What To Do In Buffalo, NY
Schyler and I were itching to take a road trip to a new city we hadn’t been to yet so we decided to check out Buffalo! One of the amazing things about living in Pittsburgh is that there are so many cities we can easily road trip to. Buffalo is only about 3 1/2 hours from Pittsburgh so it was perfect or a quick day and half trip. We also decided to road trip 30 min outside of Pittsburgh to see Niagra Falls which definitely made it a memorable trip. In this blog post, I’m sharing everything we managed to squeeze into our quick trip!
What To Do
Roadtrip to Niagra Falls
Schyler and I have always wanted to see Niagra Falls (it was one of the items on our bucket list actually!) so it was so cool getting to see it together! The falls were HUGE and absolutely stunning. The shades of blue in the water looked so beautiful! We never realized you could see the city of Toronto on the Canada side of the falls so that was super cool too. There are several tourist attractions in the Niagra Falls State Park that you have to pay for like the Maiden of the Mistboat tour, but just walking around and seeing the falls is free! Be warned, you will be misted with water from the falls lol.
Tip: If you are driving, the parking lots around the visitor center are about $20 for the day. We ended up paying to park on the street, $10 for 2 hours so we saved a little there! But we were also on a time crunch so we came and went fairly quickly. If you plan on spending the day there than the parking lot fees area probably worth it!
Greetings From Buffalo Mural
I though this mural was so cute when I saw it while doing Buffalo research, so it was definitely at the top of my list for this trip! The Greeting From Buffalo Mural (painted by Casey Milbrand to mimic a historic Buffalo postcard) is super colorful and fun and located in a parking lot making it pretty easy to capture photos there. There was a van kind parked in the way when we arrived but we still managed to capture some great shots! We paid for street parking here (about $3 for a few hours) and walked around downtown from here.
Address: 461 Ellicott St, Buffalo, NY 14203
Wildflowers for Buffalo Mural
The Wildlowers for Buffalo Mural by Louise Jones is located in downtown is one of the most stunning murals I’ve ever seen. I love that the flowers look larger than life and almost alive, like they’re going to pop off the wall! It covers the entire side of the building it’s on. It reminds me of Alice In Wonderland! Definitely worth stopping by to admire/capture.
Tip: We had to walk around the whole building until we found the right side because Google maps was off lol! The correct side is on the corner of Washington and Broadway.
Address: 465 Washington St, Buffalo, NY 14203
Electric Avenue Mural
I thought this mural was so cute when I saw it on Pinterest! I couldn’t find the address for it while I was doing my research and decided to give up trying to find it. Then while we were walking around trying to find the Wildflowers for Buffalo mural we found it! It’s on the side of a building with not a ton of foot traffic making it super easy for us to capture some photos! The address below should put you in the right spot 😀
Address: 51 E Mohawk St, Buffalo, New York, 14203
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House
When I was in design school, we learned all about the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s work. When I found out one of the residential homes he designed was in Buffalo, I immediately added it to our itinerary! It’s now a historic landmark and you can pay to tour the inside of the house. We opted just to see it from the exterior since we were on a time crunch. I would have loved to see it but I’m glad I got to see the outside at least! The grounds looked beautiful with the June flowers blooming. It’s located right next to the zoo so you can easily swing by both!
Address: 125 Jewett Pkwy, Buffalo, NY 14214
Buffalo City Hall
The stunning Buffalo City Hall in downtown is definitely worth seeing! The art deco building was designed by the architect John J. Wade and built in 1932. I loved the gorgeous fountain in front of the building with the amazing statues and flowers. The column of the fountain set in front of the tallest point of the building makes for an amazing focal point! The building and fountain look like something straight out of Europe. This would be an amazing spot to enjoy lunch, coffee, and a good book!
Address: 65 Niagara Square, Buffalo, NY 14202
Shea’s Buffalo Theatre
I love old theaters, especially old theater signs, and Shea’s theatre did not disappoint! I loved the architectural details in the sign and building. A lot of the times old theatre’s like this fall to the wayside but I was happy to see this one is still up and running! It’s definitely an architectural treasure for the city. I wanted to capture some cool shots here but we couldn’t get the angles right… would have made for some amazing retro vibes though!
Address: 650 Main St, Buffalo, NY 14202
Buffalo State Insane Asylum
The Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane built in 1880, was abandoned in the the 70’s when medicine started to change and patients moved to smaller, newer facilities. The four story building with it’s curved walls and 185 foot towers is one of the most stunning works of architecture I’ve seen! A few of buildings on the campus were converted into a luxury hotel called Hotel Henry but the rest remain as they were when it was an abandoned asylum. You can actually tour these buildings and of course stay at the hotel but unfortunately both were closed to covid when we visited. There are numerous stories of patient torture during their stay at the asylum and because of this, the building is said to have paranormal activity. It would have been cool to tour but I’m glad we got to see the outside at least!
Address: 444 Forest Ave, Buffalo, NY 14213
Gallagher Beach
We ended out trip with a little relaxing in the sun at Gallagher Beach in the Buffalo Harbor State Park, just minutes from downtown! This rocky beach has a little pebbly beach area you can walk as well as a lawn with lounge chairs. You can see a few of the abandoned factory/industrial buildings in the area from the water that some people explore in! We loved admiring the wind surfers and boats from the lounge chairs. It was very peaceful!
Where To Eat
Remedy House
If you guys are new here, you should know I love coffee shops, especially ones with cute interiors! I loved that Remedy House is located in an old house with lots of outdoor seating. We grabbed some vanilla lattes quickly before heading out to explore Elmwood Village. I loved their plant wall and be sure to check out their bathroom for some amazing wallpaper ;P
Address: 429 Rhode Island St, Buffalo, NY 14213
Big Mood
This vegan spot located in Elmwood Village, has the most amazing boho decor/vibes. They specialize in vegan burgers but offer lots of other delicious vegan options like mac and cheese, salads, pies, milkshakes and more! We both had their Classic burger with Impossible patties and they were delish. Big Mood also has an amazing outdoor patio area making it the perfect spot to enjoy some food outside with friends and family! You guys know I love everything boho so I loved this spot and definitely recommend it.
Address: 423 Elmwood Ave Suite 100, Buffalo, NY 14222
More travel blog posts to check out!
Instagrammable Places In New York City
The Best Instagram Spots in Nashville, TN
I hope you guys enjoyed my Bufffalo travel blog post! For more US travel and Europe travel too, check out the tabs at the top of the menu bar for a list with more destination locations.
