Tourist Attractions in Niagara Falls

I have never been to a T.G.I. Fridays before but since this is a well-known North American chain restaurant my friends and I decided to stop in at the Niagara Falls, Canada location.

Obviously, we were not "in the know" since their website doesn't list pricing with their menus - but we were expecting pricing structure similair to a Kelsey's Restaurant, or Friendly's or whatever.

WRONG!

Now, my friends and I aren't thrifty or tight when it comes to spending money, but no way in %$*! could we justify the pricing list offered by T.G.I. Fridays. Nearly $18.00 for loaded potato skins? $16.00 for breaded chicken fingers? $12.00 nearly for a single portion of salad? What are they topping these dishes with? Pure gold maybe?

Its no wonder the place was empty when we were there... No average family would pay those prices - no average family CAN pay those prices. I truly hope that all T.G.I. Fridays Restaurants aren't following the same obscene pricing structure...

My friends and I left and headed to the Hard Rock Cafe - which is expensive but still cheaper than T.G.I. Fridays.

It is important that before you go on your trip you have a good idea what the exchange rate is. Check online a day or two before. This way you can have good idea when your getting a good rate. When in doubt go to the duty free, it may not be the best but they won't screw you. My idiot friend changed her money over at some haunted house and got 1.30 when the rate was 1.55.

Unique Suggestions: Do what i said above and this won't happen to you.

While the Falls themselves are very beautiful and absolutely worth visiting, beware that the entire area around the Falls is a horribly tacky tourist trap. From giant haunted houses, to casinos, to countless tacky gift shops, and even a huge professional wrestling show, it's really just a horrible place.

Fun Alternatives: Just avoid the tourist trap areas and stick to the Falls themselves. You can also escape all the tourst traps by driving up to wine country, located to the north and east of Niagara Falls. We enjoyed driving around to the many vineyards and wineries to try the different wines. The landscape in that area is also quite nice. Although also pretty touristy, we kind of liked the town of Niagara on the Lake, where you can do some shopping and get something to eat. It gets pretty crowded there too, but it's not nearly as tacky as the area right around Niagara Falls itself.

Shop around for parking as there are several places that seemed to charger much higher. Be careful of parking lot attendants who say their price is the lowest.

There are also many cheap tourist shops near the falls. Some places even advertise on the highway miles before one reaches Niagara. These really cheapen a visit, so do yourself a favor and skip these shops, and spend more time at the Falls.

we came across a tour of the power plant at niagara falls, we paid over five dollars
per person and only looked through a window museum type area quite dull.

Unique Suggestions: at least look at the large map of the area, its free anyways, some nice books in shop

Fun Alternatives: Drive further down the road along the river to the lovely town of niagara on the lake. or family enjoyed ice cream in this storybook town.

If you walk on the street closest to the falls you will avoid most, but not all, of the tacky tourist stuff on the Canadian side. As you walk closer to the falls there is a beautiful park and visitor center and the ambience changes very much for the better!

Unique Suggestions: Realize that most of the stuff being sold is junk. Really the best thing to do is to focus on the falls.

This big dragon may swallow you when walking into it's mouth!

Unique Suggestions: Speed up and try to be in it's belly as soon as you can.

Fun Alternatives: Ok, this is a joke. :) There is really no tourist trap at Niagara Falls. This is the entrance of a Dragon Rollercoaster at Marineland Canada. That guy is my cousin.

There are many, many fast food joints all down the strip, and the first thing you'll notice when you're ordering is the hike in price. I guess this is to be expected in such a tourist destination.

Unique Suggestions: There are, however, some hidden independently owened places just west of Clifton Hill, off Victoria Ave. Keep an eye for Japanese, Chinese and even Thai!!