Romance Wanderlust: Niagara Falls

Romance Wanderlust - a yellowed and burnt edge map with a compass in the corner, with Romance Wanderlust written across itIn this month’s Romance Wanderlust, we are going to Niagara Falls, New York and Niagara Falls, Ontario. Both towns have been popular honeymoon destinations since the 1800s. They were hit hard by economic recession, but the tourist industry remains as well as, of course, the Falls. As always, this is neither and endorsement nor a review as I’ve never been to the Falls. Help me out, commenters – is this destination worth seeing, or skipping?

Niagara Falls refers to three massive falls: Horseshoe Falls (the largest), American Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls. Theodosia Burr (daughter of Aaron Burr) visited the Falls on her honeymoon with Joseph Alston in 1801. This made honeymooning at the Falls fashionable, especially after Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother, Jerome, did the same in 1804. In 1953, Marilyn Monroe had her first starring role in Niagara, a film noir in which she played a femme fatale. Visits spiked again. Other movies and television shows to feature the Falls include The Office (Jim and Pam’s wedding!) and Superman II (Lois discovers Superman’s identity!).

Jim and Pam at the Falls
Jim and Pam at the Falls

My impression based on Googling is that even though the Falls are amazing forces of nature, you wouldn’t visit Niagara Falls to commune in a peaceful way in your tent with only the sounds of nature to lull you to sleep. The Falls are right up against their respective American and Canadian cities, so you end up mixing nature with city life most of the time (there are a lot of casinos). You can walk along the top of the Falls during the day or at night, take a boat ride, and go through tunnel behind the falls. Please do not attempt to go over the Falls in a barrel or any other device because it’s illegal and often fatal. Attempts to discern whether your significant other is Superman by jumping over a railing will not end well.

The Falls and the River

As far as a place to stay, there are a lot of hotels in various price ranges but The Tower (on the Canada side) had me at “floor to ceiling windows” which would mean that, theoretically, I could ooh and ahh about the wonders of the Falls without ever having to get out of bed. They have an onsite Wedding Chapel and room service. It doesn’t look very fancy, but when this is what you see from your room how fancy do you really need to be?

view of falls from hotel window

Alternatively, if you stay at the Crowne Plaza (also in Canada), you can stay in Room 801, where Marilyn Monroe stayed while filming Niagara.

Marilyn Monroe in front of the Falls in a Blue suit

If you’ve been to Niagara Falls, let us know if it’s still a great honeymoon or otherwise romantic destination. Is the thrill alive?

Comments are Closed

  1. Jill Q. says:

    By husband and I stayed on Niagara-on-the-Lake in Canada for our honeymoon (for the Shaw Festival and wineries) and did a day trip to Niagara Falls (American side). The falls are awesome in an overwhelming way and there was a really beautiful butterfly center and big garden. Other than that I found it. . . kind of schlocky? Think of like Myrtle Beach or some other touristy destination. But! maybe we just didn’t know the right places to go (it was just a day trip after all) and I will say it was a lot more international than a lot of the usual touristy spots in the US, so even the people watching was kind of fun.

  2. Laurel says:

    Both towns have their tacky attractions, but the Canadian side has lots of parkland along the Niagara River and at the falls themselves. I think the Canadian side is prettier, and as @Jill Q.says, above, there are lots of wineries in the area, as well as Niagara-on-the-Lake, which is very picturesque.

    If you want to read a romance that visits Niagara Falls,the couple in Jenny Holiday’s One and Only visit there.

  3. Taryn says:

    I was just in Niagara Falls (Canadian side) for a conference. My take: the falls are pretty, but I wouldn’t choose to go to the city. The area by the falls is built up with hotels and casinos. I like nice food and wine and there were no good options, even though it is by a wine area. The kitchy part was neat, with haunted houses and midways, but most appeared very run down. I think people only go for the casinos now.

  4. Natasha says:

    I live 1.5 hrs away from Niagara Falls in Ontario. I’ve been there a few times. The falls are majestic. But the area around the falls is very touristy. It’s great for a weekend with friends. But not very romantic, I think. Niagara-on-the-lake on the other hand, is very romantic! It’s a short drive from the falls. It’s got a small town vibe. Very picturesque. Also lots of vineyards close by. Vine tasting ahoy!

