Syracuse Things to Do

Sainte Marie among the Iroquois or commonly known as the "French Fort" was once a French Mission located on the shores of Onondaga Lake. Now its a history museum. Its a nice place to spent a couple hours.

This brooding picture of the OCSB Building belies its current appearance. My father's office was in this building until they built what we referred to as "the egg crate" next door. Needless to say we had our savings accounts here:)))

This is one of the oldest parks in Syracuse, dating from the 1820s. It was renamed to Fayette Firefighters Memorial Park in 1972. It includes a number of monuments, including the Philip Eckel Monument, to a former fire chief, and the Hamilton White Monument.

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Nice family park(s) area of northwest Syracuse,NY. Easily accessible from NY Thruway (I-90) via exit 38 to Oswego Street south (NY57). On Oswego Street you will find Onondaga Lake Park and Long Branch Park and the Salt Museum and St. Marie of the Iroquois all within a few miles. There are also several restaurants and small shops on Oswego Street.
Long Branch has(had) small amusement area, walking trails, picnic area and playground. Onondaga Park has the Salt Mine Museum, a skate park (cement ramps), picnic areas, a tour-shuttle, walking/riding paths and several playgrounds. St. Marie of the Iroquois is a two story building housing a museum and artifact center for Iroquois Indian history. Well kept and informative with a small Indian village behind and up the hill from the main building.

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The International Boxing Hall of Fame was established in the 1980s to honor the greatest names in boxing. Over 190 pugilists are remembered with photos and busts and plaques in the new building. Included in the commemorations are some of the famous referees and announcers and sports casters that helped to make international boxing the popular sport it is today.

Every June, the list of inductees gets longer as a special event is held to enshrine the newest members. The proceedings cover three days and the price for attending any one day is in the hundred dallar range.

The gift shop is pricey but besides tee-shirts you can buy autographed apparel actually used by famous boxers. We get a commemorative mug as a souvenier of each of the places we visit.

Gives the history of what made Syracuse such an important stop along the Erie Canal over 100 years ago...Salt! Salt found near Onondaga Lake create many jobs and a boom in Syracuse. Therefore, it developed into a large city. Some people still call Syracuse the Salt City because of this.

Boat, Fish, swim, or jet ski during the summer. Snowmobile, and ice fish during the winter. As the largest inland lake in New York State, Oneida Lake is big enough for any activity. Two parks are located on the south shore in Cicero, a suburb of Syracuse, NY. Two mini islands located in the southwest part of the lake near Cicero also make the lake more scenic! A yacht and country club are also located in Cicero. Some homes overlook the lake. This is the lake you see if you travel north of Syracuse on Interstate 81. One of my favorite lakes in Upstate!

I love going to see the Salty Dogs Soccer team play at P&C Stadium! It is very fun because the crowd gets into the game. They play music during the game to get players and fans pumped up.

Syracuse's professional soccer team is in the A-League, the second highest division after Major League Soccer. Syracuse plays teams from cities like Toronto, Montreal, Rochester, Atlanta, and Minneapolis. 2004 will be the second year of professional Soccer in Syracuse. Syracuse had the third highest attendance for the League in their first year.

Everyone should try it even if you don't like soccer. You may be surprised how much fun they make attending games! The most popular game in the world now has a place in Syracuse!

Go to the Middle Ages Brewing Company. It's a small microbrewery in the western part of Syracuse on this little side street. It's easy to miss because if's out of the typical "touristy" area of Syracuse (if there is such a thing!) It's gaining in popularity which is good to see. You can tour the Brewery, or you can just hang out in their tasting room which is open almost all the time. They let you taste whatever they have on tap that day, usually 5 or 6 beers. They sell all their beers in the gift shop and various other things like t-shirts, can openers, etc. They also sell gift certificates, and 1/2 gallon jugs (growlers). This is how I learned about them in the first place - a friend gave me a jug and a gift certificate for having it filled. I went and tasted the beers they had (and they have cool names like Grail Ale, Druid Fluid, and Beast Bitter) and got it filled up. The beer stays good in the jug for about a week.

Go check out the zoo! They completely renovated this about 15 years ago; the animal enclosures are huge and well designed. The zoo has a great elephant breeding program, and they've had about 4 babies born in the last 10 years or so. It's one of the few places where elephants are being successfully bred in captivity.

Hours are from 10am - 5 pm, I think.

Admission costs: $6 for adults, discounts for kids, students, and seniors. Off peak (winter) costs $1-2 less.

If you're in Syracuse in the beginning of June, go to Brew at the Zoo - it's a big fundraiser for the zoo and is worth the price! In addition to being able to check out the zoo, you get all sorts of beer, food, coupons, fun. There are about 20 stations around the zoo with beer to try from different breweries. It's a great way to try some new stuff!