Things to Do in Niagara Falls & Around

The Archdiocesan Museum of Cardinal Karol Wojtyla was originally founded in 1905, although not opened to the public until 1994. It was created to commemorate and advise the public of the artistic legacy of the Krakow bishopric. The buildings at 19 and 21 Kanonicza street that house the museum date to the late 14th century and today contains more than 600 works of art displayed in 16 rooms. The late Pope John Paul II, formerly known as Karol Wojtyla, resided there once as a young priest and again when he was the Archbishop of Krakow. The museum was named after him in 2005 and visitors are able to see the room where he lived from 1958 to 1967, as well as many of his personal effects, including his skis.

Museum displays showcase a variety of sacral art from the 13th to 18th centuries, including religious artifacts, sculptures and paintings. There is also a treasury of gifts presented to Archbishop from foreign heads-of-state and a set of furniture from 1905. Temporary exhibitions occasionally feature the works of contemporary artists.

A Southern, Greek Revival mansion once owned by General Robert E. Lee of the Confederate Army, the Arlington House is much more than just a beautiful house. Steeped in history and surrounded by hardwood forest, the 1,100 acre plantation was the general’s residence before the war started. It’s now a standing piece of history and a tribute to his military service before, during, and after the war. 

Long before it was General Lee’s home, the house claimed its place in US history as the home of George Washington Parke Custis — Martha Washington’s grandson. G.W.P. Custis built one of the nation’s first museums of historic American artifacts, largely from mementos of his childhood at Mount Vernon.

The 19th century mansion was never intended to be the site of one of the country’s most significant military cemeteries. Bodies were buried here during the Civil War, in part to ensure General Lee was unable to return home after the war ended. What began then has since grown into the Arlington National Cemetery. The estate overlooks the cemetery and the Potomac River, allowing for beautiful views of Washington DC.

Arlington National Cemetery contains graves of soldiers from every war the United States has fought since the American Revolution. It is a resting place for such notable American leaders as President John F. Kennedy, jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes, and civil rights activist Medgar Evers. With some 400,000 graves, famous and otherwise, the 624-acre (252-hectare) site has become a must-see historical site for any trip to Washington DC.

Arlington National Cemetery is free to visit, and travelers should start at the Welcome Center, where maps, exhibits, and information services can be found. Notable sites within the cemetery include the President John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame; the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier; Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial; and the Memorial Amphitheater. Choose a hop-on hop-off tour that stops at the cemetery, a walking tour of the grounds, or a tour that combines a visit to the cemetery with stops at National Mall monuments, war memorials, Mount Vernon, or other DC landmarks.

To reach Arlington National Cemetery via the Metro from Washington DC, get off at the Arlington National Cemetery Station on the Blue Line. By car, it’s off of Memorial Avenue, across the Potomac from downtown DC.

Arlington National Cemetery can be visited 365 days a year. The site is open to the public from 8am to 5pm in October through March and until 7pm in April through September.  It’s less crowded in winter, but be prepared for cold temperatures.

The Changing of the Guard ceremony outside the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a must-see when visiting Arlington National Cemetery. From October 1 to March 31, it takes place every hour on the hour, and from April 1 to September 30, it occurs every half hour. The start of the ceremony is announced by a relief commander, and visitors are expected to stand and stay silent throughout the ceremony.

The Arecibo Observatory has earned a reputation as the largest and most sensitive radio telescope in the world. It features the William E. Gordon telescope as well as a visitor and public outreach center and scientific research community. As more than 1,000 feet in size, it is the world’s biggest single aperture telescope. It is known also as the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC) and is run largely by the National Science Foundation. It was constructed in the mid-1960s in the space left in the ground from a karst sinkhole. 

With three radar transmitters, it has the largest electromagnetic-wave-gathering capacity in the world, within a forty-degree cone of visibility. Many breakthroughs and discoveries have been found by scientists from around the world in the facilities here, including the rotation rate of Mercury and evidence that neuron stars exist. The observatory was listed on the American National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

Perched on a 500-meter high plateau with a backdrop of hillside vineyards, ancient olive groves and the distant peak of Mt Ida, it’s easy to see why the Arkadi Monastery draws so many visitors. The unique building, with its blend of Renaissance and Greek style architecture, fairytale turrets and dramatic central bell tower, has the presence of a fortress rather than a church, and behind its attractive façade lies a long and bloody history. 

