BUFFALO AND NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK
Buffalo's history and culture are linked not only to Lake Erie but also to the fact that its Canalside district is the original end of the Erie Canal which linked the lake with New York City via the Hudson River.
Now the district is at the heart of Downtown Buffalo's waterfront revitalisation, hosting hundreds of events throughout the year, such as concerts and festivals, fitness classes and ice skating, children's programming and history tours. As you wander the area, you discover bustling walkways, a park, docks, a historic carrousel, and oyster-serving eateries.
And on the other side of the Niagara River, Buffalo RiverWorks is an entertainment complex that emerged from an area of defunct grain silos and now features a handicapped-accessible Ferris wheel, a brewery and, in the winter, ice skating.
In the spring of 2023 the newly-reopened and expanded Buffalo AKG Museum overlooking Hoyt Lake will feature a world-class collection and a glass-walled bridge offering splendid views over Delaware Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed Manhattan's Central Park.
Niagara Falls, 21 miles north along the Niagara River, is, of course, world-renowned for its majestic namesake waterfalls which can best be experienced from a cruise on the Maid of the Mist into the basin of the Horseshoe Falls or the Cave of the Winds which will take you within an arm's reach of the crashing water.
GETTING THERE: Buffalo Niagara International Airport is served by Delta, American, United and other flights connecting with transatlantic service into New York City's JFK International Airport.
NIAGARA FALLS CAN BEST BE EXPERIENCED FROM A CRUISE ON THE MAID OF THE MIST INTO THE BASIN OF THE HORSESHOE FALLS OR THE CAVE OF THE WINDS.