Things To Do

Whether you're local or coming from across the country or across the ocean you can enjoy the quality of life that makes Buffalo and Western New York one of the country’s best-kept secrets: Good food. Fine music. Great architecture. Art. History. Professional sports. Theater. Pubs. Friendly people. And Niagara Falls, that world-famous natural attraction, is less than half an hour away.

The Beau Fleuve is close to everywhere you want to be. You can walk to excellent fine, casual, or ethnic dining. Try one of the nearby cafes for lunch, or enjoy the sophisticated ambiance of upscale restaurants for a special evening.

For a comprehensive compendium of area offerings, visit www.visitbuffaloniagara.com or email info@buffalocvb.org for an official Visitors Guide booklet.

Architectural Heritage
A city of architectural treasures built when Buffalo was the wealthy and colorful Queen City of the Great Lakes, buildings reflect the genius of such architectural giants as Louis Sullivan and H. H. Richardson, and Frank Lloyd Wright, plus beautiful neighborhoods of grand Victorian, Colonial, Tudor, and Craftsman homes. Here are just some of the gems you can visit:

• The Wright-designed Martin House Complex. Information and tour reservations: (716) 856-3858; www.darwinmartinhouse.org.
• The Wright-designed Isabelle R. Martin house at Graycliff in Derby. Daily guided tours by reservation only: 716-947-9217; www.graycliff.bfn.org.
• The Art Deco masterpiece, City Hall. Daily weekday, docent-led tours at noon; free of charge, through the Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier: 716-852-3300.
• The Landmark Society and the Preservation Coalition of Erie County collaborate throughout the year under the brand Buffalo Tours; for schedule: www.buffalotours.com or 716-852-3300.  
• Tour the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, housed in a historic tri-domed glass conservatory dating from 1894; 716-827-1584; www.buffalogardens.com.

Music
Buffalo's world-class Philharmonic Orchestra performs classical music and pop favorites in Kleinhans Music Hall, an acoustically ideal setting designed by the famous father-son architectural team of Eliel and Eero Saarinen. And numerous other venues for every kind of genre.

Art

• The Albright-Knox Art Gallery houses major modern and contemporary works that have earned it a reputation as one of the best in the country, 716-882-8700; www.albrightknox.org.  
• The Burchfield-Penney Art Center, newly moved into a brand new facility, is dedicated to the art and culture of Western New York and is home to the world’s largest collection of works by Charles E. Burchfield, 716-878-6011; www.burchfield-penney.org.
• Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University houses Niagara County’s only permanent collection of modern and contemporary art, 716-286-8200, www.niagara.edu/cam.
• And numerous other art galleries, museums, and venues.

History

• The Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, in a grand  Classical Revival building that was part of the 1901 Pan American Exposition, has objects, photographs, paintings and film commemorating the Exposition, and much more, 716-873-9644; www.bechs.org.
• The nearby, wonderfully restored Ansley Wilcox Mansion, where Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office in 1901 after President William McKinley was assassinated, also has special exhibits: Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site, 716-884-0095, www.nps.gov/thri.
• Buffalo Transportation/Pierce-Arrow Museum, with automobiles, bicycles and motorcycles, highlights the history of the luxury automobile, as well as other vehicles manufactured in Buffalo and Western New York during the early 20th century; 716-853-0084, www.pierce-arrow.com.  
• Pedaling History Bicycle Museum is the largest all-bicycle museum in the world, 716-662-3853, www.pedalinghistory.com.
•  Other easy-to-reach historic attractions in the city include an early 19th century lighthouse; the Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park, home to World War II vessels and planes, 716-847-1773; www.buffalonavalpark.org; and the greatest lineup of grain elevators in the world—a Buffalo invention.
• And too many others to list.

Theater: A dozen or more playhouses stage high-quality productions at affordable prices. On summer evenings in beautiful Delaware Park, also designed by Olmsted, you can enjoy Shakespearean plays performed al fresco. Forty-five minutes north in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, three professional repertory productions are staged daily from March through November. Numerous movie theaters nearby feature first- and second-run movies, as well as art films, and a variety of downtown pubs feature live music and entertainment.

Sports:In spring and summer, the Bisons AAA baseball team competes in one of the nation's most attractive minor league ballparks. In fall and winter, our professional football and hockey teams, the Buffalo Bills and the Sabres,  offer exciting action.

Beyond Buffalo
Access is easy to the fabulous Niagara Falls, just 25 minutes away. Not to be missed is a ride to the bottom of the Horseshow Falls on the Maid of the Mist, 716-284-8897, www.maidofthemist.com; or for the more adventuresome, a daring whitewater ride on the rapids aboard a Whirlpool Jet, 905-468-4800/888-438-4444, www.whirlpooljet.com.

Old Fort Erie, 905-871-0540/877-642-7275, www.oldforterie.com, on the Canadian side of the Niagara River and Old Fort Niagara, 716-745-7611, on the New York side, built by the French in 1750s in chateau style along Lake Ontario, remind visitors that the War of 1812 was waged in these environs. The historic Erie Canal locks in nearby Lockport still operate and canal boat cruises are available.

• East Aurora,  less than a half-hour away, reflects the influence of the Roycroft artisans. The Roycroft campus, 716-655-0261, www.roycroftcampuscorporation.com, founded in 1895 by Elbert Hubbard, who became one the of the leaders of the American Arts and Crafts movement, features a fine gift shop and Hubbard’s home, an attractive Craftsman-style bungalow, and the wonderfully restored National Historic Landmark Roycroft Inn, 716-652-5552, www.roycroftinn.com. Nearby is the first home of Millard Fillmore, the country’s 13th president.

Two Great Lakes and the mighty Niagara River make the area a year-round recreational paradise. There's boating and fishing in our temperate and low-humidity summers, and winter sports are an easy 40-minute to one hour drive south. In autumn, the colors are splendid both in the city and in the surrounding countryside.

Numerous wineries near the Lake Erie shoreline south of Buffalo, as well as on both sides of the Niagara River north of Buffalo, provide visitor tours and wine tasting.

Or choose the Chautauqua Institution, 90 minutes south, for nine weeks of summer music, lectures, and recreation in a Victorian compound along Lake Chautauqua. Or nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake with its fine summer Shaw (and contemporaries) theatrical productions. Or a day's drive to Letchworth State Park, the Grand Canyon of the East, for autumn colors. Or head for the cosmopolitan excitement of Toronto, only two hours north.