Niagara Falls
 

~We are going to be in Niagara Falls for a few hours on Sunday.
Besides the Falls (Canadian Side) and the Butterfly conservatory, and other suggestions for What To Do?

~Any suggestions to Where To Have Lunch? Nothing too fancy, nor too expensive

~Lastly, is a passport needed yet to go to Canada? I know at some point they were going to require it.

Besides my husband, I will also have three teenagers with me.

As always, Thanks :) You are always so helpful for my trips!

Unfortunately I've found that the Canadian side of the falls, where all the restaurants are, is pretty honky-tonk. Food is not a particular "deal".

We were pulled in by a billboard for Prime Rib of beef by one of the places right along by the falls and the amount of the serving was skimpy at best, and the service was rushed and slipshod. Main course came before the first course was finished. Servers disappeared quickly thereafter.

Depending on where you are going afterwards, you may want to drive a bit away from falls area, and find some local restaurant on the Canadian side. If you head up toward Hamilton and Toronto there are some restaurants along side the road (actually service roads that run parallel to the QEW highway). You might find they're better.

Unfortunately on the American side it's a much poorer community, and I don't expect you'd find anything particularly nice at all.

Rita

Drive along the Niagara River to Niagara on The Lake it a scenic drive with places to stop have lunch at a place in Niagara on Lake plenty of places on the main drag lots of winerys in the area Peller is one that have nice restaurants also

I visited the Falls at this time of year three years ago. There were some tourists about but not many, and lunch right by the Falls actually turned out to be quite a pleasant experience. The restaurant was half-empty, we got a table right by the window,and service was friendly and attentive. I'm sure it'll be different in the main tourist season when restaurant staff are rushed off their feet...

At this time of year you can gaze at the Falls, and you may be able to take a walk behind the Falls, but other attractions - such as the boat rides - won't be available.

Not sure quite what you’re looking for in the way of dining. In the tourist area, pretty much all you’re going to find is fast food. If you don’t want to leave Niagara Falls proper, you can head for one of the hotels in the area and try a restaurant there. Or you can find one of the national chain restaurants in Niagara Falls – like Kelsey’s, Montana’s, The Keg, or Perkins. But I’ll second the suggestion of heading to a winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake that has a restaurant. The Strewn winery has a decent restaurant in it (www.strewnwinery.com if you’d like to see the menu). Niagara-on-the-Lake is about a 10-15 minute drive, but it’s scenic. Even if you have lunch somewhere else, you probably would want to visit Niagara-on-the-Lake just for a quick look.

A passport isn’t required. If you have one, bring it. If not, just make sure everyone has their birth certificate + government issued photo ID. You may or may not be asked to show ID when crossing the border.

I also recommend Niagra on the Lake a complete contrast to the Disneyesque falls area (excluding the park around the falls of course)

Niagara Falls....
 

slowly I turned ... step by step ... inch by inch ... .

What type of food do you like? I grew up in Niagara Falls, ON and can point you to some local restaurants.

As for other things to do, visit Table Rock (real close to the falls), Niagara on the Lake is an absolute must... apart from that, what are your interests?

I live in Buffalo N.Y. and wholeheartedly agree with the above suggestion. Hillebrand is another winery/restaurant I'd recommend. Attached below are a couple of links...one for Niagara wineries, and the other for unique Inns located in Niagara on The Lake. Of the Inns, my faves in order are: Pillar and Post, Prince of Wales, and then Queens Landing. Enjoy!

http://www.vintageinns.com/

http://www.wineriesofniagaraonthelake.com/

As mentioned above, Niagara on the Lake is somewhat of a secret. It is charming, fun place, and well worth the extra hours drive from the Falls which are spectacular any time of year.

I don't know that all of the good restaurants are open year-round, but certainly there will be some that cater to Wintertime people.

The Inniskillin Winery is one of the very best - Chardonnay, Ice-Wine, (Eiswein), and a Merlot that you might appreciate.
bb

Table Rock - that's it! (Had forgotten the name). It was the restaurant on Table Rock where we had lunch on our winter visit to Niagara Falls three years ago. Food was perfectly OK, and the views were spectacular.

Crossing the border at Niagara Falls has the same rules as everywhere else.

If you and your family are all US born, then a birth certificate and drivers license should suffice. Or a passport, of course. I'm not sure of ID requirements for the kids.

You can probably talk your way over with just a license, but why risk the hassle?

Niagara Falls is a tourist trap, but at least bits of it are scenic. If you're into kitsch then there's loads of it on the 'downtown' strip. You ought to take an excursion into the Niagara Gorge, I believe there's a cable car or some such, also be sure to get a ticket for the 'Maid of the Mist'. It's a boat that goes up to the base of the falls, truly a spectactular experience.

Niagara on the Lake has a heck of a lot to offer, not the least of which are the series of plays that go on during the summer. There are also a raftload of wineries in the area, so if you enjoy wine and such it's a great place to be.

Entry requirements are the same as any other point of entry into Canada.

Hi, 4thplz -

Agree with the suggestion to go on up toward Niagara-on-the-Lake, and take in at least one of the wineries (and to pick up a bottle of icewine), although with teenagers, they might get bored if you spend too much time on that. Still, a nice drive, not that far away, and it really is a nice contrast to the falls area.

Wash Post travel had a Niagara - US vs. Canada comparison piece not that long ago - but can't remember if that had much to say on restaurants. Plenty of chain and touristy restaurants around, but never had anything especially memorable (restaurants at the inns at Niagara-on-the-Lake being a possible exception). If time is an issue, Table Rock may be perfectly fine. Of course, if you get any good suggestions from MapleLeaf, I'd love to know for future cheap BWI-BUF treks I may take.

Another option, depending on timing, and if you're flying to/from BUF, would be the Anchor Inn near downtown Buffalo, for Buffalo wings (of course). You and your family would then be able to say that you've been to the birthplace of such an important food group.

The falls in the winter really can be beautiful - in some ways, I think it's a preferable time to be there.

I just want to correct something in this post...
 

...there is no extra hours involved getting to NOTL..its about a 20 minute drive from NF along the Niagara parkway...its a nice drive with lovely old homes lining the route. The town of NOTL was originally supposed to be Canada's capital but its proximity to the USA left it too easy for attack. Go to Ft. George and look across the river to Lewiston NY, you could hit a golf ball at the competing US fort :) . The town has been used as movie location for 15+ movies and countless tv shows and commercials. Much better restaurant options than NF. Most of the wineries have restaurants, which are pretty good. The signature grapes of the region are : white - reisling and guwurtz and red - cab franc and baco noir (similiar growing region to the rhine river in germany), as well some of the standards such as cab sauv and merlot are quite nice but go higher end on those products: jackson triggs has an excelent cab-merlot reserve blend for about $25. You can walk around this historical town for a few hours or follow the wine route further afield into the Niagara bench area. The tourist office will have free maps and more reccomendations.