight of their premium spirits.

There are lots of great rooftops to see the buildings of Toronto from. The CN Tower is one of the most popular, but it’s pricey and has a long line. Instead, check out dinner at Don Alfonso 1890 which is an amazing Italian restaurant with absolutely phenomenal views. You could also check out the skyline from across the way at Ward’s Island Park. It is necessary to take a ferry to get here though. We really enjoyed viewing the skyline from the Chester Hill lookout. This is located adjacent to a massive expanse of green park that cuts through the city. If we had more time in Toronto, we would have spent it here.

We really wanted to check out St. Lawrence market, but sadly it was closed during our visit! This is apparently a must-do on any trip to Toronto and we’ll definitely be checking it out next trip.

And that’s a wrap! Do you have anything to add to this three day itinerary to Niagara Falls and the surrounding area? If you want to check out our other itineraries, head this way!