Buffalo & Niagara Falls

Buffalo has a handful of nice B&Bs that afford the opportunity to stay in one of the city’s handsome houses—way cozier than those Hamptons and Holiday Inns that abound downtown. The eclectic Elmwood Village Inn: Honu House (from $95; 893 Elmwood Ave., map) is particularly well located among the shops, cafes, and bars of cute Elmwood Village, and is within walking distance of the excellent Albright-Knox Art Gallery and Hoyt Lake at Delaware Park.

For a local splurge in an architecturally gorgeous building, look no further than the well-preserved and conveniently located Mansion on Delaware, (pricetk; 414 Delaware Ave., map), built in 1869. Its 28 elegant rooms come with round-the-clock butler service; prices include breakfast and afternoon cocktails.

If your Niagara Falls day trip turns into an overnight, stay put in the heart of wine country in quaint Niagara-on-the-Lake (Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada). The town is filled with 19th-century-homes turned B&Bs, but if flowery wallpaper and dated décor isn’t your thing, try the quiet, Cape Cod-inspired Cape House (from $150; 1895 Lakeshore Rd., map), located on the wine route a stone’s throw from Lake Ontario. It’s casually elegant and modernly decorated, with a lovely back garden, veranda, and a popular gourmet breakfast. Cheaper and closer to the main drag (Queen Street) is the no-frills King George III Inn (from $104; 61 Melville St., map), with eight rooms, five of which have balconies.