Art hounds, sports fans and food-lovers won't be strangers to Syracuse. Both a cosmopolitan city and a college town, this city in Central New York is a cultural center with attractions and events that draw visitors from all over the world.
Restaurants, shops, and brick paths for strolling and biking line Syracuse's Inner Harbor. The amphitheater hosts concerts, festivals and a monthly Block Party. Head downtown to shop the boutiques or see local talent in the pubs of
Armory Square where every July a
Blues Festival features
music legends. Nearby, you can see a show at the opulent
Landmark Theatre or
Syracuse Stage.
Check out the planetarium at the
Museum of Science and Technology (MoST), with a domed IMAX theater, or the
Everson Museum of Art, a sculptural masterpiece by I.M. Pei holding one of the world's largest ceramics collections. You don't have to paint your face orange, but it's perfectly acceptable at
Syracuse University's Division I games at the
Carrier Dome. And summer ends with a bash at the
Great New York State Fair, a Syracuse tradition since the 1800s.
It seems appropriate that food is a celebration in the Salt City (Syracuse once supplied most of the nation’s salt). A few places to begin are
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and
Tipperary Hill with its import shops and traditional Irish cuisine. You'll know the neighborhood by the upside-down traffic light—with the green on top.