  5. sabina says:

    ooh ooh! My dad grew up in Niagara Falls (Canadian side) and we used to go there all the time when we were kids and my grandmother lived there. IMO the best time to go is spring, because the high tourist season hasn’t started yet so it’s not super crowded, and there are lots of gorgeous flowers. (Spring in Niagara Falls is a couple weeks ahead of most of the rest of Ontario so that also helps…) Alternatively, August, when the peach harvest happens and you can drive through the countryside and buy a bushel of freshly picked peaches from a farmstand.

    As for Niagara Falls itself, the touristy areas are verrrrrry gimmicky and a lot of the non-touristy areas are kind of rundown. NF’s history as a honeymoon destination was really big in the late Victorian (I read a book at one point about how it was necessary for couples to go on a trip somewhere where there was something interesting to do during the day because they were figuring out sex after all that repression and sometimes it was really awkward) with a boost after Marilyn Monroe and also a little uptick after Ontario legalized same-sex marriage in 2003, but there are still all these little (mostly tacky) wedding chapels and hotel suites with heart-shaped jacuzzis. Clifton Hill has a ton of wax museums and arcades and such. Pretty much everything near the Falls is mega overpriced, so if you are willing to stay farther away it’s much more affordable (but maybe less of the point.)

    But yes, the Falls are beautiful, especially at night when they’re lit up. The whirlpool trail is a pretty good walk, and the Butterfly conservatory and botanical gardens are also very lovely.

    If you’re looking for more classically romantic I would recommend nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake, which is a quaint little town with a bunch of heritage buildings and cute shops and an annual theatre festival, nearby some great wineries, close to Queenston Heights and the Secord House if you’re into War of 1812 history, and also just a short drive away from NF to see the sites.

  6. DonnaMarie says:

    Of course the Canadian side is prettier. They built right up to the edge of the gorge. While there is a town on the American side, it is set back beyond the park and Goat Island. Every view on the American side includes the urban build up on the Canadian side.

    That being said, I was just there last fall, and it was pretty awe inspiring. I was with a group which included my mobility impaired father, so I couldn’t wander as far, or for as long as I wanted, but still found plenty to admire. I can see how wandering the trails could be part of a romantic idle, but would recommend being there during the school year when the possibility of dozens of children running rampant is lower. Lots of people like to take the Maiden of the Mist up to the falls, but I’d say if you really want to get a sense of the power, do the Cave of the Winds where you can stand at he base of the falls. Plus they give you Niagara Falls sandals, so your shoes don’t get soaked.

    As one day of a trip to upstate New York, it’s certainly a honeymoon must, but I don’t know that I’d want to stay in either of the towns built around it.

  7. Berry says:

    Agree with @Natasha 100% I visited Niagara Falls in February with my bestie and we had a lot of fun. It was really cold and icy, which maybe could be romantic if you then run back to your hotel room to, um, warm up.

    If you like history, I would reccomend the new Undeground Railroad museum on the American side of Niagara. It’s attached to the train station and tells the story of people who helped others escape across the river, in sometimes dramatic ways. Totally fascinating! We got lucky and arrived to see a tour led by a college student, which I think is better than the self guided option, imo. I need some of my favorite authors to visit and get inspired to write a Underground Railroad novel.

  8. Anne Hagan says:

    I’ve been to the Falls a couple of times now, most recently in late October/early November of 2017, before the annual freeze. The American side, other than Goat Island and the bit of parkland still left around it is pretty much a pit. There’s no nice way to say it. The Canadian side is built up beyond belief, but well maintained down near the river and falls. They do a nice job of entertaining tourists and taking their dollars, American and Canadian.

    A romance could be set there, if an author picks and chooses her points. There are high-rises with incredible views, dozens of bed and breakfast homes and inns all along the parkway (Canadian side), and romantic boat rides along the river…not including the Hornblower – formerly Maid of the Mist – which packs on the tourists for an up close view of the Horseshoe Falls.

    The area is steeped in history. On a tour with a seasoned guide might be just the place for a couple to meet.

  9. Karin says:

    As soon as I saw this post, I started singing “Shuffle Off to Buffalo” in my head. http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/770635/42nd-Street-Movie-Ciip-Shuffle-Off-To-Buffalo.html
    The falls are awesome, but once you’ve seen them, you’ve seen them. I’m not really into the touristy stuff around it. So I wouldn’t make a special trip there, but combined with a road trip to other upstate NY destinations, they’re worth visiting. I recommend taking historic Route 20 from Syracuse through the Finger Lakes region. Last time we stopped at the Harriet Tubman home in Auburn. There’s also Seneca Falls, the Susan B. Anthony House and the George Eastman Museum in Rochester. It’s a beautiful and historic area, with lots of scenery, historic little towns, wineries, lakes and waterfalls.

