A headline and caption in the Sept. 18 Travel section incorrectly implied that two photographs of Niagara Falls depicted the U.S. and Canadian sides of the falls. Both photos showed the Canadian side.
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Niagara Brawl: Canada vs. New York
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Sometimes this experience includes being hit by a fish. According to Danielle Lutz, a visitor from Newfane, N.Y., "I was standing here and saw something shiny and silvery coming over [the falls]. Next thing I knew, a fish landed on my shoulder. I can't remember what kind it was, but one of the guys on my tour cut its head off and filleted it."
Grades
Canadian side: C+
American side: B+
3. Casinos
Canada has bet the house on this category, with not one but two glitzy venues full of table games, slots and all the trimmings. Casino Niagara is the more humdrum -- it's right in town and near most of the big hotels, but it has such a maze of slot machines that you'll have a tough time navigating. Come to think of it, that's clever planning on their part, not a mistake. Bigger and much glossier, with an attached luxury hotel, spa and mall, Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort refers to itself as a "world-class gaming destination." This is probably not hyperbole. Among other fancy perks, there's a slightly funereal-looking wedding chapel flanked with dressing rooms for brides and grooms, and a Salon Privee area where ultra-high rollers can keep away from the bleep-bleep of the slots. Table games here require a minimum $100 Canadian ($84 U.S.) bets, and though it's not quite Monte Carlo, you might spot someone wearing diamonds or dressed in a tux.
On the U.S. side, one of the best things about the Seneca Niagara Casino is that the design, the lighting and the arrowhead stained-glass mural arching over the doors all are in startlingly good taste. Forget Foxwoods, the ugly granddaddy of Northeast mega-casinos. This place has the nighttime glow, polished wood and pastel colors of a pavilion at a yet-to-be-imagined World's Fair. It's got nothing on Fallsview when it comes to chic restaurants and jet-set boutiques, but unlike the Canadian side, if you're gambling, cocktails are free. Give me a double shot and pass the bucket of quarters.
Grades:
Canadian side: A
American side: B-
4. Beyond the Falls
First impressions of the U.S. side can be a bit misleading. You run into rows of motels, neon signs for attractions like "Club Joey" and "Empire Billiards," and above it all, a strange blank helium balloon that looks like it's Army surplus from an ad in a comic book.
The balloon turns out to be a helium-powered ride called Flight of Angels that floats you up and down on a tethered cable for 400-foot-high vistas of the town and falls. And despite the honky-tonk, this town has some things worth seeing.
Don't like heights? Get a thrill by proxy at the combo Trailways bus station/convenience store/Daredevil Museum, where there are rock-dented barrels that, along with their riders, have survived the falls. The first barrel daredevil to go over and live -- a local teacher named Annie Edison Taylor, in 1901-- eventually died (in 1921) of natural causes, and you can check out her headstone at Oakwood Cemetery in town. There's also a Little Italy district that, though not a rival to New York's, has interesting Italian specialty markets and a superb local bakery, Di Camillo's.
