So you’ve booked your Niagara Falls Hotel and you’re wondering what is there to do in one of the most visited places on the planet. Well, the truth is, there is no shortage of options. In fact it’s almost information overload once you hit Clifton Hill. We decided to put together a few places we think you should check out if you’re planning a trip to Niagara Falls.
Clifton Hill is not the area of town where you’d go to admire historic architecture, take in picturesque views, or retreat in the solitude of nature.
Rather, it is the tacky-but-fun district of downtown Niagara Falls, Ontario. This is where you find haunted houses, wax museums, Ripley’s Believe-It-or-Not, and more. It’s also jam-packed with little arcades, bars, souvenir shops, and mini golf courses. If you’re wandering around the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, you won’t be able to miss this place. It’s filled with neon lights, bright colors, and crowds of people. It looks like a miniature version of Times Square or the Las Vegas Strip.
It’s the main tourist area of the Falls, center of the Falls’ nightlife, and full of all the fun, gimmickey tourist traps that make up a memorable family vacation.
Caution: Young children will think they are in heaven here. If you’re traveling with kids, you might want to warn them beforehand that you can’t afford to do everything. Also, keep a close eye on them so they don’t get lost in the crowds of people.
Tip: Bring a couple hundred bucks with you. There’s so much you’ll want to do.
1. Niagara Falls Skywheel
4946 Clifton Hill
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Canada, L2E 6S8
905-358-4793
See the Falls from atop a giant ferris wheel. The big wheel is over 175 feet (53 meters) tell and has 42 enclosed gondolas. Each gondola can hold 6 people. It’s a year-round attraction. During the cold months, the gondolas are heated. During the summer, they’re air conditioned.
The ride is only 10 minutes long, which isn’t enough to justify the cost, in my opinion. Expensive tourist trap. You’ll probably want to avoid it unless you’re tired of walking and looking to sit down out of the hot/cold air for a few minutes.
2. Movieland Wax Museum
4946 Clifton Hill
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Canada, L2E 6S8
Phone: 905-358-3676
1-800-263-2557
See movie and entertainment history carved in great detail… in wax. Harry Potter’s in there. So is Indiana Jones. And the characters in the Wizard of OZ, the SImpsons, and Star Wars. We spend about an hour going through the place, snapping pictures after dinner. We love movies and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.
If you have young children, you might want to avoid this museum. It’s a lot of looking-but-not-touching.
3. Guiness World of Record Museum
Clifton Hill
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Canada, L2E 6S8
Phone: 905-356-2299
This is the place that teaches you about the biggest, fastest, oldest, oddest, and tallest of everything. You can spin a 10,000 pound ball with one finger. (I have trouble believing the ball was really 10,000 pounds!) There’s a model of Mr. Waldow, the world’s largest man. (He was 8 feet 11 inches tall!) You can also sit in Mr. Waldow’s chair– which, of course, is huge. (Great photo opportunity.) See a 500 pound pencil. (Why someone built a 500 pound pencil, I’ll never understand.)
There’s also a lot of stopping to watch videos, reading facts on the wall, pulling up facts on little computers, and observing models that depict word records– but those kinds of things got boring after awhile. The museum isn’t huge, but it’s definitely an interesting place.
4. Lego Brick City
Clifton Hill
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Canada, L2E 6S8
Imagine half-a-million lego building blocks, all assembled into a city. Everything in this building is made of Legos: the Statue of Liberty, Golden Gate Bridge, Cape Kennedy, and of course… Niagara Falls.
5. Galaxy Golf (Indoor) and Dinosaur Golf (Outdoor)
Clifton Hill
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Canada, L2E 6S8
Galaxy golf is an indoor miniature golf course where you play under glow-in-the–dark blacklight. It’s…. a unique experience. You don’t have all of the fancy trick holes, waterfalls, and hills you might experience on a big, outdoor course. My eyes were hurting by the end of the game.
Dinosaur golf is just a typical mini golf course with a dinosaur theme. Nothing out-of-the ordinary.
6. Hershey Store
Clifton Hill
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Canada, L2E 6S8
It’s the only Hershey Chocolate store in the world! You walk in through a giant Hershey Bar that’s 4 stories tall. They’ve got every Hershey product that’s made, Hershey souveniers. Hershey Kiss characters (in costumes) roam the aisles and allow you to take pictures. They give you some free samples of different flavored fudge.
