Buffalo is my adopted hometown and it has a lot more than snow to offer. You may be bringing the family, your significant other or flying solo but any way you slice it you'll find something to do here. A perfect way to start the day is at Canalside, wether you just want to stroll around with a fresh hot cocoa in hand or lace up some ice skates and give the 35,000 square feet of ice a whirl. Make sure to get your picture with "Shark Girl" and to warm up, check out the shops at Harborcenter: Clayton's Toys & Gifts, Fowler's Chocolates, Modern Nostalagia, Red Siren and the Buffalo Sabres Store.
Another way to warm up may be to grab a bite and some locally brewed beers at Pearl Street Grill & Brewery, or if coffee is more your speed head to Spot Coffee in Elmwood Village. After lunch, Elmwood is a great street to explore fun little shops and experience some culture at either of two great art galleries- Albright Knox Art Gallery, or Burchfield Penney Art Center. Monet and The Impressionist Revolution will be on display at Albright Knox through March 20.
If art and shopping don't really interest you, make sure to check the schedule at Harborside for college hockey or Canalside for curling. History lovers may want to visit the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site or drive Delaware Avenue to see the mansions of Buffalo's gilded age (check out the article Meet the Mansions on Buffalo News online for some background). There is also a Frozen Pub Crawl offered by Buffalo History Tours that sounds like not so freezing fun! (buffalohistorytours.com) Buffalo also has amazing architecture and if that's your thing than you better make a stop at Frank Lloyd Wright's Darwin D. Martin House (closed for renovations until Feb.6, 2016).
Families should check the schedule at Tifft Nature Preserve for wintry fun or visit the Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens. If you choose the gardens ask them what happened with the record amount of snow that fell in 2014!
Finish the night with a delicious dinner for adults at the Left Bank or Mulberry's Italian Ristorante (reservations needed) or for the family , the Acropolis in the Elmwood Village.