Niagara Falls is only 80 miles from Toronto, so we made sure to visit during our Canadian adventure. There are lots of coach trips available, so we got on a bus early in the morning to see what it was all about – alas it was less yellow ponchos and more tacky casinos.

The falls themselves are really impressive, a massive and powerful waterfall right across the pavement – really unlike anything you’d see. Usually you can take a boat trip to see it even closer (the ‘Maid on the Mist’), but we were unlucky with the weather and that wasn’t available when we were there.

The downside is the massive tacky-fest right across the road: like a cheap, old-fashioned version of Las Vegas, so not really what you’d expect from such a natural wonder. But the coach trip also went up the river where we got great views without the intrusion of modern architecture.

We also visited Niagara-on-the-Lake, a colonial town full of cute little shops which was nice if a bit fake – great gelato though!

We hopped back on the bus for a final stop at a local vineyard before making our way back to Toronto at 5pm. All in all this was a nice little day trip – it not at all what I was expecting!

HOW TO DO IT:

There are lots of day trips from Toronto, and they all looked quite similar (can you imagine all of them stop at a floral clock?). I chose Queen Tours through Tripadvisor, which cost $75 per person. It was easy to book and the guide was good, so it was a good option.

What a weird and wonderful place!