Why Everyone Ends Up Here

People have been travelling to Niagara for over 200 years — and the reason hasn't really changed. It's just that impressive in person.

The crowds really started after 1825, when the Erie Canal opened, and grew as railways followed. By the late 1800s, visitors were arriving by the trainload. Hotels, souvenir shops and daredevil stunts sprang up around the Falls almost immediately.

Niagara also became famous as a honeymoon spot. Jerome Bonaparte, younger brother of Napoleon, is said to have brought his new wife here in the early 1800s. The trend caught on, and couples have been coming ever since.

But success nearly wrecked the place. Private businesses blocked the views, charged admission to reach the water, and pestered visitors until the public demanded change. Queen Victoria Park opened in 1888 to protect free public access — making Niagara one of the first places in the world to push back against the commercialization of a natural landmark.

Today, millions of people visit every year. The hotels are taller, the lights are brighter and the lineups are longer — but people still come for exactly the same reason they always did. You can't replicate this on a screen.