Location: Rochester
Top Things to do in Rochester
The 10 Best Things to do Good for Big Groups in Rochester, New York (NY)
From family-friendly activities to professional sports teams, museums and galleries, Rochester has something for everyone. Enjoy the scenic Erie Canal, Genesee River and Lake Ontario. Don't miss the Strong National Museum of Play (America's second-largest children's museum) or the International Museum of Photography. Be sure to sample one of Rochester's famous "white hots," Rochester's version of the hotdog! And don't miss the nearby Finger Lakes region with its wine trails and gorges.
Restaurants in Rochester
1. Crush Beer & Wine Tours
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 427 reviews
Crush Beer & Wine Tours offers guided tours of Breweries and Wineries in the picturesque setting of the Finger Lakes and Rochester, NY.
2. The Strong National Museum of Play
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 2,156 reviews
The Strong is a highly interactive, collections-based museum devoted to the history and exploration of play. It is one of the largest history museums in the United States and one of the leading museums serving families. The Strong houses the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of historical materials related to play and is home to the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, the National Toy Hall of Fame, the World Video Game Hall of Fame, the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, the Woodbury School, and the American Journal of Play. Together, these enable a multifaceted array of research, exhibition, and other interpretive and educational activities that serve a diverse audience of adults, families, children, students, teachers, scholars, collectors, and others around the globe.
Reviewed By V7823XUmichaelb
This museum is fun for all ages and for hours! They have a mini Wegmans, toys HOF, a butterfly exhibit and so much more! Fabulous.
3. Black Button Distilling
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 79 reviews
We are Rochester NY's first and finest craft distillery since prohibition. Located at the Rochester Public Market making only the finest Vodka, Gin and Whiskey from New York State grains. Since 1922 my family has provided some of the finest men's suit buttons available. For Four generations these buttons have closed suits worn by Presidents, Popes, Kings, and Businessmen the world over. From a young age I went to work in my grandfather's factory but it was clear I was meant for a different path. I broke tradition and decided to make whiskey, but the lessons I learned in his factory as a kid still guide me to this day; work hard, work with your hands, make your product the best on the market, and you can't cheat time. My distillery pays homage to my grandfather and the world he knew - where real men worked hard and drank real pot distilled whiskey. My name is Jason Barrett, I started my craft distillery at 24 years old, and I love distilling. I hope you will try our small batch, grain to glass spirits and join me in raising a glass to Living Large in Small Batches.
Reviewed By 49MarkL - Penfield, United States
Black Button Lilac Gin is incredibly smooth and flavorful! Unlike the popular national brands such as Tanqueray and Bombay, I can enjoy Black Button's Lilac Gin on ice alone or with a squeeze of fresh lime. When I add tonic water it's hard to control the urge to drink it down like iced tea or lemonade on a blistering hot day.
4. The Great Escape Room
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 418 reviews
The Great Escape Room is a real-life room escape game based on the popular computer and mobile phone escape games. Escape games are the newest craze sweeping the nation – a fun, team-building, brain-busting experience! After entering a room with your team, the door is locked behind you. 60 minutes are on the clock! You must work together in order to find clues and solve puzzles that will lead you
Reviewed By CJMayer522
Nine of us went into the Escape Room; none of us had ever done one before. Great fun, challenging, and each of us contributed something important to the overall progress. My only suggestion is that they should have soft drinks or something for afterwards-- everyone is so pumped at the end, and we wanted to "relive" parts or talk about what happened. We all went to dinner somewhere else after. They could do well to offer that there
5. Rochester Pedal Tours
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 105 reviews
Celebrate summer on either our boats or bikes. Our boat fits up to 18 people and we have 4 bikes (3-13 seat bikes and 1-15 seater) we can accommodate larger groups with multi bike tours. Bring your own food and drinks on the tour (alcohol included) Take a look at our website rochesterpedaltours. com to view an up to the minute availability calendar, alcohol policy and a great frequently asked questions section
6. Breakout Games - Rochester
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 87 reviews
This isn’t your average outing or everyday experience—Breakout is for those who would rather solve mysteries than watch someone else have all the fun. With different rooms that follow unique story-lines, you and your friends will have 60 minutes to escape your adventure of choice by cracking codes, solving puzzles and following clues. Part problem solving, part adrenaline, end-to-end fun!
