Places to Visit in Rochester - Rochester Must-See Attractions
Things to Do in Rochester
Check out must-see sights and activities:
The Strong National Museum of Play, George Eastman Museum, History Museums, Specialty Museums. For personalized recommendations, try our AI trip-planning product.
The Strong National Museum of Play, George Eastman Museum, History Museums, Specialty Museums. For personalized recommendations, try our AI trip-planning product.
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Car Toursfromper adult₱14,333
Beer & Brewery Toursfromper adult₱14,333
Historical Toursfromper adult₱730
Sports Lessonsfromper adult₱1,599
Day Tripsfromper adult₱14,702- fromper adult₱6,637
Private Sightseeing Toursfromper adult₱5,037
Cultural Toursfromper adult₱1,600
Beer & Brewery Toursfromper adult₱15,361
Day Tripsfromper adult₱15,071
Children's Museums
Interactive museum with a rich array of toys and games, from a nostalgic Toy Hall of Fame to an engaging Wegmans grocery store play area, plus digital gaming and outdoor gardens.
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Speciality Museums
Historic mansion and world's oldest photography museum, showcasing the life of George Eastman with lush gardens and a diverse camera collection. Includes seasonal exhibits and a theater.
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Science Museums
Flea & Street Markets
Other Top Attractions around Rochester
What travelers are saying
- ElaineAndGregChesterland, OH3,189 contributionsThis attraction has over 2,000 reviews and a solid "5" rating and absolutely deserves it. Regardless of your age, if you have any love of toys or fun, this will be a great day.
The Strong is in an enormous newer structure that sits in a part of Rochester that appears to have undergone extensive modern renovation. The structure itself is architecturally interesting and seems to go on for blocks. There is ample parking across the street. We parked for free on a city road on a Saturday. Parking in a lot costs about $7.
The museum itself is a very deliberate mixture of museum-type exhibits of historical toys and "hands-on" play areas. It works really well, as there are kids playing everywhere and exhibits ranging from Victorian toys to modern video games and virtually everything in between. There were very few toys over the past century or so that you don't see somewhere in this vast museum.
For many, this will be a trip down memory lane. They have ornate doll houses, classic toys, and toys that many will remember from the 1960s, 1970s, etc. You also get a great sense of trends, such as changes in dolls, Cold War influences, marketing links to cartoons or movies, space aspirations, Star Wars, cultural influences, etc.
The role of girls/women is one common theme, with earlier toys pushing "traditional roles," some humorously so, with that image changing with each ensuing decade.
There are a fair number of exhibits on video games, but that is reality. Video games have been around for decades. They are toys in and of themselves, but they also inspire other kinds of toys, like action figures. They had video displays in multiple galleries and arcades. Find the old Death Race 2000 game, where you have a car that runs down pedestrians, who turn into tomb stones when hit. Not surprisingly, the game was banned for being too violent. They also have one of the infamous Atari ET games that were so un-fun that they ended up burying them en masse in a land fill, only to be reclaimed decades later (the game still stinks).
There are a few noticeable gaps, but you would expect that from any museum of any kind. For example, virtually every American child has played with Fisher-Price toys, and they started only an hour from this museum south of Buffalo, but there are not many examples in this extensive collection. Pokemon has been a phenomenon, but you won't see a whole lot of it here. The exhibits are very sensitive (some might say a bit PC) about certain kinds of minority toys, but that may be apt to avoid unfortunate racial stereotypes. You decide.
Part of the museum is a toy hall of fame. Halls of Fame are hard to pull off, but they use a lot of pleasing visual style to pull it off.
We visited without children, but it was obvious that there were a lot of parents and grandparents who came here for their children to play while they looked at other things, something the museum's structure promotes. There are countless arcade games ranging from from pinball to dance to a seemingly infinite number of classics.
If you are coming with an older child, take a look at the 3-story structure to promote the taking of chances. Every participant has a safety harness, and they can take whatever risks they want, ranging from tightropes to various obstacles at different heights, ending up, more or less, with a 100-foot zipline run.
