For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to visit Niagara Falls. We did it and I came away feeling quite sad. Obviously, the falls were stunning...so why do the town planners feel the need to build ugly concrete hotels and casinos and 'oomph it up' with extras more suited to Disneyland. The Falls are enough. Money has a lot to answer to....

It gets worse in the evening, like Blackpool on a bank holiday

We only stayed for about an hour......that was enough. We walked around the park, which was pleasant enough but I couldn't get away quickly enough. I was naive in thinking the area would be lush forest with a few viewing points. Pffft.....

You want to move to Vancouver (or BC at least) if you want lots of that on your "doorstep"

It's where it's at

The rest of Canadas offerings are a bit shit.

I agree. I loved it the first time as a kid (which might have had something to do with it) but sadly its now nothing more than a tacky tourist trap. I was last there in 2009 and didn't even get out of the car.

Whole heatedly agree.

The problem we have is that we have only been here for just under a year and in that time have had 5 different sets of visitors (friends & family). Each and every one of them wanted to see the falls.

5 times in under a year. I'm beginning to not just be disappointed but am beginning to actively hate the falls.

The next time we get a visitor they can get the bus or walk for all i care

I still like the falls. The routine's well established: Cave of the Winds, Maid of the Mist, get the hell out. One can almost avoid seeing the town completely.

There are no town planners in Canada

An hour?

You cant possibly have done the maid of the mist, the walk behind the falls, the awesome US boardwalk along the base of the US falls, the parkway and the butterfly gardens in an hour

No wonder you are disappointed... you never gave it a chance. The town itself is a bit of a hole. Kinda like Great Yarmouth, without the charm But the falls and the associated attractions and surrounding area are worth the trip.


I agree with the others about overexposure, its a good 4 or 5 hours from me, but every set of visitors has it on the "to do" list cos its only an inch or two away on the map. I now suffer from niagoraphobia.

Actually, I believe there is one who posts on here regularly. However, she is following another career path at the moment.

Did you not cross to the US side? As Iaink says you didn't give it a chance. We have been twice, once on Honeymoon - that was the trip that started off the whole 'lets move to Canada' and once again last year. Yes the Canadian side is very commercialised and cheesy but there is a beauty and a wonder just standing looking at the falls. I could spend at least an hour doing that.

we usually combine a trip to the falls (short) with a few hours and Niagra-on-the-Lake which IMO is a lovely place to spend a few hours.

+1 for Niagara-on-the-Lake. Go for one of the "taste the season" events, rent some bike and see how many wineries you can hit in a weekend.

Before being smushed by one of the tour buses?

Surely drinking and biking is not a good idea, given the average Canadian drivers sensitivity to two wheeled road users at the best of times...

It's not that bad. I was dubious at first but there are a lot of cyclists there in peak season. Stick to the side roads (they also happen to be the most direct routes) and you'll hardly see any cars.