Buffalo Things to Do

We first went to this zoo in 1964 and enjoyed it then; it had just been completely remodeled and was using the "new" method of displaying animals in natural surroundings. We took the kids in the 1980s and it was still a good zoo with additions to the Ape House and the Children's Zoo section but overall there were fewer animals than I remembered from our earlier visit. We went again in 2001 with the grandchildren and I am glad to say that it is once again a zoo to be proud of. Besides the animals themselves, now themes have been added to show how the animals and the environment interact and how man can effect both for either good or bad.

There are 1000 individual animals in 25 acres of land. The confinement of the animals mostly is not the sterile "cage" environment of old fashined zoos but is the flora and atmosphere of natural settings in which the animals can be maintained in relative comfort and less stress.
Besides the animal exhibits, special events are scheduled to educate and entertain.
There is a fine gift shop where souveniers can be purchased.

Admission is under $10 plus a parking fee.
The few rides in the park cost $1 each.
Strollers can be rented and handicap access is provided at the restrooms and throughout much of the park.

This is a huge indoor garden with plants from all over the world. Bougaininvillea, Coleus, Dwarf Conifers, Hibiscus, English Ivies, Japanese Maples, Lilacs, Oriental Herbs, Spanish Moss just to name a few items you'll see on your tour. Besides the static displays of flowers there are special events like the Azalea Show or the Children's Garden Show or the Bonsai Tree Demonstration that are held periodically in the park(see website below for dates).
They have added a large outdoor arboretum to expand the display of plants and trees.

It took us about two hours two walk all of the grounds described in the pamphlet (be sure to pick up a pamphlet at the entry desk). Besides the park grounds, the rotunda has three levels and four side-areas for you to explore. There is a nice gift shop and they offer plants for sale there also.

The cost was under $10 per person plus another fee if you joined in one of the special demonstrations/tours. The biggest cost was in energy; the place is not very well set up to allow you places to rest.

Buffalo has some of the finest architecture around from the late 1800s to early 20th century. Besided Chicago, we are the only city to have buildings by Richardson, Wright and Sullivan. Traveling down Delaware Avenue, one can see some beautiful mansions that were built during Buffalo's golden age when Buffalo had more millionaires per capital than any other city in the US. The Allentown neighborhood is a beautiful historical area with many lovely Victorian homes as is the Elmwood Village.

The Buffalo Zoo is a great place to go for people traveling with children. They have many animals that are at most zoos, such as elephants, bears, giraffes, rhinos, zebras, and seals, as well as many "vanishing animals", including a Japanese monkey, African cat, and a lemur. The reptile and gorilla exhibits are indoors. The "Lorikeet Landing" is an interesting experience, because you view exotic birds from Australia and the Pacific Islands by walking inside the exhibit, with nothing between you and the birds. You can purchase food to feed the birds, if you want. Aside from the animals, children may also be interested in the train, playground, carousel, and other fun and educational activities. If you look at all the exhibits, it should take about 2-3 hours to see everything.

Entrance for adults is $8.50, senior citizens and children ages 2-14 are $5.00, and children under 2 years old are free.

(for information about hours, seasonal exhibits, special events, etc. please go to the website I've provided)

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Behind the Buffalo History Museum is a small lake. Around the lake is a path, which will take you to the Japanese garden. Although it is called a garden, the Japanese garden is actually composed of three small islands in the lake, near the shore, which have trees and stones in typical Japanese-style shapes and figures. It is a nice sight, if you want to sit and relax, but you cannot walk through the garden and it is too small to tour. It is free to view the garden and sit by the lake. Many couples like to come here to spend time together overlooking the garden. If you tour the History Museum, you may want to go see the Japanese garden, however, because it is so small, I would not recommend coming only to see this garden.

The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is a great museum for anyone interested in modern art. The gallery does carry a few older works from artists such as Claude Monet, Picasso, and Paul Gauguin's "Yellow Christ", but these types works are not the focus of this particular art museum. Most of the art displayed has been created after the 1950s. Some of the artwork is only a few years old! There are certain works that are located around the outside of the museum, too. This museum shows what art is today and what future art may look like.

Adult admission is $10, college students and senior citizens $8, and ages 13 and under are free.

(for information on specific events, tour schedules, times open, etc. please visit the website I've provided below)

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The best and the first thing you wanna do when you arrive Buffalo is to vist the Niagara falls,
the border between US and Canada (In fact, 1/3 of the falls lies on Ontario). Just not to be mistaken, the NIagara falls is a township. It was named as the Town of Niagara with a combination of 3 major falls- the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and the Canada site's Horseshoe Falls. For those who hold a valid passport to enter US and Canada without visa, it will be advisable for you to enter both countries to have a complete view for the falls.

Besides that, remember to be loaded with cash as both countries has a casino located nearby the falls. For those people who wanted to have a more lively trip, will advise you to enter Canada and stay there for a night. The town of Niagara, Canada has various things to offer to you. There are Casino, Skylon Tower, HardRock Cafe, and a fantastic main street which located with bars, restaurant and parks. Once you get accross the Rainbow Bridge, you will reach the casino and the main street. Then, you will see a major difference between the Niagara in US and Canada. The town in Canada is much lively and interesting.

The skylon Tower will provide you a complete view of the falls. After that you might wanna try your luck in the casino. No matter if you skip it or not, the next place you definitely wanna go is to hang out the main street. Get to the rain forest cafe for lunch or dinner then you can have a relaxing night in the bars. Of course there is some monument, bird observatory and national reserve park, but i dont really encourage you to do outdoors over here.

While you're in Buffalo, you've got to (at least!) go to Canada and see Niagara Falls. From the Canadian side, the pictures you'll take will be amazing! And don't forget to sample the Canadian beer! An American Budwieser tastes totally different from a Canadian Bud, so you better try the beer or you'll be missing out, hoser! Don't try to take more than a case of beer back to the US or they might ask you to pay the ~$1.80 duty per case (that was in '90, so it might've gone up since then). And don't go when Pink Floyd is going to have a concert in Toronto, or they might have the drug-sniffing dogs go thru your car if you look suspicious (like my driving buddy did). There's no Bill of Rights in Canada like the US has, so don't break the law (or your ass is theirs until...)
You don't need any $ to view the Falls, which makes this trip cost mainly the toll at the bridge and for gas. It's part of the Great White North that everyone should see.