Play is an important part of our lives, and looms large in our memories. This museum is a great way to relive it and to entertain children who are still growing memories themselves.
Plus, frankly, it's just fun to be here.Written March 23, 2025This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - Begonia33Scottsdale, AZ311 contributionsThe museum is on the estate of George Eastman, the pioneer of popular photography and motion picture film. It is the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the oldest film archives. The museum holds unparalleled collections—encompassing several million objects—in the fields of photography, cinema, and photographic and cinematographic technology, and photographically illustrated books. The institution is also a longtime leader in film preservation and photographic conservation.
In 1877 Eastman bought a photographic outfit. The weight, awkwardness, and cost of the equipment required to take and develop photographs soon led Eastman to seek improvements. He spent three years in his mother’s kitchen experimenting with gelatin emulsions, and by 1880, he had invented and patented a dry-plate coating machine. He started the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company in 1884 and the Eastman Kodak Company in 1892). With a series of innovations, the company created easy-to-use cameras that made photography widely accessible, established the practice of professional photofinishing, and developed a flexible film that was a critical contribution to the launch of the motion picture industry.
Fascinating information, photographs and cameras.
Definitely worth the stop.Written October 24, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - lenaHorseheads, NY17 contributionsI love Seabreeze for little Kids because there are many rides they can enjoy, and the lines are so short. Perfect stepping stone for bigger theme parks. We have already been twice this summer ! Definitely bring a cooler with little snacks and drinks though because just like most theme parks the prices of food and drinks are pretty up there.Written July 3, 2022This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Maltipoo16New York2,020 contributionsBeautiful experience at the lilac festival in Rochester! The blooms were so beautiful and the park was very busy. The parking was tough for the festival, but we managed. We weren’t able to enter into the festival grounds with our pup, but we were able to admire the blossoms!Written May 22, 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- DeborahG4Greenwich, NY13 contributionsInteresting museum. Things of interest to all ages. We particularly enjoyed the electricity show. Not too busy on a holiday weekendWritten June 9, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Maltipoo16New York2,020 contributionsReally fun and beautiful place to visit for an afternoon. Lots of different plants and flowers to look at and a great place to walk around. It’s set up very beautifully as well.Written August 17, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Ginger B ROswego, NY532 contributionsThis is a nicely laid out smaller zoo, which i think would be perfect for younger kids. Nice, modern habitats for the animals. Loved the seal display. You can watch them play ball underwater. So fun to watch!Written July 26, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- RosaSyracuse, NY33 contributionsIt was ok vendors are a little scattered and unorganized. But everyone was friendly. Willing to assist. Didn’t find anything in particular for myself.Written October 12, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Steven LMinneapolis, MN45 contributionsThis is an outstanding tour! The guide we had was amazingly knowledgeable and seldom took a breath as she shared information with us. We see much of the house with many of its original furnishings, although some are in historic museums. Most exciting of all are the attic, where the Women's Suffrage Movement held meetings and the bedroom where SBA passed away. It would be 13 years after her death before women won the right to vote! Incredible!Written September 23, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Steven LMinneapolis, MN45 contributionsMount Hope is hilly, but easy to drive through. The volunteers are very friendly and will give you a map. We only visited two gravesites there, but I would have loved to see William Warfield's grave. Susan B. Anthony and her family are in a nice shady area that's a bit of a hike uphill, while Fredrick Douglass and his family are in a sunny area, a little way down the hill on the opposite side of the cemetery. There are signs leading you to these two historic gravesites!Written September 23, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- ElaineAndGregChesterland, OH3,189 contributionsThe Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester can best be described as an excellent regional art museum. It is on the small side as a museum (hence they call it a gallery), but it has a fair-sized collection of outstanding works from many centuries that are very well displayed.
The museum itself seems to occupy several adjacent buildings, which blend together seamlessly inside. As you enter, note the Henry Moore sculpture in the center.
