Discovering Rochester, NY: Uncovering Amazing Things To Do In Upstate New York's Hidden Gem 

I live in Rochester and I like it. Oftentimes I feel like Rochester is underrated.

Rochester was such an important city. Industry, agriculture, photography, music, history, cuisine, etc etc It's not the city it used to be, but well worth a visit.

I've noticed a couple of things on videos about Rochester being a dump and riddled with crime. 1. Crime is literally everywhere. 2. Rochester was amazing when I went. Never felt unsafe. 3. People are miserable and will talk crap about anything no matter where they move to, they will only see the negative side of any place. 4. Visit the place for yourself. 5. If you made it this far, stop reading the comments lol. Just go visit any place yourself and you be the judge.😊

My daughter went to the University of Rochester, and I too fell in love with city. the food, museums, bike trails, and naturual beauty are amazing. Also good minor league sports scene and major college BB and FB an hour east in Syracuse and NFL and NHL an hour west in Buffalo. Great town!

You missed our famous garbage plate at Nic Tahou's! Your film made Rochester look great! Thank you!

Great job! I've been here for over 20 years and STILL learned a few new things!

What a great little video. Makes me want to visit Rochester real soon!

Makes no difference where I go, you're the best hometown I know. Hello Rochester, hello Rochester!

I grew up in Rochester in the 1970’s and 1980’s and while there were things to do, and I did them all, the old attractions have been brought into the 21st century. There is too much to describe to explain how much the city has improved in terms of these upgrades - except the natural attractions, which have always been there and always will. My niece went to the University of Rochester and fell in love with the city 15 years ago, and worked in downtown for quite a number of years as it began to come alive again. I worked at the original Aladdin’s on Monroe Avenue one summer in the 1980’s, and even it has been transformed. The only thing I would add is to suggest a visit to the George Eastman House, in which the history of visual representation is documented, and the downtown library. Both are historical buildings and will not disappoint.

As pointed out by others the biggest overlooked spot was the George Eastman Museum which houses a world class collection of photographs. Rochester is also proud of the locally headquartered Wegman's Markets. You could have visited the Pittsford location. And I know that Canadians visit Eastview Mall just south of Monroe County. One of my favorite spots in the area is the Ontario Antique Mall on the road to Canandaigua. As far as the population stats, the metro area has roughly a million residents.

Wow, I'm convinced! I really want to visit Rochester!

Excellent job, I lived there in the '70s and never saw any of those attractions.

I grew up there and experienced the things you saw....I do miss it

You totally nailed Rochester ny area!🤘I live in canandaigua ny. my whole life lol You totally found the Best places in this area!🤘💕 I also learned something new to!

Thanks for visiting Rochester, we're so glad you had fun! Come again soon! #VisitROC

Rochester has the best clouds!

Really enjoyed your video, planning to take my family for a visit next summer!

I truly believe it is a hidden gem! Great video.

I liked the vide, thank you! Watched with my kids, they didn't understand though, what actually to do there.

I used to volunteer to at Susan b Anthony house ! Great place to visit😊 I love my hometown the House of Guitars is a great place to go to! You did a great job

I live here and yea on point with everything!

Great Video!!!!

a good video with good info. I'm only sorry to say that yours is the only video with good info of interesting and fun things to do and see in Rochester.

This was such an amazing video! I am really glad that you enjoyed your stay in my local town! :) I would for sure check out Canal side in Buffalo NY next time you are out here in Rochester. It is about an hour drive but 100% worth the trip! :)

This video travel was so wonderfull

Life long resident, you did a good job.

Don't miss Jeremiah's for the best wings in town, and the Rochester Jazz Fest is a world class music festival each year drawing 1000's of music lovers.

awesome 👏

Miss living there

The "white hot" is ZWEIGLES! I lived in my grandfather's house for 10 years less than a mile from House of Guitars! I was the only female chef at Strathallan and Oak Hill CC back in the 80s. I taught baking classes at the Strong Museum and Center. Down the road from Whispering Pines is Seabreeze Park! Rochester is known as the FLOUR/FLOWER city. It's a must to go to the Lilac Festival in the Spring and countless of festivals in the summer!

