Niagara Falls

Table Rock at dawn to Queen Victoria Park after dark

Early morning. Be at Table Rock by 7am, when the railing is empty and mist hangs over the brink of the Horseshoe. You are standing a few metres from where the river drops. Take the lift down to the tunnels behind the falls as soon as they open and walk out to the portals where the water thunders past.

Late morning. Stroll north along the promenade through Queen Victoria Park, with the American and Bridal Veil Falls across the gorge, to the cruise dock at the foot of Clifton Hill. The boat ride, in a poncho, runs from about May to October and pushes deep into the spray of the Horseshoe basin.

Afternoon. Ride the WEGO Green line north along the Parkway. Walk the White Water Walk boardwalk beside some of the river's fiercest rapids, then take the Whirlpool Aero Car, a cable car slung over the great eddy in the gorge. If you still have energy, the trails in the Niagara Glen drop down among boulders to the water's edge.

Evening. Have dinner with a view in Fallsview, then walk down to Queen Victoria Park, where the falls are lit in shifting colours every night until well after midnight. In summer stay for the fireworks over the gorge. Walk up Clifton Hill once, for the neon spectacle, and keep going.

Icewine, peach stands and dinner above the Horseshoe

Niagara's tourist strip is wall-to-wall chains priced to the view, so check menus for a "tourism fee" listed among the taxes. For an honest cheap meal, Basell's diner on Victoria Avenue serves a daily special with soup and dessert. Splurge on a view dinner at the revolving Skylon Tower or a Fallsview restaurant.

The tourist strip is wall-to-wall chains, from the Hard Rock Cafe by Casino Niagara to every burger brand you know, and prices follow the view. Read the menu for a tourism fee; some restaurants add one and list it among the taxes even though it is not a tax. For a cheap, honest meal, walk up Victoria Avenue to Basell's, an old-fashioned diner where the daily special comes with soup and dessert.

A view dinner is a reasonable splurge here. The revolving dining room at the top of the Skylon Tower turns slowly over both falls, and several Fallsview hotels have restaurants looking straight down at the Horseshoe; book a table for the illumination hour.

The best eating lies beyond the falls. The Niagara Peninsula is Ontario's fruit and wine country, and in July and August roadside stands along the Parkway and the back roads sell peaches, cherries and plums picked that morning. Wineries around Niagara-on-the-Lake make icewine from grapes left on the vine until they freeze in winter, sweet and concentrated, and most offer tastings. Their restaurants are a step up from anything on Clifton Hill.

For drinks, the bars along Centre Street, known as the Centre Street Shuffle, draw pub crawls and late crowds. Remember that Ontario's drinking age is 19.

White Water Walk, Floral Clock and Fort George along the Parkway

The best half day to add is the 25 km Niagara Parkway north to Niagara-on-the-Lake, by car or bike: the White Water Walk and Whirlpool Aero Car, trails down to the rapids at Niagara Glen, the free Botanical Gardens with their butterfly conservatory, the Floral Clock and Brock's Monument at Queenston Heights.

Driving or cycling the Niagara Parkway north from the falls is the best half day you can add, and the 25 km to Niagara-on-the-Lake passes the river's quieter side. Start at the White Water Walk and the Whirlpool Aero Car if you skipped them, then continue to the Niagara Glen, where trails descend through old forest to the rapids. About 9 km from the falls, the Botanical Gardens are free to enter and hold one of North America's largest butterfly conservatories, best in summer. Just beyond, the Floral Clock is a giant working clock face planted in flowers.

At Queenston Heights, Brock's Monument towers over the site of an 1812 battle where British, Canadian and Indigenous forces turned back an American invasion; climb inside for the view over the lower river. The road then drops through orchards and vineyards to Niagara-on-the-Lake, with its 19th-century main street, theatre festival and Fort George, a rebuilt British fort with costumed staff in summer.

Back in the city, Lundy's Lane was the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the same war, and Drummond Hill Cemetery marks the ground. In winter, when spray freezes onto the trees around Table Rock, the Parkway is quiet and the Winter Festival of Lights strings displays through the parks from November into the new year.