Niagara Falls – which side is better? Canadian Falls vs American Falls?

If you were wondering which side (American or Canadian) is better to look at the world-famous Niagara Falls, check out my comparison!

As I was able to check out the Niagara Falls from both the Canadian Side as well the American Side, I want to share with you my impressions of both sides and let you know which side I think you should go to, when planning a trip to the Niagara Falls.

Before we look at the comparison of both sides, let’s start with some general background information about the Niagara Falls first!

General Information about the Niagara Falls

Most importantly – where are the Niagara Falls located? The probably most famous waterfalls lie on the international border between Canada and the United States.

To be more precisely they lie between the Canadian province of Ontario and the American state of New York.

The well-known Niagara Falls are a group of three waterfalls consisting of the Horseshoe Falls (also known as the Canadian Falls) and the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls, which both lie entirely on the United States side.

All three waterfalls together make the world’s biggest waterfalls by flow rate with an average of 110,000 m3 of water falling over the crest line every minute. However with 51 meter height they are fairly small compared to other famous waterfalls in the world.

Canadian Side vs American Side

I visited the Niagara Falls during my road trip around Canada as a day trip – so I arrived with a rental car.

To be completely honest, I did not do any previous research about the Niagara Falls before visiting, and in my innocent mind I thought that the waterfalls were in some sort of National Park surrounded by trees and nature.

Boy, was I wrong!

I was shocked when we arrived, because I thought we went to Disney Land by accident!

The area around the Niagara Falls on the Canadian side is like an amusement park and probably the most touristy area I have ever seen!

However I do believe that the Canadian Side is a lot more impressive than the American side – simply because you have a better view over the famous Horseshoe Falls!

Both countries offer boat tours to get closer to all three waterfalls and it does not matter which boat tour you take, because they all follow the same route.

You can also watch the boats for a while and see if you figure out a preference – it’s easy to see which boats belong to which countries, as all people on the boat will wear the same plastic raincoats. (When I visited, the American side had blue raincoats & the Canadian side had red raincoats).

So which side should you visit?

So if you are still wondering which side is better to visit, I’d say visit from the Canadian side.

I preferred the Canadian side over the American side because I felt like it is more impressive.

However if you have the time and don’t mind paying a little extra, you can always cross the border over the Rainbow Bridge and check out the falls from the American side.

Even the view from the Rainbow Bridge itself is really impressive and such a fun experience to stand right on top of the border of two countries!

There is a border security control and you will need to buy a visa, but this is a fairly easy process.

For more information about crossing the border click here.