Even though I pretty much despise today’s music, a visit to HOG (House of Guitars) is a must on the to do list. Incredible place. Edit: Wow all the times I went to Seabreeze and had no idea about the miniature golf! I will have to check it out next time I take a trip over. Great video 😀

I love Rochester NY. Thank you.

Thank you for enjoying our little gem and for posting a favorable video. For your next visit, if you want to sound like a local, the lake neighborhood, Charlotte, is pronounced "sha-lot" or "shar-lot". We love our Canadian neighbors, and look forward to having you back.

It's hard for us to find this value in our city the way outsiders feel.

Lived here all my life, been to plenty other cities. It’s not bad here at all. Like anywhere else, there’s areas you avoid. This city is rich in history, a cultural melting pot, and the food is pretty excellent. It’s no LA, but it’s not meant for metropolis lovers. It’s a once industrial city turned tech. It’s had hard times, but I’ve been to much much worse. I moved away for a bit and came back. Don’t pigeonhole Rochester into the problems of NYS because those problems would exist anywhere within state lines.

Thanks for wonderful video! Which show did you choose in the Planetarium? Did it have a star dome where you feel like you are under the stars?

Next time you visit Rochester you should do it in the summer because you can watch are baseball team called Rochester Red Wings. Amazing restaurant you should visit is BTB bar & grill.

I'm going home for a week next month. I will bring back white hots. Where you see the falls I grew up in that neighborhood.

Sana balang araw makapunta din ako diyan sa rochester para makita at makasama ko na si abi. 🙏🙏🙏

Thank you so much this helped me a lot 💗 💕 💖 I'm taking my girlfriend to 3 of the recommended places 😊

You forgot the crime rate is off the charts. It’s not the Rochester I grew up in. Charlotte is now a ghetto. Heartbreaking 💔

Is there an Ezra Tillotson in Pittsford?

ほんと懐かしい！オーバンからは車で2時間かかりました。私がいた頃はコダックの本社がかり、名前は忘れましたが、もう1つ大会社もありました。イーストマン音楽院には、たびたび勉強の為に訪れました。懐かしい！

Commander Tom was from WKBW in Buffalo, not Rochester.

I was born and raised there but my brothers and I all left as soon as we graduated from school. We are now scattered around the country in New Hampshire, Georgetown, and Tampa Bay. It used to be an okay city but Kodak, Xerox, Bausch & Lomb and many other huge corporations have packed up and left. They have the least days of sunshine even beating out Seattle. It still has snowed in May in Rochester. One of the highest violent crime cities per capita in the country. Nice vid but no thanks. I wouldn’t even want to go back to visit. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Nick Tahou’s was an institution. Helped many of us survive the Terrible U or R

Commander Tom lived in Lockport and was aired out of Buffalo.

Just out of curiosity, where do you live? What brought you to visit Rochester?

You visited Ontario Beach Park and didn't mention the carousel?!? By the way, "Charlotte" is pronounced " Sha-LOT".

Try not to get shot

You forgot Nerdvana! It is across from the strong museum! You can play Xbox, Nintendo, and PS5 at your dinner table. The fries are so good!

😍🌟😍...

Uuhhh where the .. how is there a full bar i didn't know about?! XD

One thing I wish you got was Elvis pants at the HOG. I live right down the street now.

Thanks for the video. The music is a little loud

Rochester is the best city. Here are some things to do next time you come back.1 go to seabreeze . 2 go to a knighthawks or Amirks game. 3 eat a garbage plate, a Rochester special.

👍👍👍❤❤❤

The Strong Museum of Play, The only place (I know of) where you can go to Sesame Street. All you who are speaking against Rochester can kindly stay away. It's my home and I love it.

Never been more hyped about my hometown ahahaha!

