Buffalo has big “wait, why is this actually amazing?” energy right now.
We at Travel Off Path love a good comeback story, and this “forgotten” New York city is quietly having one of the coolest in the country. It’s still the place you fly into for Niagara Falls and Bills games, sure—but if that’s all you’re doing here, you’re seriously sleeping on it.
In the last few years, Buffalo has poured money, creativity, and heart into its waterfront, cultural scene, and neighborhoods.
The result? A city that still feels gritty and real, but suddenly has the kind of parks, food halls, and museums you usually associate with much pricier destinations.
Buffalo, New York, USA downtown city skyline.
Wait… Buffalo’s actually cool now?
Let’s start with the basics: Buffalo is weirdly affordable for how much is going on. In our guide to the 7 cheapest destinations to visit in the U.S. this summer, we already shouted it out as a place where your dollars go a long way on hotels, food, and activities.
If you’re more of a fall traveler, Buffalo also made our shortlist of U.S. cities that are perfect for a cheap fall getaway, when Bills mania, foliage, and Oktoberfests collide.
Add in a ton of new investment and you’ve got that perfect Travel Off Path sweet spot: still under the radar, but buzzing with “something’s happening here” energy.
Skyline of Buffalo, New York, in Summertime
Waterfront 2.0: From grain elevators to sunset hangouts
If you haven’t been in a while, the waterfront is where you’ll feel Buffalo’s glow-up most.
Canalside & the Inner Harbor have turned old industrial land into a legit playground with seasonal ice skating, concerts, yoga, and boat rentals, according to Buffalo Waterfront.
Head a bit further and you’re at the Outer Harbor, over 200 acres of green space with bike paths, lake views, and event spaces that feel surprisingly chill for a city waterfront, notes Buffalo Waterfront.
The current star is Wilkeson Pointe, which just reopened after an $11 million overhaul. Expect new trails, rain gardens, volleyball courts, a funky “park golf” course (think: golf meets mini-golf and croquet), plus a waterfront restaurant and beer garden, reports WKBW 7 News Buffalo.
Big picture? The state is mid-way through a massive, multi-hundred-million-dollar push to turn Buffalo’s Lake Erie shoreline into one long, super-accessible playground, with Wilkeson Pointe as one of the flagship projects, according to Buffalo Toronto Public Media.
On the west side, the new Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Park is reshaping more than 100 acres of waterfront.
A striking pedestrian bridge now leaps over the highway and train tracks to reconnect the Lower West Side with the lake—exactly the kind of “fix the old mistakes” infrastructure that makes a city feel more livable for locals and visitors, notes the Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy.
Historic architecture at Main Street in Downtown Buffalo, NY - Old Bank Building and The Electric Tower
Culture glow-up: Art, architecture & global food
Buffalo has always had crazy-good architecture; it just didn’t always know what to do with it. That’s changing fast.
The Buffalo AKG Art Museum (formerly Albright-Knox) reopened in 2023 after a roughly $230 million expansion, adding a new Gundlach Building, a glassy “Common Sky” canopy, and more than 50,000 square feet of gallery and public space, according to ArchDaily. It’s now a legit reason on its own to hop a plane.
The city is leaning into that architectural heritage with new and upcoming spaces celebrating its buildings and designers, especially in and around the historic Richardson Olmsted Campus, as mentioned by ASCE.
Streetcar tram line on the main street in Buffalo, NY, USA
But the coolest “museum” experience might be edible.
On the West Side, the new West Side Bazaar is a global food hall powered by immigrant and refugee entrepreneurs—think Malaysian, Syrian, Ethiopian, Jamaican, and more, all under one roof, per WEDI. It started as a small business incubator and has grown into a full-on community hub where you can eat your way around the world for the price of a single big-city brunch.
Add that to the classics—wings, beef on weck, corner taverns—and Buffalo’s food scene feels both comfortingly scrappy and surprisingly international.
Aerial image captured in Buffalo New York
Game days, Great Lakes… and that wild new stadium
Even if you’re not a hardcore football fan, Buffalo’s next chapter is tied to the new Highmark Stadium, rising in Orchard Park. The $2.1 billion project is scheduled to open for the 2026 season, with a partially enclosed, wind-managing canopy and what’s being billed as the largest heated roof of its kind to help tame those infamous winter game days, reports the Democrat and Chronicle.
Pair that with the city’s Great Lakes location and you’ve got options:
Use Buffalo as a base to hit Niagara Falls, Lake Erie beaches, and small towns along the wine trails, as suggested by Travel Off Path.
Or fold it into an American road trip that loops through the Northeast and Great Lakes—Buffalo slots perfectly between bigger-name cities but feels way more relaxed (and way cheaper).
Flight-wise, Buffalo Niagara International Airport has solid coverage across the U.S., including low-cost carriers and even direct sun routes, which helped it rank as one of the most affordable city breaks in our cheap-destinations roundup.
Buffalo, USA-Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, USA, Buffalo AKG Art Museum, a major showplace for modern art and contemporary art
Why you should go now
Buffalo is in that magical in-between stage:
Big projects are open or nearly there.
Prices haven’t caught up to the hype.
And locals are genuinely excited to show off what’s new.
Come for a long weekend, split your time between the waterfront, Elmwood Village/Allentown, and the West Side, and you’ll get a real feel for the city without ever needing a rental car, notes Buffalo Waterfront.
In a couple of years, once the new park is fully done and the stadium is hosting sold-out seasons, Buffalo won’t feel like a secret anymore. If you love rooting for an underdog, this is your moment: go now, and watch America’s coolest comeback story unfold in real time.
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