Things to Do If You Are Visiting Buffalo, NY- May 18 to 25, 2025. Buffalo is a great place for a vacation. Activities for kids,  great parks, museums, and tourist stuff you won’t want to miss.SO, if you are visiting, you can now say you experienced a snowy Buffalo winter.

Kids

  • Hidden Valley Animal Adventure Drive Thru Safari- Opens May 18-to June 22  – Sat/Sun
  • FREE admission at Corning Museum of Glass for kids and teens– all the time
  • Explore and More Children’s Museum for young kids- carrousel at Canalside where the museum is location- 44 Prime St.- Open – Wednesday to Sunday
  • Aquarium of Niagara in Niagara Falls- Open daily
  • Herschell Carrousel Museum- open Wednesday to Sunday
  • Buffalo Museum of Science, 1020 Humboldt Parkway- open daily
  • Buffalo Zoo- Open daily- new tiger and lion cubs

Nature- Outdoors

  • Spring Wildflower Walk at Reinstein Woods- May 24- 10am- Free-Register – 683-5959
  • Historical Walk at Niagara Falls State Park- May 24  and 25- FREE but register (parking is $10)
  • Best Places to Hike- Knox Farm State Park, Reinstein, Niagara Falls, Iroquois National Wildlife
  • Niagara Falls State Park- bring a passport and you can do both sides (US and Canada)- Illumination at Night. Cave of the Winds,  Maid of the Mist ,Terrapin Point, Lots 2 and 1. NY Residents 65+ can get free parking during the week- slide driver’s license under scanner at parking
  • Letchworth State Park- Grand Canyon of the East
  • Reinstein Woods is a great place for an easy walk as well- ponds, wildlife

Museums

  • Burchfield Penny Art Center (across the street from Albright)- FREE Admission on June 13, 2025  from 10am to 8pmand live music at 5:30pm.
  •   Albright Knox Art Museum- Open Mondays and Thursday- Sunday (closed Tuesday and Wednesday). FREE admission/Pay What you Can- June 6
  • Pierce Arrow- Auto, Bike, Motorcycle Museum- Open from 11 am to 4pm- this is a really cool museum- check it out. Open Friday and Saturday
  • Darwin Martin House (Frank Lloyd Wright)
  • Buffalo Naval Park at Canalside- Open Wednesday- Sunday- 10am to 5pm- closed for the winter but you can still see the ships from the walkway
  • Herschell Carrousel Museum- open Wednesday to Sunday
  • Buffalo Museum of Science, 1020 Humboldt Parkway- open daily

Tourist Stuff

  • Vidler’s 5 and Dime in East Aurora
  • Get Wings and Beef on Weck (weck is short for kimmelweck bun which is a bun sprinkled with coarse salt and caraway seeds instead of sesame). Do NOT go to Anchor Bar-while it may have invented the wings, they are not the best here. Bar Bills or Hamlin and Main in East Aurora are the best for wings and Beef on Weck.
  • FREE Tour of Buffalo City Hall (at  65 Niagara Square)- Monday- Friday starting at Noon but you must register for the tour – call 716-245-3032. There are other city tours- Explore Buffalo.
  • Our Lady of Victory Basilica- 767 Ridge Road, Lackawanna- rivals the churches of Europe, open, do not have to be Catholic to view the amazing architecture. And, it is down the street from the Buffalo Botanical Gardens. Wayside Family Restaurant- 2301 S. Park is inexpensive and good  food in causal environment–just down the street from the gardens.
  • Buffalo Naval Park (at Canalside- boardwalk, Explore and More there as well)
  • Frank Lloyd Wright Martin House- 125 Jewett Parkway- near the Buffalo Zoo.
  • Niagara Wine Trail
  • Buffalo Naval Park at Canalside- tours end in fall but still cool to see big ships
  • Lots of Places for live music- Sportsmen’s Tavern (almost daily music), Pausa, Duende at Silo City, Town Ballroom, Chandelier at Salvatore’s (it’s an experience in itself), The Cove in Depew
  •  Riverworks- restaurant, ferris while, silos, entertainment
  • Mall- Galleria
  • Roycroft- Inn – food and music on Friday nights, center for craft movement- shops
  • Gambling- Seneca Casino downtown and Hamburg Gaming, Plus at Niagara Falls Seneca

Events from May 18 to 25, 2025

  • Music at the CAZ – May 18- Patti Parks with Johnny Rawls
  • Queen City Roller Derby- May 18 at Riverworks
  • Music at Albright Knox Art Museum- May 18- Emmet Cohen Trio
  • Chick-Fil-A Car Show and Bingo – May 18- Cheektowaga
  • Music at Jack Rabbit-  May 18- 90’s Brunch with Ed Wyner
  • Junior League Decorator Show- George Urban Mansion- May 18
  • Music at Electric City-May 18- lovelytheband and wilderado
  • Rochester Lilac Festival and Music Schedule– May 18
  • Riviera Theater- May 18- Steel Panther and Buckcherry
  • Live Music at Babeville – May 18 – Hamell’s Driving All Night
  • Outer Harbor Music Concert at Terminal B– June 1- Simple Plan
  • Linwood Gardens Peony Festival– May 18, 24-25 and May 31- June 1
  • Music at Town Ballroom –  May 21- Low Cut Connie
  • Music at Buffalo Iron Works-  May 24- Songbirds- Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks
  • Buffalo 5k-Dog Dash, Kids Run- May 24 and Buffalo Marthon and Half Marathon – May 25
  • Opening of Sunset Bay with Nerds Gone Wild- May 24- Irving
  • Smelt Festival at Academy Park- May 23- Lewiston
  • Patriot Pops at Kleinhans- FREE for Veterans And Active Military – May 23 and 24
  • Music at Charlies Boatyard- May 24 to September 14- Schedule- May 24- After Affect
    AcMusic at Sportsmen’s–   May 18- 3pm – Flash Back, May 19- Buffalo Bound, May 20 -Baudo Big Band and Twang Gang, May 21- Joe Baudo Jazz and Dillon Brucato Band
  • Music at Chandelier Bar- May 22- Brother James
  • Music at Hamburg Gaming-  May 23- Yank the Cover, May 24- Boys of Summer
  • Music at the Roycroft Inn- May 23- Jony James Band
  • Molly Maguries-May 23- Damone Jackson Outcome
  • Music at Pausa- May 23- Aimee Allen Quartet
  • Music at Jazzboline- Wednesdays 6-9pm-Amherst
  • Pasta Night on Wednesdays and Pizza Night at Pellicano’s Winery on Fridays– 6736 Boston State Road in Hamburg. If you want beer, there is Hamburg Brewing sort of across the street at 6553 Boston State Road.
  • Southern Tier Brewery- 7 Scott Street- food and huge screens for watching sports- near Canalside