Every second, almost three quarters of a million gallons of water explode over the knife-edge NIAGARA FALLS , right on the border with Canada some twenty miles north of Buffalo on I-190. This awesome spectacle is made even more so by the variety of methods laid on to help you get closer to it: boats, catwalks, observation towers and helicopters all push as near to the curtain of gushing water as they dare. At night the falls are lit up, and the colored waters tumble dramatically into blackness, while in winter the whole scene changes as the falls freeze to form gigantic razor-tipped icicles.

Many visitors will, however, find the whole experience a bit too gimmicky; no commercial opening has been left unexploited (Oscar Wilde quipped that he would have been more impressed if the falls ran upwards; at least no one's tried that yet) and now corporate big-hitters like the Hard Rock Café have joined in the action, pushing the place closer to an aquatic Vegas (there's already a casino on the Canadian side). Don't expect too much; neither the small city of Niagara Falls , a smelly, shabby industrial eyesore despite recent efforts to spruce it up, nor the more developed tinsel town of Niagara, Canada , is a place to savor in any way. Once you've seen the falls, from as many different angles as you can manage, there's no point in sticking around, and you'll have a better time heading on to Buffalo (or Rochester, or anywhere) rather than trying to rustle up some fun here. However, one of the biggest factory outlet malls in the country is just north of the city, and seems to be almost as big a draw as the falls these days.

More about Niagara Falls:

The Falls

Niagara Falls

• Niagara Falls
• The Falls
• Arrival and information
• Maniacs and miracles
• Eating and drinking

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