Not the famous falls, I hasten to add. They remain as breathtaking as they were when they were first discovered by French explorer Father Louis Hennepin in 1678. As you may know, Niagara Falls is the collective name for three different waterfalls: the Horseshoe Falls, the largest and most famous which are mainly in Canada; the American Falls, which are totally within the US; and the much smaller Bridal Veil Falls, also on the American side of the border.

This is my third time standing in awe of the three of them, so it can't be that bad, can it?

On my first visit, in the 1980s, I had slept all night on a Greyhound bus from New York just to see them. I checked my backpacker luggage into a bus station locker and booked my spot on the classic Maid of the Mist boat trip which ventures into the foggy mass beneath the crashing waters of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls.

That remains in my memory so brilliantly, 30 years later, that I can still feel the water on my face – the rest of me protected by a brightly coloured blue storm suit.

So exhilarated was I at the end of the trip that I took off the blue storm suit in a daze. Thirty minutes later, when I came to take another photo of the Falls, I'd realised I'd left my newly purchased Pentax SLR camera – the biggest travel outlay I had made until that point. including the initial flight – around the shoulder of that storm suit. Fortunately, the Maids of the Mist staff had discovered it and kept it safe.

Flash forward 10 years, and one of my best friends from school has taken a job south of Toronto. My then-girlfriend and I pay him and his wife a surprise winter visit. This time the Falls are a gigantic ice sculpture, possibly even more impressive than they are in summer – part frozen in spectacular free-formed shapes, glistening in the afternoon sun as the near-freezing waters continue to tumble dramatically into the abyss below.

Please, never discount seeing the Falls because it is cold.

And here I am again, thanks to a newly discovered Toronto-born friend who has generously offered to take me to see Niagara again because I have a couple of spare days in her home city, Canada's largest.

She hasn't been to Niagara for a while, she says. Yes, 22.5 million visitors come to see it each year,  making it one of the top 10 most popular tourist destinations in North America. But when you only live 90 minutes away, you tend to put it off until you've got to entertain international visitors, don't you?

Aneta isn't sure of the route, so she programs the destination into her mobile phone. "Don't worry," I say. "I'm pretty sure Niagara Falls will appear on the road signs."

It's only when we arrive at Niagara and park across from an "adult cabaret" venue that I remember what I detest about the place. Apart from the monumental waterfall itself, Niagara Falls is (almost) unrelentingly tacky. Part downmarket Disneyland, part lacklustre Las Vegas.

Why would the Canadians do this, I asked a younger version of myself back in the 1980s? Why would they sully one of the most magnificent geographical glories of the planet with these terribly tacky "honeymoon hotels", horror-themed tourist attractions, and Ripley's Believe It Or Not?

The answer, my older persona now recognises, is that the Canadian side of Niagara Falls was once an exotic destination for those east coast Americans who needed a no-questions-asked wedding, a dirty weekend, or a cheap place to entertain the kids if you couldn't afford to fly to see the fat version of Elvis perform at Las Vegas.

But it is now high summer in Canada, and the crowds are in full force. I lose count of how many times – and in how many languages – Aneta and I are asked to take photos of friends, couples and families posing before the Falls.

Since we've both "done" the Maid of the Mist before (still highly recommended), and the various walks on the US side of the Falls (also recommended), we just amble along the Canadian promenade for an hour or two.

There we listen to the Fat Elvis impersonator belting out In The Ghetto in a place which, for all its faults, is clearly not a ghetto. We buy cheap "I heart Niagara" souvenirs from overpriced speciality shops. But most of the time we just admire different vistas of the Horseshoe Falls, wondering how any one of sane mind would challenge the idiotic plunge in a barrel?

Having now visited the world's "Big Four" waterfalls – Niagara (Canada/US), Victoria (Zimbabwe/Zambia), Iguazu (Brazil/Argentina) and Angel – it's interesting that three of them are to be found on international borders. Only the waterfall with the longest vertical drop – Venezuela's Angel Falls – is fully contained within one country. It's easily the least accessible of the four, whereas Niagara is within a day's trip of the largest city in Canada.

After an hour or so of marvelling at the enormous cascade, Aneta says, "Would you like to go down to the other Niagara? I haven't been to Niagara-on-the-Lake for years, but it can't be that far away, can it?"