When we visited, they had exhibitions from Nam June Paik and Alma Thomas. The Nam June Paik gallery was small and had fewer than a half-dozen works. That for Alma Thomas was far larger and more representative.
The museum itself covers about 5,000 years and works across various genres, mediums, and styles. The range covers ancient Egypt and Greece up through Dutch Masters, up through great Impressionist works, and ending with highly contemporary works. There are few "iconic" paintings here, but many are outstanding in their own right.
The works on display included works by Dutch artists such as Rembrandt (more about that below), Frans Snyders, Frans Hals, and Jan Steen. Check out Snyders' painting of the Aesop fable of the fox and the heron. Among other old masters, we saw Greco, Ribera, and others. If these names are not familiar to you (and that's fine) many of these artists' works can also be seen in museums like the Louvre.
One highlight for us was the Impressionist gallery, which included three works by Monet, two by Matisse, and others by Braque, Cezanne, Courbet, Bonnard, Leger, Roualt, Degas (sculpture), and Rodin (also sculpture).
Another highlight was the American galleries. You've seen paintings of boxers by George Bellows, but they had some warmer and more personal paintings from him, including one of his family vacationing at the beach. They also have an unusual panoramic painting by Childe Hassam (probably most famous for boulevards lined with flags or scenes of Central Park) of a more pastoral setting. There is an interesting painting (front and back) from Georgia O'Keefe, and a large window by the studio of Louis Comfort Tiffany.
By the way, they have a dozen or so stained glass windows in other place that seem to have been chose for interest. Look, for example, for the separate windows for a heraldic wild man and a heraldic wild woman. Another has a muzzled bear that looks like the artist had never actually seen a bear.
They have creative works from pre-Columbian America, Africa, and other cultures.
For the most part, the descriptions were very helpful, with a bit about both the painting and the painter. The art was also displayed in a way that was both viewer-friendly and favorable to the art itself.
One odd exception was the Rembrandt painting of a boy in an armchair. The description is slight, but like many paintings attributed to Rembrandt, there is some question as to whether he actually painted it. If you ever visit his studio in Amsterdam, it isn't hard to see how these questions arise as he painted among his students. In any case, this museum actually put on an exhibition last year on the investigation into the painting's authenticity. In any case, Rembrandt's work or not (it appears that the answer is less than 100% clear either way), it is here to enjoy.
Leave some time for the museum shop, which has lots of original works in addition to other unusual items for sale. There is a nice sit-down restaurant on site, which we did not use, although we did use the small cafe out front for some coffee and a quick sandwich.
Before or after you go, be sure to see the sculpture garden in front, which is free. It has maybe a dozen or so fun, mostly modern sculptures.
This is not a large enough gallery to compete head-to-head with major museums elsewhere, but what they have here is well-chosen, often excellent in its own right, and extremely well-presented.Written March 23, 2025This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - _mike_fortunaIrondequoit, NY84 contributionsThis may be a minor league team's baseball stadium, but it is one of my favorites of all time. There is not a bad seat in the house. I was on the 3rd level and the seats were great. The food is not badly priced for a sports stadium, although beer is very expensive. A great place for family outing at night.Written June 12, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
When to Visit
- January-3 ºCColdest month7 days of rainLess busy
- February-2 ºC6 days of rainModerately busy
- March2 ºC6 days of rainModerately busy
- April8 ºC8 days of rainVery busyLeast busy month
- May15 ºC7 days of rainModerately busy
- June19 ºC8 days of rainVery busy
- July23 ºCHottest month7 days of rainVery busy
- August22 ºC7 days of rainVery busy
- September18 ºC6 days of rainModerately busy
- October12 ºC9 days of rainWettest monthLess busyBusiest month
- November5 ºC6 days of rainLess busy
- December1 ºC8 days of rainLess busy
The above attraction descriptions were created by AI, using information and phrases commonly found in reviews users submitted to Tripadvisor. Tripadvisor did not create and is not responsible for any of the above attraction descriptions. Please read full traveler reviews for more details and information.
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