Syracuse Attractions

Top Things to Do in Syracuse, NY

Things to Do in Syracuse


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Top Attractions in Syracuse

These rankings are informed by traveller reviews—we consider the quality, quantity, recency, consistency of reviews, and the number of page views over time.

What travellers are saying

  • Gretchen F
    5 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    I used to live in Fairport, New York near the Erie Canal but never knew, until I visited this wonderful museum, how ground-breaking (pun intended) this massive and historic engineering experiment was.
    Written 31 January 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Ken
    Orient, Ohio298 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Awesome little zoo and well worth the trip from Ohio as the first stop of my upstate NY zoo tour.

    Parking is free and the admission is extremely low compared to other zoos I've experienced. Food is priced in line with other zoos, which is never cheap. If you're a penny pincher, pack your lunch. Grounds are clean and well maintained. The layout is a fairly easy walk with some grade but, considering the contour of the area, they did a great job keeping it easy walking and designing the habitats on the slopes.

    There is a great staff here, both volunteer and paid, and are very engaging and knowledgeable. It was a pleasure interacting and learning from them.

    The habitats are well designed to incorporate the topography and give the animals variety while trying to emulate their natural environment. USS Antiquities is a pretty unique layout of several habitats just inside the entry which continues into a nice walk-through aviary and nocturnal area. They have some very rare species like the red wolf, blue crane and white-lipped deer. Of course, a big part of my day was enjoying Yaad and Tuk's antics, who were on habitat from 11 - 3. They spend time with their mom and grandma in the smaller yard because they aren't ready to conquer the pool yet so, while they've explored the big yard under the close observation of all keepers before public hours, they keep them in the 'safer' area when fewer eyes are on them. The tiger cubs were, unfortunately, off habitat because baby girl was being a little over zealous and needed a time out so they were behind the scenes for a few days for her to recover. I assume she suffered some minor mishap in her playing in the woods. If you see the habitat, you would understand how she would get in trouble...it's very steep with a lot of 'opportunity' to tumble, fall and roll. Dad was out, though, and he's beautiful. A first encounter for me was the Armenian mouflon. Unfortunately, couldn't get a shot of the ram. Made several passes but he just wouldn't stand up for me so just saw the top of his very impressive horns.

