So you think you know Buffalo? Think again.

We've seen it and heard it countless times. After a day spent showing a visitor around town, they'll stop and say, “I had no idea.” This expression of surprise has happened so often we've given it a name: the “Who Knew?” effect. As in, “Who knew Buffalo was such a beautiful city?” or “Who knew there was so much to do here?” It’s one of the joys of showing off our city.

The new visitbuffaloniagara.com is designed to give you the insider’s perspective on our surprising city -- Buffalo, New York. You’ll find complete visitor information and travel planning resources for Buffalo and Niagara Falls, as well as everything you need to plan a great getaway, including information on Buffalo attractions, Buffalo hotels, Buffalo shopping, Buffalo events, and Buffalo dining. Come see what lies at the other end of Niagara’s rainbow.

LOCALS TALK: The Insider’s Guide to Buffalo

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IN THE NEWS

The New York Times has picked its 44 Places To Go in 2009 and Buffalo's on the list, along with the likes of Washington, D.C., Berlin, Vienna and Copenhagen. According to The Times, the 44 destinations feature "this year's most compelling destinations.awash in sublime landscapes, cutting-edge art and architecture, gala music festivals and stylish new resorts." We're thrilled to be a part of this impressive company and suggest you visit nytimes.com to see what The Times has to say about our fair city. more info>

Yet another major media outlet is noticing the exciting things going on in and around the City of Good Neighbors. Buffalo’s new Burchfield Penney Art Center, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Darwin Martin House and the newly restored Erie Canal Harbor are featured in a New York Magazine article highlighting “seven cheap, exciting, nearby spring trips.” Entitled “The Under-400-Mile Escape,” the article goes on to say that Buffalo “is in the midst of a renaissance.” You can find the article here.

BUFFALO: A 2009 DISTINCTIVE DESTINATION
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has named Buffalo one its 2009 Dozen Distinctive Destinations, citing the city's "staggering range of cultural resources as well as some of the country's most captivating architecture" as the rationale for Buffalo's inclusion on this very prestigious list. Since 2000, the Trust has annually selected communities across the United States that offer cultural and recreational experiences different from the typical vacation destination. In the Trust's estimation, Buffalo convincingly meets this standard. The complete announcement can be found here. A downloadable PDF of a brochure highlighting a Dozen Distinctive Buffalo Sites and a Dozen Distinctive Buffalo Experiences is here.

WRIGHT HERE, WRIGHT NOW

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Darwin Martin House Complex truly came into its own as a tourist destination with the opening of architect Toshiko Mori’s brilliant Greatbatch Pavilion on March 18th. This 8,000 square foot interpretive center will provide visitors to Wright’s Prairie Style masterpiece with museum quality exhibits, interactive touch screens, and a state-of-the-art orientation film that artfully and eloquently tell the story of Buffalo businessman Darwin D. Martin and the young man from Chicago who would go on to become the greatest architect of the 20th Century. For more information on tours, click here http://www.darwinmartinhouse.org/