Built in 1587 on the site of a 13th-century Byzantine church, Arkadi Monastery is most famous for its role during the 1866 rebellion, when around 900 women, children and guerrilla fighters took refuge in the monastery and were held under siege by Turkish troops. Despite holding out for nine days, the monastery eventually fell to the Turks, but today, the monastery is treasured as a National Monument and an important reminder of the fight for Cretan independence.

Located at the bottom of Vítkov Hill in the gritty, 19th-century district of Žižkov, the Army Museum Žižkov (Armádní muzeum Žižkov) is one of four museums tended under the auspices of the Military History Institute Prague. Housed in an austere gray building constructed in the 1920s near the dramatic National Liberation Monument — itself completed in 1938 and featuring the biggest equestrian statue in the world — the exhibitions have been transformed several times, according to the political movement holding supremacy in Prague; during WWII the building was occupied by the Gestapo and during the 1950s, many of the displays were reinstalled to reflect Communism ideology.

Today, the museum is divided into three segments from 20th-century Czech history: the events of World War I (1914–18) and the lead up to an independent Czechoslovak Republic; the formation of the Czechoslovak Republic between the world wars; and finally, World War II (1939–45) and the national resistance movement as its heroic members worked to restore the independence of Czechoslovakia from Nazi and Soviet occupation.

A battle-scarred tank guards the entrance to the museum, which is crammed with a wealth of military uniforms, weaponry, platoon banners, medals and models depicting battle scenes. Highlights of the collections include personal artifacts donated by various Czechoslovak presidents and army leaders as well as harrowing images taken in concentrations camps during the Holocaust.

Armenian Street (or Lebuh Armenian) is a narrow street located within the Unesco World Heritage Site and Penang capital, George Town. Surrounded by Chinese temples and clan houses, the street itself is lined with old shophouses, art galleries, cafes, and some of the most fascinating street art on the island.

A stroll along Armenian Street reveals countless shops selling everything from furniture and antiques to crafts and other souvenirs. There’s also a choice of quaint little cafes in which to stop for a coffee and take a break from the daytime heat. In addition, you’ll see an abundance of street art adorning the buildings here, with the most famous, Kids on Bicycle by Ernest Zacharevic, featuring a bike affixed to the wall with two children riding it. This mural attracts huge attention from tourists taking turns to have their photograph taken with it.

If you’re visiting Armenian Street on a Saturday evening, you’ll stumble across the Armenian Street Fair, where you’ll find stalls selling local arts and crafts as well as various music and dance performances.

Armenian Street is part of the itinerary on a Penang George Town heritage tour, which also includes a visit to the impressive Kapitan Keling Mosque nearby, a trip to Pinang Peranakan Mansion, plus a tour around Little India.

Arduaine Garden The Arduaine Garden is a coastal garden located on the south slope of the Arduaine Peninsula on the west coast of Scotland. Covering 20 acres, it was founded in 1898 and enjoys the warming effect of theNorth Atlantic Drift. As a result, it is home to a wide variety of flora, including rhododendrons, azaleas, magnolias, Blue Tibetan poppies, giant Himalayan lilies, palms and tree ferns. Visitors may also spot wildlife such as kestrels, seals, badgers and porpoises.

Two waymarked paths lead visitors around the garden. The shorter, green path leads past several smaller pounds before heading to the larger Heron Pond. The longer, blue path follows the length of the garden before emerging to the Owls’ Walk, which leads to a great viewpoint. It then continues around the top of the garden and back down to the Inside Garden. A stroll around both paths will take around an hour.

Singapore’s very own army museum relates the history of the army and the contributions of National Service men through a collection of over 500 sets of artifacts, which consist of medals, personal memos and a trainee bunk, for example.

