Guests in budget hotels in Lockport, New York, are just 16 miles (25 km) from Niagara Falls. That puts them within easy reach of one of the most popular tourist destinations in North America, as well as the Canadian border. Lockport owes it name to its five sets of operating locks on the Erie Canal. Here you can still see this monument to 19th century technology at work. Lockport’s historic downtown district is centered around the canal and locks. From the Big Bridge and the Pine Street Bridge you can watch Locks 34 and 35 working, just as they did 150 years ago when the Erie Canal was the main link between New York City and Lake Erie.

The Erie Canal locks are not the only attraction for visitors in cheap hotels in Lockport. The Colonel William M. Bond House is a brick structure dating back to 1824. It has 12 rooms displaying period furniture. At the Kenan Center, which encompasses several buildings, you can tour a Victorian mansion with ornate fireplaces and beautiful formal gardens. The Taylor Theater presents child-friendly productions in a converted carriage house. Be sure to see the collection of artifacts displayed by the Niagara County Historical Society.