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While most people are trying to get a sneak peek at Black Friday deals or making last-minute preparations to avoid Thanksgiving disaster, travel nerds like me are looking forward to the so-called “experts” listing the next big “it” destinations.
The Points Guy just released their 2025 list of ‘The 29 best places to travel‘ and there are some real humdingers!
Ranging from trendy islands, places you’ve never heard of, and some downright surprises, one city in the Northeast falls among the latter.
This side of the United States is teeming with incredible cities that dot the map, but this one is rarely discussed as a top destination unless it’s football season.
One reason for this is that you may want to avoid winters here as it is known for its unbearable weather, but hey, there are 3 other seasons where you can enjoy all the surprising delights of Buffalo by 2025.
New York’s biggest surprise
What do you know about Buffalo?
If you’ve heard anything like me, it’s that it’s boring and cold, and that the Bills are forever cursed after four straight Super Bowl losses in the 1990s.
Furthermore, it is a bit of a question mark for most travelers. Heck, even nearby Niagara Falls has its own airport where you can bypass Buffalo if you want.
But what if we’ve had the wrong interpretations all along? You know what they say: “Don’t judge a book by its cover”…
Buffalo is neighbors with some pretty cool places. While eyes never seem to lose sight of our southern border, you could argue that Buffalo is America’s most underrated “border town.” Sorry, El Paso.
Buffalo is close to Canada’s iconic city of Toronto and less than half an hour from the world-famous Niagara Falls. It appears to be eyeing prime real estate, so why this negative reputation?
It could be anything, but it’s mainly because it’s simply overshadowed by Toronto and Niagara Falls, and because it’s a New York zip code, it’s well off the radar for those magnetized by Manhattan.
But the thing is: the locals love their city. I definitely don’t want to turn this into a sports article, but here’s an example:
Now retired NFL Quarterback and former Buffalo Bill, Ryan Fitzpatrick, is known as a career journeyman, playing for nine teams over 17 years.
When asked his favorite city playing for his answer was simple, but spoke volumes. He said, ‘It’s Buffalo. That’s why, because it’s Buffalo.”
Welcoming people, beautiful architecture, surprisingly cool neighborhoods, tasty food, intriguing museums – what else is there to love besides the chills?
That of New York Other Cultural city
Despite being overlooked, one of the reasons why the proud residents of Buffalo love their city is because there is something fun and unique happening all the time.
As highlighted by The Points Guy, one of the most anticipated events of 2025 (other than the Bills being Super Bowl contenders) is the Festival of June 50one of America’s oldest and largest festivals.
Here you will get a glimpse into Buffalo’s fascinating history and taste the culture through a surprising range of diverse dishes, such as Jamaican and even Egyptian.
Another great place to visit is when it reopens its doors at the turn of the year. Save the Historical club for colored musicians and jazz museumthe longest running Black music venue in America.
In addition to events and top museums such as Albright-Knox Art Gallerythe city is great to explore 3 seasons a year before it is covered in snow.
The Lake Erie waterfront is a great meeting place to get a feel for the city, but one place not to be missed is the Westside Bazaara vibrant market and a groundbreaking concept where all levels of society, regardless of their status, have equal opportunities to draw attention to their products or services.
Great places to stay and eat
Maybe you too chicken to brave the Buffalo winters, but that doesn’t mean you can’t hunt some bird in the winter birthplace of Buffalo Wings.
According to legend Anchor beam is the place to try the world’s first Buffalo Wings, but the city’s food scene goes far beyond messy bar food.
Food trucks are commonplace and there is a thriving brewery scene. Keep an eye out for local staples Beef on Weck where it’s equivalent to Philly’s cheesesteak battle – everyone has their own secret spot.
Buffalo will soon be much easier to navigate with the opening of a new light rail station to the action-packed Cobblestone District.
Better yet, there are some great places to rest your head at night, but perhaps none more so than the historic, centuries-old Statler.
But if you want something that has been recently updated, check it out The Richardson set in a former state asylum, and that fact alone sounds like it will be added soon Buffalo’s Ghost Tours.
To see? There is always something to do.
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This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com
The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author, and not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included in the post.
