Niagara Falls needs no introduction. The sheer volume of water crashing over the crest line — four million cubic feet per minute on average — is something you feel in your chest before you even see it properly. The Canadian side of the falls, in the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario, offers the best views, looking straight across at the wide curtain of the Horseshoe Falls. The American Falls are impressive too, but the vantage point from the Canadian side is hard to beat. Queen Victoria Park runs along the crest and is free to enter — this is the essential place to stand and look.
The city itself is a curious mix. Clifton Hill, the tourist strip near the falls, is a neon-lit carnival of wax museums, haunted houses and chain restaurants. It is tacky and it knows it. But step away from the strip and you will find two major casinos, the excellent Niagara Parks system running along the gorge — including the Niagara Parks Power Station with its dramatic gorge-level tunnels — and just a short drive north, the charming town of Niagara-on-the-Lake with its wineries, theatres and historic inns. The Whirlpool Aero Car, a cable car dating from 1916, crosses the gorge above the permanent whirlpool. The Nikola Tesla Monument marks the inventor's pivotal role in harnessing the falls for the world's first major hydroelectric project.
The falls are spectacular year-round. The Maid of the Mist boat tour takes you to the base of the falls — as close as you can get, and far more overwhelming than any viewpoint. Winter transforms the surrounding trees and railings into otherworldly ice sculptures, and you can descend via Journey Behind the Falls to see the frozen scene from behind the curtain of ice. The Niagara wine region, stretching along the escarpment between the falls and Toronto, produces some of Canada's best wines, including its famous ice wines harvested in the dead of winter.