Planning a Trip

Getting There

The Buffalo Niagara International Airport (tel. 716/630-6000; www.nfta.com/airport), 10 miles east of downtown, is served by a number of airlines including JetBlue (tel. 800/538-2583), which has lots of cheap one-way flights from other parts of New York, AirTran Airways (tel. 800/AIRTRAN), American (tel. 800/433-7300), Continental (tel. 800/525-0280), Northwest (tel. 800/225-2525), Southwest (tel. 800/435-9792), United (tel. 800/241-6522), and US Airways (tel. 800/428-4322).

The ITA Shuttle (tel. 800/551-9369 or 716/633-8294) can take you from the airport to the downtown hotels. It's $15 per person one-way and shuttles leave every hour on the hour from 6:30am to 10pm. If you'd prefer to rent a car -- and you'll need one if you want to get beyond the downtown Buffalo attractions -- Avis (tel. 800/331-1212), Budget (tel. 800/527-0700), Hertz (tel. 800/654-3131), and Enterprise (tel. 800/325-8007) all have rental counters at the airport.

By car, Buffalo is reachable via the New York State Thruway (I-90).

Amtrak (tel. 800/USA-RAIL) rolls into Buffalo's train station at 75 Exchange St. (at Washington St.).

Greyhound (tel. 800/231-2222) and New York Trailways (tel. 800/295-5555) make their way to the station at 181 Ellicott St. (at N. Division).

Visitor Information

The Buffalo-Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau, 617 Main St. (tel. 800/BUFFALO; www.buffalocvb.com), is located in the Market Arcade downtown. It's open Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm. Drop by and pick up brochures.

Getting Around

While Buffalo has a rail and bus system, driving is still recommended. The Metro Rail runs along Main Street from HSBC Arena to the South Campus of the University at Buffalo (a SUNY school), with several stops in between. Along Main Street, aboveground, it's free; once it goes underground at the Theater stop, it's $1.50 per ride (exact change not necessary). If you want a taxi, it's best to call, since they're hard to find on the street. Try Broadway Taxi (tel. 716/896-4600).