Three Days in Buffalo

Buffalo rewards visitors who plan by neighborhood rather than by checklist. The city is spread out, but its best sights cluster into a few areas: the waterfront and downtown, the Elmwood and Delaware Park district, and a few outlying sites that need a car. Three days is enough to see the headline experiences, eat well and still have time for a long lunch. This itinerary assumes you have a car or are comfortable with rideshares, and it can be flipped around to suit the weather, since several of the best stops are indoors.Day one: downtown and the waterfront. Start the morning at Canalside, where the Erie Canal once ended, and walk the promenade to get your bearings. Spend a couple of hours at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park, climbing aboard the destroyer, cruiser and submarine. Have lunch at a harbor-side restaurant, then walk or ride to the City Hall observation deck on a weekday for a free view of the city and lake. In the afternoon, take the Electric District food and drink tour for a guided walk through downtown's historic core with tastings that can double as an early dinner. If it is hockey season, finish with a Sabres game at the KeyBank Center, or in warmer months, with a drink on the Canalside lawn.Day two: Wright, art and Elmwood. This is the culture day, and it is best done with a car. Reserve a morning tour at the Darwin D. Martin House, the Prairie-style masterpiece by Frank Lloyd Wright, and allow about two hours with the grounds. Head to Elmwood Village for lunch, or join the Elmwood food and drink tour for a guided taste of the neighborhood. In the afternoon, visit the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, then walk around Hoyt Lake in Delaware Park and stop at the Buffalo History Museum, the surviving building from the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. If you have energy left, add the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site on Delaware Avenue, where the 26th president took the oath in 1901.Day three: wings, a lakeside drive and a choice. Begin with the story of the wing. Join The Wing Ride food tour, or visit the Anchor Bar for a plate where it all began, and compare. Then choose your adventure. Architecture lovers can drive south along Lake Erie to Graycliff, Wright's summer estate above the lake, in the warmer months. Cyclists can take the Outer Harbor bike tour for grain elevators, wetlands and lake views. Beer fans can join a brewery tour. In winter, swap these for the Botanical Gardens, which are warm and green when the weather is not. If you are visiting in fall, a Bills game in Orchard Park can be the centerpiece of the entire weekend.Booking order. Reserve the Martin House tour first, because timed tickets sell out on summer and fall weekends. Next, book any food or bike tours, which run in small groups. If you want a Bills or Sabres game, buy tickets as soon as your dates are firm. Everything else can be arranged more flexibly. Check opening days for museums, because many close one or two days a week, and remember that Graycliff operates seasonally.Adjustments. With children, trade the second afternoon's art museum for the Botanical Gardens or a longer stay at Canalside, and give the Naval Park more time. For a romantic trip, plan dinner in Allentown or Elmwood, and consider a stay at one of the historic hotels. On a budget, mix free sights such as Canalside, the City Hall deck and the Olmsted parks with one or two paid tours. If the weather turns, remember that the art museum, history museum, Martin House and food tours all work in rain or snow. Finally, leave an hour somewhere for a wander, because Buffalo is a city of surprises, and some of the best moments are a mural, a corner tavern or a conversation with a local who wants to tell you why they love the place.Getting around. Downtown and the waterfront can be done on foot, with the light rail along Main Street covering short hops. Elmwood and Delaware Park are a short drive or rideshare from downtown, and Graycliff, Orchard Park and the airport need a car or ride. Parking is easy compared with larger cities, though game days and festivals can fill lots. In winter, allow extra time for travel after snow, and carry layers even for short walks, since lake wind can be sharp.If you have only two days. Combine the first two days: do the waterfront and City Hall deck in the morning of day one, the Martin House in the afternoon, and use day two for Elmwood, the art museum and a wing tasting. Skip the outlying sites such as Graycliff, which are better with a third day. If you have four days. Add a day for Niagara Falls on the American side or Letchworth State Park, or slow down and add the Botanical Gardens, the Roycroft campus in East Aurora and a second food tour. Whatever length you choose, keep dinner reservations loose on the evening of any game or concert, and let the afternoons stay flexible for weather.