Teemu

Hi everyone!<BR><BR>Me and my wife will be staying at London, Ontario for a week at August. We are thinking about to make a one day trip to Niagara Falls and Buffalo. <BR><BR>I was wondering what kind of traffic jams there are on the route? We will be doing that trip on Monday 26th of August. We are going to rent a car from London, so should there be any problems when crossing the Border?<BR><BR>One more final question, we are from Europe,so the driving culture in Canada and US is quite unknown to us. Could you tell us some good pointers that should be keep in mind when driving in North America?<BR><BR>Thanx a lot everyone, really seing forward to get to Canada and USA!

Mark

It will be a long day, but it is an easy drive from London to Niagara Falls/Buffalo. Your quickest route is Highway 401 from London to Woodstock (1 hour). At Woodstock, you will connect to Highway 403. 75 km (45 minutes) later the 403 connects to the Queen Elizebeth Way (QEW) around Burlington. At this point, it is 45 minutes to either Niagara Falls or Toronto.<BR><BR>It is all divided highway, maximum 100 km/h. Most cars will be travelling 120-130 km/h. If you are not comfortable with speed, there are single lane roads with maximums of 60-80 km/h, which will add an hour to your driving time in each direction.<BR><BR>Buffalo is about 1/2 hour from Niagara Falls travelling on either the Canadian or U.S. side of the border. There are 3 bridge choices and crossing times vary, as the bridges can be congested with truck traffic. Crossing times are available at the Customs website: www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca <BR><BR>Traffic on the highways are only a problem when there is an accident or construction. There is a lot construction west of London going towards Sarnia, but I am not aware of any on the trip to Niagara Falls.<BR><BR>Is there someone or something specific that you are visiting in Buffalo? The city is not very scenic. <BR><BR>There should be no problem crossing the border with a rental car, beyond U.S. immigration considerations.<BR><BR>The Canadian side of Niagara Falls is more tourist friendly and attractive, but one can walk across the bridge to get the American perspective.<BR><BR>Another day trip consideration should be Toronto which is 2.5 hours up Highway 401 from London. Or a two hour train ride from downton London to Union Station in downtown Toronto. Many Toronto sites are within walking distance of Union Station or a short subway ride.<BR><BR>Other short trips from London are St. Thomas and Port Stanley (on Lake Erie) to the south and Grand Bend and Goderich (on Lake Huron) to the northwest.<BR><BR>Feel free to email any additonal questions.

Gil

If you aren't in a terrible hurry, you could take the scenic route. From London, head south, Hwy 4, Wellington (I think it runs north-south) or Highbury all lead down to St. Thomas. Hwy 4 leads further south to Lake Erie as the previous post had mentioned. Once you get to St. Thomas, just follow Hwy 3 EAST along the shores of Lake Erie until you get to Fort Erie/Buffalo. To get to the Falls, head up the QEW to Hwy 420, or again, follow the scenic Niagara Parkway along the river right up to the Falls.<BR><BR>Hope this helps, enjoy your trip!

Teemu

Mark & Gil, thank you for exellent tips! I really appreciate it! <BR><BR>Mark, there is not anything specific for us in Buffalo, we thought that it would be nice to pop into some interesting place in the States on the same trip to Falls. Do you have any ideas where should we visit instead of Buffalo? I don´t know that area, so it would be great to hear some good tips on that one!<BR><BR>And about Toronto, we will be staying there one day and night and I´m really looking forward to visiting that City! <BR><BR>Thanx,<BR><BR>Teemu

canuck

Hi Teemu...I am from London so if you have any questions about the city..feel free to post. I have to agree with Mark about Buffalo..I think you could have a beautiful day trip to Niagara Falls and Niagara on the Lake and not have to put up with border crossings etc. Can't think of any good reason to shuffle off to Buffalo!!

kodi

IF you only have one day to go from London to Niagara Falls, then I would get there the fastest way , as Mark suggested, HIghway 401,403 and QEW and enjoy as amuch time as possible at Niagara Falls. I have to agree that there is no good reason to cross over to Buffalo. Enjoy Niagara and then if you have time, drive down to Niagara on The Lake. IT's a pretty little town. <BR>If you are set on going over to the States , you could cross at Queenston and have dinner in Lewiston. It's a small , but cute little town ...and you could eat at Apple Granny's. Not fancy, but good food.<BR>

Teemu

Hi Canuck!<BR><BR>It would be really cool to hear some good tips about London from one that lives there! What would be the good places to visit in the City? Me and my wife are interested in different cultural and or Historical events and on the other hand good bars/ restaurants are also close to our heart.<BR> <BR>We are staying in the middle of the downtown. We have decided to rent a car for 2 or 3 days. One day trip is for the Falls, as you know. Second day trip we are thinking to do for a national park quite near to London. Do you have any good ideas where to go with a car near London. <BR>

canuck

Hi Teemu..well Stratford is a wonderful town and only 45 min from London. (On your way, you could stop for a quick visit in the village of St. Mary's)You may be able to get tickets for a performance. My brother was here visiting from N.Y. a month ago and they were able to get tickets to the Scarlet Pimpernel just a few days before a Wed. matinee. They really enjoyed it and had lunch at the Church annex. Said it was pricy but good. You can buy sandwiches and have a picnic in the park there too.<BR>You can check out Stratford Festival website at www.stratford-festival.on.ca<BR>Also depending on when you're coming to London, there's some fun things happening the next few weeks. This weekend ( 16-18) there's a big Ferragosto Italian Festival at the Covent Garden Market downtown. Also weekend of Aug. 22-25 is the Taste of London held in Victoria Park downtown. Dozens of restaurants set up in the park and offer a couple of "sampler" dishes..you can eat your way through all sorts of ethnic foods. St. Jacobs is another nice day trip from London. We just did it a few weeks ago. We went early with a cooler to the Waterloo Market and then spent the day wandering the streets of St. Jacobs. It's a busy, but quaint town with lots of Mennonite flavour. St. Jacobs is about an hour from London. In London there are some great restaurants. If you're staying downtown you can walk to many. On King St. (across from the Market) there's La Casa - a very nice Italian restaurant for dinner or lunch. Or just a few doors down, try Home restaurant. Although I haven't been there, there is Naked Oyster a bar and restaurant that some have said was good. There's a nightclub called Monopoly's ... again not sure of your age and I haven't been there but it's very crowded on the weekends. A stroll down Richmond Row is fun - lots of shops, restaurants etc. Some restaurants on Richmond Row that are my favourite would be Garlics, Village Cafe and Knickerbockers...check out London's website for more events...it's www.londontourism.ca<BR>Welcome to our city!