The Army Museum of Singapore gives visitors the chance to catch a glimpse of Singapore’s pre-independence turbulent days in a highly sensory way. Visitors intrigued by the daily life of a soldier can truly experience what it feels and smells like while watching the 30-minute interactive video “A Day in the Life” in a special effects theater, which depicts a modern army during a battle. Many other interactive activities take place throughout the museum, like the mini obstacles course called Adventure Land which showcases how soldiers are trained for combat fitness. Young soldiers will enjoy both the “Army Operations” activity, in which they will attempt to decipher the codename of army operations, and the crowd-pleaser “Robot World”, where they will get a chance to control their own mechanical agent. The key exhibition and, incidentally, one of the most poignant, is undoubtedly the “Making of a Soldier”, which portrays the life of a National service marine back in the 1970s post-British occupation, including an original military bunk bed from the Pulau Tekong training camp and several pieces of military hardware.

Housed in the Old Building of Stirling Castle, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regimental Museum offers a fascinating insight into one of Scotland’s most important military regiments. Trace the history of the 91st Argyllshire Highlanders and the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders, who merged in 1881 to become the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and have since battled both on home soil and overseas.

An impressive ode to the regiment’s military evolution, achievements and losses, visitors to the museum can follow the personal stories of soldiers from the Boer War to the WWI trenches to some of WWII’s most notorious battles. A sizable collection of artifacts and memorabilia is also on display, including photographs, uniforms and official documents, alongside medals, weapons and ceremonial bagpipes. 

Situated on the picturesque banks of the Arima River at the foothills of the Trinidad’s Northern Range, the town of Arima is the jumping off point for exploring northeastern Trinidad. The name Arima is the native Amerindian word for water. The town itself was founded by Spanish Capuchins in the mid-1700s, but today it’s the only town in the country with an indigenous Amerindian community. To learn more about the Amerindian people and buy native crafts, visit the Santa Rosa First Peoples Centre. You can also visit Cleaver Woods Recreation Park, which has a replica Amerindian thatched hut and displays of native items. From Arima, it is well worth heading just out of town to visit the Asa Wright Nature Centre. The 1,500-acre rainforest wildlife preserve offers naturalist-guided walks, birdwatching tours or you can simply visit the lodge for lunch or high tea.

A Southern, Greek Revival mansion once owned by General Robert E. Lee of the Confederate Army, the Arlington House is much more than just a beautiful house. Steeped in history and surrounded by hardwood forest, the 1,100-acre plantation was the general’s residence before the war started. It’s now a standing piece of history and a tribute to his military service before, during, and after the war.

Long before it was General Lee’s home, the house claimed its place in US history as the home of George Washington Parke Custis—Martha Washington’s grandson. G.W.P. Custis built one of the nation’s first museums of historic American artifacts, largely from mementos of his childhood at Mount Vernon.

The 19th-century mansion was never intended to be the site of one of the country’s most significant military cemeteries. Bodies were buried here during the Civil War, in part to ensure General Lee was unable to return home after the war ended. What began then has since grown into the Arlington National Cemetery. The estate overlooks the cemetery and the Potomac River, allowing for beautiful views of Washington DC.

With coves of golden sand and bright blue water hidden among pine-covered hills and vineyards, Arrábida Natural Park (Parque Natural da Arrábida) in Portugal is a hidden gem for nature lovers. The beaches are the main draw, but the park also attracts hikers and photographers, who come to explore the landscape and enjoy the panoramic views.  

About 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Portugal’s capital city of Lisbon, Arrábida Natural Park stretches along the Atlantic coast from the town of Sesimbra in the west to Setúbal in the east. The landscape is dotted with villages, vineyards, monasteries, and forts, as well as a number of unspoiled beaches. One of the most popular is Portinho da Arrábida, with its couple of beachside restaurants and calm waters ideal for swimming or paddleboarding. 

A little harder to get to—it’s only accessible on foot—is pristine, uncrowded Galapinhos Beach, which means “little Galapagos” in Portuguese. For keen hikers, the town of Pamela is a popular setting out point for walks in the area. Many all-day tours from Lisbon combine a visit to Arrábida beaches with local wine tasting, and some include time on a boat or private yacht. 

Arrábida Natural Park is located south of Lisbon on Portugal’s Atlantic Coast. Given the lack of public transit in the area, access to the park is by car, taxi, or as part of a guided tour with transport provided. There is parking at several of the beaches including Portinho da Arrábida and Figueirinha, and also in the town of Pamela, where several trailheads are located. Some beaches are only accessible by foot or boat, so check before you travel. 