Reviewed By wandan585 - Rochester, United States
The Museum Heist was an excellent escape room experience. There were multiple puzzles for the group to decipher. Puzzles opened unexpected areas revealing more clues and needed evidence necessary for the ultimate escape. Staff was friendly and helpful.
7. Highland Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 499 reviews
The annual Lilac Festival is the most popular event on the calendar here, one of the country's oldest city arboretums.
Reviewed By Freespirit134 - Rochester, United States
Highland Park is beautiful all year round, but in spring it is particularly lovely. Witch hazel bushes are the first to bloom with pale yellow blossoms, similar to forsythia, but not quite as bold a color. Carpets of spring bulbs appear along the paths and hillsides. There are numerous benches dotted along the walkways, often in locations that capitalize on the views to the distant hills of the Finger Lakes. Lamberton Conservatory is also a great place to visit while you're in the the park (also offers restrooms). Along the edge of Highland Ave there's a new playground constructed from natural tree limbs that makes a fun place for kids to climb & play. Also there's a small playground with swings & a climbing structure across from the conservatory. The park & conservatory is a popular place for wedding & prom photos. (If you are a professional photographer call Lamberton Conservatory to check on hours & restrictions for using a tripod) Fun for all ages!
8. Frontier Field
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 288 reviews
Reviewed By Traveler58434490932
Great place to enjoy a family outing and to see the Rochester Red wings play minor league baseball , very clean stadium with friendly and helpful staff .
9. Seabreeze Amusement Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 669 reviews
Seabreeze, the fourth oldest park in America, is located on the scenic bluffs overlooking Lake Ontario north of Rochester. Enjoy the excitement of four roller coasters, a classic wooden carousel, thrill rides, family and kiddie rides, a midway of food and games and live shows daily. There's also a full water park with wave pool, tube slides, body flumes, lazy river, kiddie slides and more. The 1920 Jack Rabbit wooden roller coaster is listed as the oldest continuously operating coaster in America. The park is a classic combination of traditional amusement park and modern water park. Open daily mid-June through Labor Day; also open weekends in May, early June and early September.
Reviewed By K1451VUjamesc - Batavia, United States
Loved the wooden barrell that I used to try to get thru The wooden rollercoaster was fun the electric bumper cars werecool and most of all was the merry go round though I was there during the original round and round till an electrician decided he didnt have a clue bout his job and burnt the original circle down
10. George Eastman Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,037 reviews
The George Eastman Museum is located in Rochester, New York, on the estate of George Eastman, the pioneer of popular photography and motion picture film. Founded in 1947 as an independent nonprofit institution, 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.
Reviewed By lesliek79 - Montreal, Canada
My primary interest was the history of photography, and the Kodak company’s inventions and innovations that popularized photography. The “History of Photography” exhibit was much smaller than I expected, featuring only a few historically important images and many cameras. A smaller exhibit (upstairs in the house) featured Kodak inventions and progress that included details about the early box cameras and the use of photosensitive emulsions on rolls (substituting individual plates). It was this exhibit that demonstrated Mr. Eastman’s genius. The temporary Warner Brothers Cartoons exhibit was informative and delightful; a throwback to my early television viewing experience. The congenial tour guide was a font of knowledge about George Eastman’s personal history and life, entry into photography, entrepreneurial skills, financial success and philanthropy. The tour of his mansion highlighted it’s history and attested to Eastman’s affluence, interests and tastes. He was a wealthy man whose interests reflected the mores of his time. His legacy reverberates in Rochester’s cultural and social life, generally, and through his inventions and philanthropy internationally.