Charlotte is pronounced Shar-Lot. Also the town of Chili is pronounced Chi-lie lol

Go mushroom hunting at Hamlin state park 🍄

the lack of garbage plates was disheartening

Dude, whats with the music?

Next time come to Brockport and get a garbage plate from Jimmy Z’s.

Heard 2 second hand accounts of students that transferred from MIT to RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) and transferred back to MIT because RIT was too difficult. To notch school RIT.

Commander Tom was in buffalo.

DINOSAUR BBQ????? Why??? It's a franchise out of Syracuse; this is not even their flagship location! They serve MEMPHIS-style BBQ, and absolutely none of the 'historical memorabilia" on display there has anything to do with Rochester. And you didn't even mention the fact that the building used to be the Lehigh Valley Railroad station.

Rochester died a long time ago. We left 30 years ago. Many in my family followed me. I never could have retired at 55 paying the outrageous taxes in NYS. I was just a regular working guy. I would still be working if I was there. Buying a new car every 4 years because of the rust. I have a F-250 18 years old. It looks like new. The crime and drugs killed 2 of my family members. The glory days are gone. The animals come out at night.

Shar-lot is how to pronounce the beach not like the name charllotte

Dude...whatz up with the music !!!

Such a beautiful city, Rochester is truly a hidden gem. I’ve lived all over the country and I still have yet to find anywhere that offers the quality of life and peaceful pace of life for the low cost of living that Rochester does. I dream of moving back often. I truly believe if New York voted out the Dems, WNY would be on fire with companies and families flocking there. The state government really holds it back.

Hi I'm moving new York Rochester, is this a tax free city?

Missed dons original waaaaay better burgers than Bill grays, the rest of the review was good

If you don't have a good education or skill you will have to get them. Compared to many cities I have lived in over the past 40 years Rochester is a great place to live in. Best is the public education which is better than most places in the USA.

One of the most dangerous places to live crime and murder is through the roof, glad I got the hell out of there

It's like char-lot not

I recommend sight seeing N Clinton Avenue what a Beautiful peaceful city 🌆 ☺️

it is a dirty little city that closes at 5. high crime rates and murder rates, Shawcross playground. the highest taxes in the nation. and when people explain rochester they point out things outside of it. some of the most contaminated soil from kodak. most homes in the city are falling apart and drug invested

Rochester It's a great city with allot of beautiful spots and places and with allot of great attractions but unfortunately the authorities like always not doing their job have failed to control the crime rate and the gangs who are selling allot of drugs and also carrying illegal guns into the city like always destroying all mayor cities in our beautiful country and there are way to many gun shots and violent crimes.

Dude the music is literally unbearable. Otherwise, nice video!

Great montage of our city. There are a couple of highlights that you missed, one of which is the nightlife. The ghetto section activities. If you didn't witness the drug deals, prostitutes and the nightly shootings you have missed something. Of course if you happened to tour these areas before noon you would not know these were bad areas because the welfare crowd is still comatose. Certainly there are great nightclubs and food is top notch but if you're going out after dark you need to have an armed escort. You toured some of the best food highlights our city has to offer,(The "Dinosaur" being my fave) but you missed the iconic "Nick Tahou's". People world wide know of the immortal "Garbage plate". Sadly this establishment resides in one of the city's worst crime areas and is not safe to go there even during daylight hours. Nick's earned it's reputation when it was still safe to go there. You also missed the history of the "Genesee Brewery" which originated in the late 1800s right here in "Roch-cha-cha", and funded the creation of Genesee Country Village which you did see. The brewery has it's own museum and restaurant with food that's over the top. Unlike other larger breweries Genesee is brewed here in Rochester and nowhere else in the world. We're kind of proud of that. And what about the home of Kodak? Rochester is where photography began. Conspicuous by it's absence, you made no mention of the tent encampments under the expressway overpasses and of course the ever present government corruption but a passing visitor could easily miss this. Certainly one's perspective of the quality of our city changes depending on where you live. If you live on the east side and commute to a 10th floor desk job it's not so bad. If you live on the west side where the working people live it's just a place you have to go to work then retreat at the end of the day. Anywhere inside the city proper is nowhere I would want to live and raise a family. The grass is not always greener as they say, unless you're referring to the marijuana trade here. Having been born here in the mid 50s I can say that your perception of our city matches that timeline, now however...not so much. Just to be fair, I'm sure any other city in America is comparative, everyplace has it's good and bad. Please come back for another visit, I'll be you're tour guide and show you some of the things you missed. Anyway, great video, keep up the good work.