Arrábida Natural Park is open to visitors all year round. For hiking, the best times to visit are spring and fall, as the weather can get very hot in summer, while the beaches draw the most visitors in June, July, and August. 

A sleepy fishing village on the western edge of the park, Sesimbra transforms into a bustling resort in the summer months, welcoming visitors from all across Europe. With beachfront restaurants and cafés, and calm (but cold!) waters suited to both swimming and water sports such as paddleboarding and kayaking, it’s a popular destination, and can be combined with a trip to Lisbon. 

One of Brazil’s most important art museums, the Art Gallery of the State of Sao Paulo (Pinacoteca do Estado) was founded in 1905. Dedicated to 19th- and 20th-century Brazilian art, there are over 8,000 pieces in the Pinacoteca collection, including important works by São Paulo artists Almeida Júnior, Pedro Alexandrino, and Oscar Pereira da Silva. Of particular interest is the section dedicated to iconic Brazilian Modernist art. 

As well as work by Brazilian artists, you’ll see canvases by European artists who were inspired by Brazil and an archive section full of documents relating to art history. In the gardens are 19th-century French sculptures. Based in Parque da Luz, the museum sits in a nice garden area.

Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter dates back to the fourth century and remains the oldest Armenian diaspora on earth. Centered around the St. James Monastery, the quarter is ripe with religious, cultural and historical monuments that make it worthy of a visit.

Travelers can explore the Cathedral of St. James and  the halls of St. Toros Church—two of the oldest structures in the quarter, or wander the grounds of Alex and Marie Manoogian Seminary—a modern school for those studying holy traditions. The Helen and Edward Mardigian Museum of Armenian Art and Culture highlights the artistic contributions of Armenians and the St. Toros Manuscript Library is home to the second-largest collection of Armenian manuscripts in the world.  

Located in Lima’s Plaza de Armas, the Archbishop’s Palace is an extraordinary example of neo-classical architecture. Rising next to the Lima Cathedral, this plot of land has been the Archbishop’s residence since Francisco Pizarro decreed it as such in 1535. The building, however, is relatively new, constructed in 1924 after the previous building, which had stood for years, was in dire need of repair. In addition to the soaring and intricately carved façade, there are spectacular carvings on the cedar balconies that hang above the front door.  On the palace interior, light filtering through stained glass windows falls softly on marble staircases that are lined with duel wooden balconies. With its regal—almost museum-like—quality, it’s hard to imagine that anyone is actually fortunate enough to live in the palace, which is still the home of Lima’s Archbishop and holds offices for the Cardinal of Peru. Guided tours of the palace are available for a deeper insight to the building, and it’s a captivating sight even from the exterior when exploring the Plaza de Armas. 

Located in the apartment where Latvian architect Konstantīns Pēkšēns once lived, Riga’s Art Nouveau Museum opened in April 2009. The building housing the museum was built in 1903 and features ornamental reliefs on the exterior and a spiral staircase and decorative ceiling paintings on the interior. The staircase is considered one of the most impressive in Europe.  It is one of the highlights of Alberta iela, a street well known for its Art Nouveau-style architecture.

The museum’s current exhibition showcases typical furnishings of a Riga apartment in the early 20th century, including an entrance hall, living room, fireplace hall and an almost completely restored Art Nouveau apartment. A digital exhibition is scheduled to debut in 2016.

Famous for its distinctive flavored whiskies and high alcohol content (often bottled at above the minimum 40%), the Ardberg Distillery has been producing whisky since 1815. Despite closing down temporarily in 1981, the distillery reopened in 1997 and has rebuilt its reputation as an innovator in the Scotch whisky scene. Ardberg even hit the headlines in 2011, when it sent a cask of whisky to the International Space Station – an experiment to monitor the effects of zero gravity on whisky maturation.

Today, the Ardberg Distillery is open for guided tours, and visitors can explore the 19th­-century distillery, view the natural water source and sample whiskies in the Chairman’s Study. Also onsite is a holiday cottage, Visitor Centre and the Old Kiln Café.