Things to Do If You Are Visiting Buffalo, NY- May 17 to 18, 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 17-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

  • 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 17 to 18, 2025

  • Music at the CAZ – May 17- Alison Pipitone Band with Grace Stumberg
  • Hamburg Music Festival– May 17 – PA Line, Johnny Hart, Tim Britt, and more
  • Live Music at Babeville featuring on May 17- Start Making Sense- Talking Heads Tribute
  • Outer Harbor Music Concert at Terminal B– Warren Zeiders- $58- May 17
  • Linwood Gardens Peony Festival– May 17-18, 24-25 and May 31- June 1
  • Music at Town Ballroom –  May 17- Pink Pony Club
  • Music at Electric City-May 17- Hamilton Night
  • Music at Albright Knox Art Museum- May 18- Emmet Cohen Trio
  • Junior League Decorator Show- George Urban Mansion-May 17 to May 18
  • Music at Jack Rabbit-  May 17- Katie bKind
  • Music at Buffalo Iron Works-  May 17- Mmanic Focus with Father  Figure
  • Riviera Theater- May 17- Big Suit- tribute to Talking Heads
  • Music at Sportsmen’s–   May 17- Past Masters and the Vincent James Explosion
  • Rochester Lilac Festival and Music Schedule– May 17 to 18
  • Music at the Cove- May 17- Hit N’ Run
  • Music at Chandelier Bar- May 17- Will Holton
  • Music at Hamburg Gaming-  May 17- Nitetones
  • Molly Maguries-May 17- Space Junk
  • Music at Pausa- May 17- Dozo My Lady with Carolyn Lansom
  • 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