People who live in Rochester right now 👇

Some parts great other parts violent city needs be cleaned up gangs drugs Lived year worst nitemare

Its not upstate NY its western NY

They should rename it the republic of Rochester.take the n.y.off,let people know stuff different there.

I live near by Rochester , would rather have a root cannel done by a blind dentist than go there ! Crime runs rampet there ! was a great city 40 years ago !

Clifford says, tighten it up: A+ - High Falls, Abbott's Frozen Custard, House of Guitars, Strong Museum of Play, Strasenburgh Planetarium A - Highland Park/Mt. Hope Cemetery, Rochester Public Market B - C - Ontario Beach, Susan B. Anthony house D - Genesee Country Museum E - F - White hots, Charlotte Genesee lighthouse, Strathallen Hotel, Museum and Science Center ? - bevy, Dinosaur BBQ (chain restaurant), Radio Social Not in Rochester - Schoen Place, Towpath Bikes, Seabreeze Most importantly, while virtually all of this footage shows bright, bright, sunhiny days, Rochester is literally the city with the most overcast days and the most days with precipitation in the United States. And having resided in Rochester, I can assure you that it will not snow in July or August. Yes, I've seen it snow in the other ten months.

I would stop advertising this combat zone! This is a deadly place to live in much more to visit if you don't know it! It was picture postcard perfect at one time. But that was fifty plus years ago!

Watch the YT video on rochester in the 60s...it was a place to visit but today I'd visit anywhere in the beautiful areas around rochester, but not downtown...this video did a nice job putting lipstick on a pig tho!

Well done video! I now know to stay away from this town.

1. Leave

I left Rochester it's a Democratic run down city.100's of HOMICIDES AND TO GET TO THESE NICE PLACES YOU HAVE TO DRIVE THROUGH RUN DOWN NEIGHBORHOODS. 4 MONTHS AGO A 10YR GIRL WAS SHOT 4 TIMES AND A GUY WAITING AT THE BUS STOP TO GO TO WORK GOT SHOT IN THE DEAD FOR NO REASON THIS CITY IS NOT SAFE YOU SHOULD TELL PEOPLE IF THEY GO THERE ITS AT THEIR OWN RISK.

can't imagine more annoying music

Rochester NY really sucks,I had lived there Since 1970 and I finally moved away from that state.Think twice before moving there and please do your research on everything. I think you will be surprised.

Things to do in Rochester: leave

Amazing things to do in Rochester, avoid the homeless, try not to hit the drunk begging for change in the middle of Lyell Ave, Not getting mugged on Dewey Ave, nor getting shot on Lake Ave. Then the time honored tradition of parking overnight in letter city without getting your rims stolen. FYI you will get shot by High Falls be careful I live in Edgerton and used to Live in Mayors Heights. Pull up a chair and let me tell you about Rochester and the police who are paralyzed to do anything. and Zweigel's are disgusting get a Hoffmans and they're called a Coney after Coney Island the first place to sell them.

Progressive policies have led to unbridled crime, high taxes and poor business atmosphere, Rochester is a dying city but thanks for finding the few remaining bright spots.

OUR CITY IS DEAD🎯

Rochester not good anymore I was born in the Rochester hood area

I live in Rochester it's sucks crime rate threw the roof because of democrat policies. And people are leaving here because of those progressive attitudes