[Kitsa]

"Maid of the Mist", supposedly named after a native woman who committed suicide by paddling over the falls in a canoe (either as a sacrifice or deliberately, I've heard both), is a fleet of boats. You pay about $16 CDN and are issued a blue plastic poncho. You get on the boat...each holds about 100 people...and they take you as close to the base of the falls as you can safely get. It looks much bigger from the water and it's a pretty neat experience. When you're really close, you can't even open your eyes because the water is pounding you so hard.

The "Journey Behind the Falls" is a thing where you take an elevator to the base of the big falls, the Horseshoe Falls, and basically stand as near as you can without being killed on this little water-blasted platform. There is also a tunnel you can go through to look out of two openings, to see the waterfall from behind. You can't really see anything, it's just a wall of solid white water.

There's a third "experience", called Cave of the Winds. It's on the American side, and, as the American side of the falls is mainly shit, I've never gone on that tour. It looks like a lot of slippery stairs are involved and generally that's not the greatest formula for me.