Shannon Purcell

Niagara Falls is one of the most iconic waterfalls in the world. Located in Niagara, Ontario, it is only two and a half hour drive from Toronto.

We did a day-trip to Niagara with ‘Niagara Falls Day Tour‘ last September, (thanks to my One4all colleagues back in Dublin) which included stop-offs at Niagara-on-the-lake, Reif Estate Winery and Niagara Falls.

 

Niagara-on-the-lake

First stop of the morning was to Niagara-on-the-lake, a charming lakeside town that many people retire to and it’s easy to see why. It is a small but picturesque town; full of boutique shops and. There is something very calming about Niagara-on-the-lake, maybe it’s the fact that there are no high-rise buildings here – it feels as though you’ve gone back in time.

We spent our brief time here wandering to the local bakeries and down to the lakeside to take some photos.

 

 

 

 

Niagara-on-the-lake is definitely somewhere I’d like to revisit again, possibly for a quiet weekend away.

 

The Living Water Wayside Chapel.

Did you know that the smallest chapel in the world is in Niagara? I didn’t either! This was a fun one to visit – how cute is this place!

If you want a low-cost wedding, this is the perfect chapel for it. 😂

There was also a lovely market next door to the chapel, where we picked up some different jams that were made in Niagara.

 

Reif Estate Winery

We spent some time at the family-owned Reif Estate Winery, where we tasted wine from the Niagara region, including Ice Wine, a super sweet dessert wine created from thousands of frozen grapes.

 

 

Niagara Falls

The first thing we did was the Hornblower Niagara Cruise – this is a must-do during the Summer season. The cruise is roughly 30 minutes long and totally worth the wait.

Afterwards, we grabbed some lunch then followed the path that runs right along the side of the falls to take more photos.

 

 

 

Tips for the Hornblower:

• Go as early as you can – it gets super busy after midday. We spent roughly 30-45 minutes queuing.
• Bring a waterproof camera – I kept a GoPro handy and left my Canon in my backpack for the duration of the cruise.
• Wear shorts (if it’s warm enough) or pack a pair of waterproof pants or something else to change into – the rain ponchos won’t keep your lower half dry!

 

To give you an idea of what the Hornblower cruise is like, here’s a quick video of our experience!