Canadian writer Pierre Berton wrote in his Picture Book of Niagara published in 1993, “No one it seems can resist the lure of Niagara Falls. Almost all the visitors to North America, be they Japanese or Italian, Korean or Spanish come with plans to see the Falls as soon as possible after the plane lands.” This still holds true today. However, the big difference is you can now include many more groups of international visitors, especially Germans, Indians and Chinese.

Visitors from the United States started to find Niagara Falls by the 1830s when the Fashionable Tour started to bring the upper classes (especially Honeymooners) from the steamy cities of the American South to the cooler climate of Niagara. When English writer Charles Dickens visited in the 1830s, he wrote that no one had ever done justice to the Falls, “inexpressible and inconceivable beauty”.

With the arrival of the railways in the mid-1830s the Falls was now within reach of the ordinary person and ceased to be a resort for the upper classes.

Many changes have taken place in Niagara Falls since those earlier years.

Today you will find businesses are open year-round. There are world-class hotels, the Scotiabank Convention Centre, theatres with renowned plays and musicals, museums, attractions (be sure to check out Clifton Hill), two major casinos that never close, golf courses, historical sites, an observation tower, indoor water parks, and nightly illumination of the Falls. You will be mesmerized by the spectacular fireworks over the Falls on certain days, and at this time of the year, the annual Ontario Power Generation Winter Festival of Lights is wonderful to experience with your family.

The list goes on but I can assure you won’t be disappointed with a visit to Niagara Falls at any time of the year.