By Nikki M. Murry
When you consider making travel plans, Buffalo, NY might not spring to mind—but it should. Buffalo is experiencing a renewal of sorts and is more than worth a weekend of your time. And it's all just about a five-hour drive away.
The Westin Buffalo is a great place to call home for a couple of nights. Consider the more-than-spacious rooms with comfortable “heavenly” beds, bathrooms featuring rainfall showers, an in-room Alexa as your guide and an incred-ibly unique robot butler. That’s right. Forget something like your toothbrush, or need more shampoo or conditioner? Call the robot butler and he’ll deliver it straight to your room. He’s so cool you might want to leave something behind on purpose. (PHOTO BY BRANDON BARRÉ PHOTOGRAPHY)
One of Buffalo’s main draws may be its food scene. You name it and you’ll likely find it. For Italian lovers, be sure to make a dinner reservation at Inizio (inizio716.com), fairly new to the city and specializing in Northern Italian cuisine made fresh and from scratch daily. Among the menu highlights are radiatore Bolognese, squid ink linguine and carrot fettuccine.
For lunch, be prepared to wait, but it’s worth heading to the Anchor Bar (anchorbar.com/buffalo), home of the original Buffalo Wing. That’s right; wings were created here! And if you’re going to order the Buffalo way, resist asking for Ranch dressing. In Buffalo, bleu cheese and celery are the only way. Flavor choices include mild, medium, hot, spicy hot BBQ, chipotle BBQ, spicy garlic parmesan and suicidal extreme heat. The wings are so popular that the Anchor Bar now boasts 14 locations and ships wings world-wide, but the Buffalo stop on Main Street is where it got its start. Wings are so essential to the Buffalo scene that there is even a Wing Trail for super fans to check out. Visit visitbuffaloniagara.com for info. (PHOTO BY ERIC FRICK)
Rounding out mealtime suggestions, a great—and utterly unique—place to start your day with breakfast is at Five Points Bakery and Toast Café (fivepointsbakery.com). Everything is sourced locally here, and it’s all wonderful. The menu centers on a variety of breads that are toasted and paired with delicious accompaniments. For example, the toasted cinnamon swirl bread is paired with vanilla icing. The toasted deli rye comes with a hard-boiled egg and gruyere cheese. Order your favorite with a latte or cappuccino and you’re set. (PHOTO BY DREW BROWN)
Whether you consider yourself an outdoor enthusiast, history lover, music fan or something else altogether, Buffalo certainly has something for you.
One stand-out spot unique to the city is the Frank Lloyd Wright Darwin Martin House (martinhouse.org). It’s worth an hour of your time to book a tour of the residence constructed between 1903 and 1905 as the home of Darwin and Isabelle Martin. The Martin House exemplifies Frank Lloyd Wright's "Prairie House" ideal and ranks as one of his finest residential works. Tours touch on how Wright's architectural genius is il-lustrated in timeless themes evident in his remarkable design: family, friendship, the meaning of home, and the American spirit are shown through the story of Darwin D. Martin's pa-tronage of America's greatest architect.
(PHOTO BY DREW BROWN)
Within walking distance of the Martin House is the Buffalo Zoo (buffalozoo.org), a great spot for families in particular. New to the zoo this year is Mohan, a baby Indian rhinoceros born to mom Tashi in June of 2019. Other zoo favorites include Luna the polar bear as well as gorillas, lions and a cool rainforest environment exhibit. There’s a petting zoo and carousel on site for the little ones, too. For those looking to go beyond the traditional zoo visit experience, the zoo also offers interactive experiences with giraffes and rhinos, in addition to special events throughout the year. (PHOTO BY NANCY J. PARISH)
Also unique to Buffalo and a must for music lovers is The Colored Musicians Club (cmctheclub.com). Designated a historical landmark in 1979, a historical preservation site in 1999, and a National Historic Site in 2018, it’s the only remaining African American club of its kind in the U.S. Visit on a Sunday evening for an open-to-the-public jam session where jazz greats like Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis once played. Also on site is a jazz history museum. (PHOTO BY ONION STUDIO)
Travel about 30 minutes to the New York State/Canada border and you’ll experience an envi-ronmental wonder at Niagara Falls State Park (niagarafallsstatepark.com), surrounding the mighty Niagara Falls, and the oldest state park in the United States. Visitors entering the area are greeted by the magnificent Great Lakes Garden. Niagara Gorge Discovery Center tells the story of the creation of the Falls with exhibits and a multiscreen theater presentation. An Observation Tower boasts elevators transporting visitors 180 feet down to the base of the tower for an up-close view of the American Falls.
But for a truly immersive experience, book a trip on the world-famous Maid of the Mist (maidofthemist.com), enjoyed by historical fig-ures including Princess Diana, President Jimmy Carter, Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, Steven Hawking, Brad Pitt and even the Jonas Brothers. The journey begins at the Observation Tower, where guests get a souvenir rain poncho to wear and board the double-decker tour boat. (Trust us—you’ll still get wet with it on.) From there, the boat travels past the base of the American Falls and onto the basin of Horseshoe Falls—the dramatic passage leading you through the waterfall whitewater and massive rock formations. It’s only after a trip on the Maid of the Mist that you can appreciate the true beauty and power of the Falls. If you are looking for a complete experience, try a cruise both during the day and in the evening when the Falls are back-lit by a rainbow of colors. (PHOTO BY WILLIAM SMYERS)
The water that flows over Niagara Falls comes from four of the five Great Lakes: Erie, Huron, Michigan and Superior. From the Falls, the water travels down the Niagara River to Lake Ontario, then to the St. Law-rence River and finally to the Atlantic Ocean. (PHOTO BY RHEA ANNA)
Fish actually travel over the Falls and about 90 per-cent of them survive. Experts believe that the white foam from the rushing waters cushions their fall. (PHOTO BY RHEA ANNA)
About 600,000 gallons of water travel down Niagara Falls every second.
About 20 percent of the drinking water in the United States goes over Niagara Falls. (PHOTO BY RHEA ANNA)
Parts of the movies Superman and Niagara, starring Marilyn Monroe, were filmed at Niagara Falls. (SCREENCAP FROM SUPERMAN II)
Start at the Visit Buffalo Niagara Tourism site, here: visitbuffaloniagara.com