The Best Things to Do in Rochester, NY, Rochester, New York

Rochester, NY was never high on my list of places to visit. Except for one thing: The National Museum of Play!!! I’ve been wanting to visit this Rochester attraction since I saw a commercial for it watching Arthur when I was 9.

So when 2020 happened, and cancelled all our grand travel plans, we museum hopped around our own state and checked the Museum of Play off my bucket list. But other than that, I didn’t even give Rochester a chance to prove to me it had other worthwhile attractions.

Until I started travel blogging about western NY, and realized that my knowledge beyond my own bubble is a little bit too thin. So when my friend who grew up in Rochester came home for a visit, we explored the city and found A LOT more magical things to do in Rochester!

Rochester is located in north western New York, on the shores of Lake Ontario. It is pretty much halfway between Buffalo and Syracuse, and is the third most populated city in the state, behind Buffalo and the obvious one that shall not be named (because we’re sensitive about people assuming “New York” means NYC).

Growing up, the only thing I knew Rochester for was the Museum of Play (a worthy reason to be known). But the city actually has a lot of reasons to be known: ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).