  10. LauraL says:

    My casino-seeking brother and sister-in-law visited recently for a long weekend and said they had a great time at Niagara Falls with the gambling and the restaurants. From what I’m reading here, sounds like the area has changed a bit since I was last there … in the early 80s. My now-husband and I made our first vacation trip to Niagara Falls after we graduated from college where we stayed at a modest motel on the Canadian side. We took the Maid of the Mist tour and I had, memorably, the worst margarita ever at dinner at a lodge. I think it was made with lime jello. If we went back, we would have to stay at The Tower. What a view!

  11. DeborahT says:

    I went to university in southern Ontario and I’d take all my visitors to Niagara Falls, and I revisited a couple of years ago in March (icy!). The falls are spectacular. But other than that it’s pretty tacky. If you embrace the tourist in you, you can definitely have lots of fun, but I wouldn’t plan more than a day there to see the falls.

    As for romance – well, I’m sure you could find it there with the right person 🙂

  12. PamG says:

    We used to go to Buffalo every year for the Am-Can Judo tournament with a bunch of students. Part of every trip was a visit to the Canadian side and a wander through the tourist tat. It was fun to take kids who may not have done a lot of traveling to see the sights, but not precisely romantic. As far as the beauties of nature. Aside from the falls themselves. the closest we got was a family of raccoons strolling across one of the motels’ roof.

  13. Barb says:

    I only know about the Canadian side but there used to be a museum that was kind of interesting — lots of stories about the people who went over in barrels and such (seriously, don’t do it). The Falls themselves are spectacular but it’s not really a full-day thing if you’re not into the touristy, casino-y, wax museum-y stuff in the city. The drive between the Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake (the Niagara River Parkway) is quite beautiful and there are walkways and bike trails all alongside it. The Butterfly Conservatory is along that route and it also takes you to some of the wineries. The actual site of Niagara Falls is pretty crowded in the summer and the parking is just flat out terrible, but it can be interesting to go in the winter to see the Falls when they’re lovely and somewhat frozen and combine that with the Niagara-on-the-Lake ice wine festival. (Apologies — I didn’t realize I had a Niagara Falls TED talk in me.)

  14. Jessa says:

    I visited the US side on a mini road trip moving myself from Pittsburgh to Boston. It was an interesting place to get out, stretch my legs and walk around for a bit. I didn’t feel the need to stay overnight at all.

    For a charming, quirky take on the tourist industry, Brian Fuller made a 1-season tv series set there called Wonder Falls. (Much closer to Pushing Daisies than Hannibal).

  15. Darbi says:

    I grew up nearby and cannot imagine feeling romantic at Niagara Falls. The falls themselves are spectacular, but the American side is a dump and the Canadian side is tacky AF. The Maid of the Mist is cool, as are some of the museums but that’s about it.

    I absolutely agree with some of the previous comments about Niagara-On-The-Lake. It’s a beautiful town, with great food, plus the shaw theater festival and wine country! Go to Niagara-on-the-Lake, and then just take a daytrip to see the falls. Or even better, Toronto is less than a 2 hour drive from the falls.

  16. I grew up (and also now live) in a suburb of Buffalo, NY – so Niagara Falls has always been in my backyard. For undergrad I went to a college that was just down the road from the American side and one summer got a job as a tour guide. I had to take a test and be certified for the America side! The Maid is the Mist is amazing – I’ve been a few times. There’s another boat ride that takes you through the whirlpool below the falls that is supposed to be really fun too. Yes, the Canadian side is landscapes nicer but Goat Island on the American side is gorgeous and you can’t get any closer. The city of Lewiston on the American side is amazing too – a cute little town on the water with lots of great restaurants.

  17. Cindy says:

    I thought the falls were pretty, but the area around them is kinda tacky. But, Old Fort Niagara (17th century) is 20 minutes away and they do reenactments…

Comments are closed.

By posting a comment, you consent to have your personally identifiable information collected and used in accordance with our privacy policy.

↑ Back to Top