Keith M wrote:

Niagara Falls on the whole is overly commercialized, too touristy, etc
Cheap plastic souvenir / t-shirt shops everyplace. Big neon-signs
ala Las Vegas come to mind. If we went again, we would definitely
stay at Niagara-on-the-Lake, and visit Niagara Falls for one day,
rather than the other way around.

On the whole, it is a tourist location, and tourist flock to that sort of thing. There lots of
other attraction like the butterfly conservatory, greenhouses, school of horticulture. The "tourist
traps" are pretty well limited to three or four streets.

Several people suggested we spend more time at Niagara-on-the-lake
before we went, and I really should have listened!
Niagara-on-the-lake is very quaint, nice cafes, shops, etc. The
vineyards are fun to visit as well. It's literally 20 mins? from
Niagara falls.

NOTL is nice, but it tends to be a little more expensive. There are great plays at the Shaw Festival
and a number of very nice restaurants restaurants. And the drive there from Niagara Falls is very
nice.