    Overall, a great medium sized zoo and a great way to spend a day or a couple hours.
    Written 28 September 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Angela S
    West Chazy, NY30 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    This is a huge mall with a wide variety of stores. We spent all day here and I don't think we even got to see the whole place. Plus there is other things to do like the movies, arcade etc. Several restaurants and a food court to choose from also.
    Written 13 March 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • sue r
    Bridgeport, NY214 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    This is a very nice interactive science museum for kids, (adults will also enjoy it).. It is one of Syracuse's highlights. There are many fun hands on exhibits,with some downfalls. Sadly, there are also many exhibits that didnt work or were broken. The kids enjoy the kids exhibits- especially the multi story maze, with slides, tunnels and climbing stuff. . There is an area to eat in, sadly they dont sell any real food- only a vending maching for drinks and one for snacks (candy, chips, etc.) There is also a "concession" stand with candy to purchase for the movie. Speaking of which, it was a choice between Dinosaurs of the Antactic or a Planetarium type movie. Our 5 yr old chose the dinosaurs, which was a group of adults on an expedition , and he was soon bored with the adult level of the show. Parking is available at a $5.00 charge behind the museum , through the tunnel, in a parking lot, or you may be lucky to find on street parking. It was recommended to me (when I called) to bring outside food. I am glad I did.
    Written 25 September 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Sue C
    New Port Richey, FL22 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    We went to the market for the first time in early Sept. The market opens very early, but we didn't go until about 11. There was free parking and after a couple of times around we found a place near the entrance. There was about every vegetable you can imagine plus fruits in season. Snacks included fresh donuts, fried bread, and kettle corn to name a few. Flowers and especially huge and beautiful sunflowers. There were baked goods, jams and jelly and even Queen Ann's Lace jelly.
    A fun way to spend a Saturday and it is just a couple of blocks off RT 81.
    Written 16 September 2019
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • F4981JCmichaels
    Vancouver, WA2,105 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    As fairs go, it was a little better than most, with a few exceptions.
    Parking, at least where I was parked along State Fair Boulevard, was poor. It was about a two block walk from the parking lot to the fair entrance, with no shuttle service available. I would guess that somewhere there is handicapped parking, but if you are handicapped (I am not,) this parking lot would be horrendous for you. Leaving was worse. I needed to go west to enter the ramp for highway 695, but police were directing traffic east onto I-690! I'm from Washington state. I don't know the local roads well enough to make the transition from I-690 east to highway 695 west easily, so I pulled over and stopped within walking distance of one of the officers. He came over and I explained my predicament. Fortunately, he was nice enough to grant an exception, and allowed me to do a u-turn.
    As for the fair itself, it was good, but not exceptional. The good highlights are: 1) There was a lot of variety, 2) The officers roaming around as well as other staff, were helpful in directing me to various activities. One even made sure I knew about the best food at the fair, in his opinion, the giant churro-like sweet dough things. He was right. They were excellent, 3) People watching was great, 4) Most displays were well put together.
    Now the negatives: 1) Poor signage. It was often hard to figure out what was in each building without actually entering the building, 2) I wanted a NY Fair shirt. You would think I would find them everywhere. I even asked some of the info people where I could find one. They didn't know! I knew they existed, because I saw one on another fair goer. But I never found any. One time I was directed to a place they thought might have them, since souvenirs were sold there, but it was a pro gay venue, and all of the souvenirs were gay oriented. I just wanted a plain NY Fair shirt, 3) Every big fair has public music. The person performing on the main stage was less than impressive. I asked others their input to make sure it wasn't just me. The consensus was "it wasn't to their liking" either. At the time, the performer was playing chords on a keyboard and lamenting about all the things that made her cry.
    So, conclusions: Worth a visit. Mostly good. But, not 100%.







    Written 11 November 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Just T
    1 contribution
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Nicest place in all of Syracuse! Owners are very friendly and kind! 5/5 stars! I go there with my autistic brother, great place to visit and relax
    Written 6 July 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Keith B
    Wayne, MI450 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Went to an evening game. Stadium is very well kept with great sight lines. They have great promotions for those who look at it more of a night out than a ball game.

    There are two negatives: netting down the entire line and the exits onto the main roads could be designed better and better flowing.
    Written 13 December 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Megreviewer14
    Manlius, NY95 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great little place to see some good theater. Been there a few times over the years - and most recently there for what seemed to have been an SU production. It was great and solid and would recommend. Parking is a little tricky, but it all worked out. Syracuse in general seems to have plays that are sometimes tested here before Broadway and other cities. This and other theater venues are solid.
    Written 14 November 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • JimR55
    Albany, NY56 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    The theater is beautiful inside. We sat in the balcony, it is hard to understand the words, I suppose this would be much better with a close seat but that is usually not realistic. There is very little leg room, I had to sit a little sideways and I am only 5 foot 10. The production was absolutely wonderful. We went for a Saturday matinee, in my opinion you have to pay for parking but there are plenty of surface lots and garages within close walking distance, we parked at a surface lot 3 blocks away. It was not bad traffic leaving after the show. We would certainly see more shows at the Landmark Theater.
    Written 19 February 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Bruce K
    Woodruff, SC167 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Lot's of fun walking around and seeing all the different items for sale. Basically an enhanced farmers market, that goes out beyond fruits and vegetables, although they had plenty of that as well. All the produce looked top notch. We bough several items even though we had to drive for two days to get home. Everything was so much nicer than at home.
    Written 11 September 2021
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • F4981JCmichaels
    Vancouver, WA2,105 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    If you are "into" old historic buildings, you will love Clinton Square in Syracuse. For blocks around this park there are many older buildings. Parking is easy along the streets, and you don't have to walk far to see a lot of interesting architecture.
    Written 11 November 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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