While most people are trying to get a sneak peak of Black Friday deals or making last-minute preparations to avoid Thanksgiving disasters, travel nerds like me look 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 outright surprises, one Northeast city falls under the latter.
This side of the States is teeming with incredible cities dotting the map, but this one is rarely discussed as a top-tier getaway unless it’s football season.
One reason being you may want to avoid winters here as it’s known for unbearable weather, but hey, there’s 3 others seasons to enjoy all the surprising delights of Buffalo in 2025.
New York’s Biggest Surprise
What do you know about Buffalo?
If you’re like me, if you’ve heard anything at all, it’s that it’s drab, cold, and the Bills are forever cursed after 4 consecutive Super Bowl losses in the 90’s.
Other than that, it’s somewhat of a question mark for most travelers. Heck, even nearby Niagara Falls has its own airport to bypass stepping foot in 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 eyeballs never seem to lose sight of our southern border, one could argue Buffalo is America’s most underrated ‘border city’. Sorry, El Paso.
Hugging Canada’s iconic city of Toronto and under half an hour from world-famous Niagara Falls, Buffalo seems to behold prime real estate, so why the negative reputation?
It could be a lot of things, but it’s mainly that it’s simply overshadowed by Toronto, Niagara Falls, and since it’s a New York zip code, it’s way off the radar for those magnetized to Manhattan.
But here’s the thing – locals love their city. Not to make this a sports article by any means, but here’s an example:
Now retired NFL Quarterback, and former Buffalo Bill, Ryan Fitzpatrick, is what’s known as a career journeyman, playing for 9 teams over 17 years.
When asked his favorite city to play for his answer was simple, but spoke volumes. He said, “It’s Buffalo. That’s why, because it’s Buffalo.”
Welcoming people, gorgeous architecture, surprisingly cool neighborhoods, great food, intriguing museums – what’s not to love besides the sub-zero wind chills?
New York’s Other Cultural City
Despite being overlooked, one reason Buffalo’s proud residents love their city is there’s something fun and unique going on 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 50th Juneteenth Festival, one of America’s oldest and largest festivals.
Here, you’ll get a glimpse into Buffalo’s fascinating history and sample the culture through a surprising array of diverse cuisine, such as Jamaican, and even Egyptian.
Another awesome place to visit is reopening its doors at the turn of the new year. Don’t skip out on the Historic Colored Musicians Club & Jazz Museum, the longest running Black-owned music venue in America.
Beyond events and top-rated museums like Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the city is great to explore 3 seasons out of the year before it’s blanketed in snow.
Lake Erie’s waterfront is a great hangout spot to get a feel for the city, but one place that can’t be missed is the Westside Bazaar, a buzzing market and groundbreaking concept where all walks of life no matter of status have equal opportunities to showcase their products or services.
Great Places To Stay & Eat
You might be too chicken to brave Buffalo’s winters, but that doesn’t mean you can’t chow down on some bird in the birthplace of Buffalo wings.
Legend has it Anchor Bar is the go-to spot to try the world’s first Buffalo wings, but the city’s food scene goes well beyond messy bar food.
Food trucks are commonplace, and there’s 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 coming to the action-packed Cobblestone District.
Better yet, there’s some great places to rest your head at night, but perhaps no more than the historic century-old Statler.
But if you’d like something recently revamped, check out The Richardson set in a former State Asylum, which that fact alone sounds like it will soon be added to Buffalo’s ghost tours.
See? There’s always something to do.
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