Niagara and Niagara-on-the-Lake report

JoBell123 · May 2012

DH and I went up to Niagara Falls this past weekend. We drove up Saturday, arriving just before dinner-time and left mid-afternoon on Monday. I know a lot of folks ask about that area, so here's my mini-report.

We stayed at the Doubletree at the Falls. Good location. Not right on the main roads, but only a block away from the Fallsview Casino, etc. We didn't have kids with us, so we didn't need to be close to Clifton Hill (aka the 'Street of Fun" which was a bit over the top for us, but is probably great for kids). We could easily walk to the Falls and those attractions. We liked staying in that area so we could be at the Maid of the Mist early on Sun and could see the fireworks over the falls that night and not have to travel too far.

In Niagara itself we did:

Maid of the Mist - one of the best things about the trip. Everyone should do this. We got there about an hour after it opened on an overcast day and there was no wait time.

Niagara's Fury - thought it would be cool but it ended up being a cheesy cartoon movie about how the falls were made then a short "experience" where you stand on a platform that slightly shifts as you watch the falls on the screen and get sprayed with water. Don't think I'd do this one again.

Fallsview Casino - we went there for an hour or so. Reminded me of the Borgata in AC. It's a fun, upscale casino.

AG - we had dinner at AG, which is located at Sterling Inn and Spa. The food was great, and we were able to walk there from our hotel and then walk down to the falls afterwards to see the fireworks. The service was wonderful as well.

Butterfly Conservatory - absolutely gorgeous! I'd definitely recommend going.

Botanical Gardens - even though it's late May, it's "early in the season" so most flowers weren't yet in bloom (including the Rose Garden). This wasn't a highlight of the trip, but at least it was free.

In Niagara-on-the-Lake:

We had a small dinner at the Prince of Wales hotel in their bar area. The Lobster Poutine was delish.

Shaw Festival - we saw a show at the Shaw Festival, which was as good as any regional theatre show I've seen. Actually, I think their production of Ragtime was better in many ways than the Broadway revival a few year ago.

Cows Ice Cream - yummy!

Wineries:

Hillebrand - we took a tour at Hillebrand. The buildings and grounds are gorgeous. The tourguide did a wonderful job explaining everything to us.

Peller Estates - we had a small meal at their outdoor cafe which was good. We did tasting and ended up buying some of their Late Harvest Vidal wine, which was just as good as their ice wines but a fraction of the cost.

Inniskillin - Did the tasting of their 4 icewines. The best icewine we tried all trip.

Ravine - had lunch there on our last day, which was delicious (especially the fries with truffle oil!). You get a complimentary tasting of 2 wines when you eat at the restaurant (they also give complimentary tastings to all of their white and red house blends). Their 2011 Reisling is their best seller and we could tell why. We bought some to take back with us. Ravine had the best overall wine (non-icewine) we had all trip.