Visiting Niagara Falls: Must-Have Experiences that Go Beyond the Boat Ride
American expat Andrea Jones started out life in Miami, then moved up to Atlanta, and now she finds herself living in a small Canadian 15 minutes away from Niagara Falls. She ended up in Fort Erie after meeting her Canadian husband on YouTube, but you’ll have to tune in to the Postcard Academy to hear that story.
Subscribe to the Postcard Academy for free to hear all of Andrea’s favorite things to drink, see, and do in Niagara Falls. Here are some highlights.
Andrea founded the Savvy Social School to teach people social media, and she also hosts the Savvy Social podcast. Want to up your social media game? Listen to the other interview I did with her on Podcasting Step by Step. Photo courtesy of Andrea.
What to do in Niagara Falls for free
“If you like nature, I highly recommend just coming to look at the Falls,” Andrea says. “It's free. You can hang out, take pictures, and there's a nice trail on the other side of the river called The Gorge that you can hike.” There’s also the Niagara Gorge Discovery Center museum.
Food to try in Niagara Falls
“You have to find some poutine,” Andrea says. “It's basically french fries with gravy on it and cheese curds. It's almost like nachos where you can just add anything else on top of that, but the basics are french fries, gravy, cheese curds.” Try Smoke's Poutinerie.”
Andrea also loves Pho Xyclo for Thai and Moksha for Indian.
Where the local hang out in (or near) Niagara Falls
Head 10 miles north of Niagara Falls and you’ll find a bigger city called St. Catharines, where most of the people in the Niagara area live. You’ll find a ton of bars and restaurants on St. Paul Street.
“I like eating a lot of vegan and vegetarian food,” Andrea says. “There's one vegan restaurant called Rise Above that is the top-rated restaurant in the area and it's excellent.”
It’s cold up there in Canada. Warm up on the Niagara Wine Trail. Photo by Andrea.
Experience you must have in Niagara Falls
Believe it or not, this part of Canada is wine country, and Adrea’s favorite place to go for tastings is Peller Estates.
“We’re on the same parallel as Northern California, so it's perfect weather conditions for wine,” Andrea says. “We have a lot of wineries just 28 minutes north of Niagara Falls in Niagara-on-the-Lake.”
Andrea says 90 percent of the world's ice wine is produced here. “It's a sweeter, very luxurious and decadent type of wine.”
History lovers might also enjoy the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center.
“The Underground Railroad ended here,” Andrea says. “There's quite a few houses that have historical meaning in the area where the slaves hid. They didn't really stay here. They moved on to bigger cities like Montreal or Toronto, but there are still historical homes that are in the area.”
Museums in Niagara Falls
If you like kitschy fun, check out the Movieland Wax Museum in Clifton Hill, the part of Niagara Falls that has an old-timey boardwalk feeling.
If you’re looking for something more cultural, make a day trip to Toronto, about 1.5 hours by train.
Best souvenir to remember your trip to Niagara
Maple syrup! Even if you’re flying with carry-on luggage only, Andrea says it’s easy to find travel-size maple syrup bottles.
If you’re looking for something more crafty, once a year they hold the Handmade Market.
Top tip for visiting Niagara Falls
Andrea says it's actually easier to fly in and out of Buffalo, N.Y. then Toronto’s airport, which is larger and more of a headache, plus parking is expensive.
If you found this article useful, please share it, and subscribe to the Postcard Academy podcast. Each week, expats and adventurers share their insider travel tips on the best food, nightlife, and cultural experiences in the most interesting places around the globe. I’m your host, Sarah Mikutel, an American who's spent the last 8 years living in, and traveling around, Europe.