Niagara Falls + Toronto, Canada Weekend Trip
A few years back, Shane and I planned a long weekend trip to Niagara Falls and Toronto, Ontario in May over Memorial Day weekend. We drove from PA, through Upstate New York and over the U.S./Canada border. Check out our itinerary below on where we stayed, where we are and what we did!
Where we stayed
DoubleTree Fallsview Resort & Spa by Hilton (Canada Side). We chose this hotel because wanted something on the Canada side that was a moderate cost and was located near the Falls. This hotel is within walking distance to Horseshoe Falls, Shopping, Restaurants and more. We enjoyed our stay here and definitely would recommend! There is an IHOP located right across the street if you are looking for a quick breakfast option.
Day 1 (Friday)
We arrived at our hotel early in the afternoon. After checking-in, we walked a few blocks down to the Falls and spent the afternoon walking around and exploring.
Dinner: we ate at a place called Windows by Jamie Kennedy. This restaurant was great! We both ordered steak and it was honestly one of the best steaks we have ever had. The views of the falls were perfect too! Unfortunately, Windows has since closed. There are a few other dining options now, such as:
– Massimo’s Italian Fallsview
– The Rainbow Room
– Milestones on the Falls Restaurant
After dinner, there were fireworks over the falls, so we headed down to the falls once more to watch!
Day 2 (Saturday) – Maid of the Mist Tour
We booked the Maid of the Mist Tour on the NY/U.S. side. We walked the few blocks down to the falls from our hotel and walked across the border bridge. We did need to go through customs and show our passports when going into the U.S. and also when we returned to the Canada side. You can take the Maid of the Mist Tour from the Canada side but we had read the US side was better and we thought it would be fun to walk over the border/bridge. We highly recommend booking your Maid of the Mist tickets ahead of time on their website.
After the Maid of the Mist tour, we explored Niagara Falls State Park. There are a lot of other attractions and tours you can do such as Cave of the Winds.
After an adventure filled morning and early afternoon, we walked back over the border/bridge to Canada and back to our hotel.
Tip: we did a lot of walking whenever we could because everything was close by and within walking distance for the most part. We highly suggest this because the car lines for the border do get long and backed up so you don’t want to waste a lot of time driving and getting in line at the border if you can help it! The weather was perfect for walking so we didn’t mind.
Saturday Evening – Toronto, Ontario
Toronto is about a 45 minute drive from Niagara Falls so we decided to head there late afternoon to explore and have dinner at the CN Tower. We honestly can’t recommend doing this enough! If you are visiting Niagara Falls and are on the Canada side, it is a short distance and straight shot to get to Toronto. We loved exploring downtown Toronto, it was clean, friendly and the CN Tower was just amazing!
360 The Restaurant at the CN Tower
We had dinner that evening at the 360 Restaurant at the top of the CN Tower. The Restaurant has a 360 revolving view while you dine. You also have access to the lookout and glass floor levels of the CN Tower following your meal. This experience was amazing and we can’t recommend it enough. The views were spectacular! You can check out more information here for the menu and reservations!
Day 3 (Sunday)
This was our last day before heading home! We had breakfast, walked down to the falls once more before checking out of our hotel. We drove back over the Canada/US border and headed home to Pennsylvania!