Would I? Oh, Aneta, that would be perfect.

Before you book to visit Niagara, remember there are two Canadian towns with that name.

Niagara-on-the-Lake, where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, is my kind of place. Historic, picturesque, authentic – with great food, wine and coffee. Of course, the contrary view is that it is unhistoric, twee, and inauthentic – with great food, wine and coffee. Definitely worth visiting, either way.

My previous visit to Niagara-on-the-Lake, 25 years ago, was in winter. It was lovely then, but it is better in summer.

Unless you are deeply interested in Canadian politics, you probably won't know that Niagara-on-the-Lake was the first Canadian capital in 1792 (when the province was  known as "Upper Canada").  Or that the British built a defensive line in the sand here when they lost their American colonies, building Fort George (yes, named after the mad king) along a strategic point of the Niagara River.

But early on the morning of May 25, 1813, the small capital of Newark (as it was then known) was woken by an intense bombardment on Fort George. Two days later, the Yanks invaded, as part of what became known as the War of 1812 between the US and Britain. Effectively it was a spin-off of the Napoleonic War in Europe, which began when Britain imposed trade restrictions on the Americans as allies of the French.

Until the beginning of 1815, Newark was part of the US. If you wish to discover more about this fascinating, and little-known, episode in Canadian history you can book an escorted walk. Or follow the self-guided trail that begins at Fort George and ends at the Navy Hall, built in 1765 and used for the first Parliament of Upper Canada on Sept 17, 1792 (pick up a trail map at the town's visitor centre).

Today, Niagara-on-the-Lake is unmistakably Canadian – as long as you're prepared to skip some of its biggest tourist attractions.

Such as? Well, the 2015 season of the annual Shaw Festival, for a starter, named  after George Bernard Shaw, the Irish playwright, reformer and social critic. Each summer, from April through to October, the town's four theatres play host to a series of plays either by Shaw himself, his contemporaries or by playwrights in the Shaw tradition. The 2015 program, for example, includes two Shaw plays – Pygmalion and You Never Can Tell – plus Neil Simon's Sweet Charity, Henrik Ibsen's The Lady From The Sea and JM Barrie's The Twelve-Pound Look.

Two other annual festivals worth watching out for are Music Niagara, held every July and August and containing a broad range of musical styles from classical to blues and jazz, and NIFF (Niagara Integrated Film Festival), held over a weekend in June.

If that all sounds a bit too cultural, beware that the Niagara region is Canada's principal wine-producing area. Canadian wine? Is there such a thing? Well, yes. There are at least 25 wineries in a 20-minute drive of Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake – with most offering cellar door service or taking part in organised wine tours.

Vineyards like Inniskillin, which in 1974 became the first licensed winery since the days of Prohibition, have helped make Niagara-on-the-Lake arguably Canada's No 1 food and wine destination. You can check out some of the town's finest dining options by visiting the website of Signature Kitchens – a group of 17 restaurants and gourmet businesses which have combined to showcase local produce and cuisine.

Those looking for something to work off those extra calories can choose from golf, stand-up paddle boarding, bike riding, walking trails or whirlpool jet boat riding.

My advice? If you are planning to visit the Falls, check the advantages of staying at "the other Niagara" – unless you're particularly fond of waxwork museums and adult cabarets, of course!

TRIP NOTES

MORE INFORMATION

Niagaraonthelake.com

GETTING THERE

Several airlines, including Qantas, fly from Sydney and Melbourne to Toronto, which is 130 kilometres from Niagara-on-the-Lake. Either hire a car, or catch a bus – there are several operators running shuttles between Toronto and Niagara Falls.

Buffalo-Niagara Airport, in the US, is closer: 45 minutes from Niagara-on-the-Lake.

STAYING THERE

There are plenty of accommodation options in Niagara-on-the-Lake, from B&Bs to luxurious spa resorts. Three worth investigating are Charles Inn, overlooking Lake Ontario; South Landing Inn, overlooking the Niagara River; and Vintage Hotels, a partnership of elegant hotels which offer a combined 374 rooms oozing individuality.

EATING THERE 

Check out signaturekitchensofniagaraonthelake.com and branch out from there.

Steve Meacham travelled at his own expense.