This place is a lot of fun! It's a large museum where you can learn just about everything there is…read moreto know about New York State. We didn't expect to spend much time there, but we ended up staying for well over an hour because there was so much to explore. Admission is free, although donations are appreciated. If you're driving, keep in mind that the museum doesn't have its own parking lot, so you'll need to find street parking. Fortunately, it wasn't difficult to find a spot when we visited on a Sunday afternoon. Highly recommended!

Hubby and I loved this museum. The layout could be better as it was like a maze but overall we…read morethink they did an excellent job with it. It is free to visit but they take donations. We spent about three hours in the area. They're certainly worth a visit.

Made a reservation for 5pm dinner a week before and after we were seated the bar tender notified us…read morethat the cook had just gotten there and we wouldn't be able to get food until 7pm?? We had tickets for a show @7:30 so that definitely wasn't gonna work. Why would you accept reservations if you don't have a cook on staff? I don't recommend this restaurant. They should get zero stars in my book!!!

Formerly Parish Public House, Ophelia's on Broadway opened recently at the corner of Broadway and…read moreHudson Ave in Downtown Albany. This casual bar, restaurant and night club was originally going to be named Nanola South, a sister restaurant to Nanola in Malta, but the place was named Ophelia's instead. The owners wanted a different vibe at this location. The place has a full service bar with stools, flatscreen TVs, and tables and booths and a small spot in the front window for band/musicians to perform in the front section and the dance floor/entertainment area is in the back room. They have live bands, DJs, and karaoke here. I stopped by Ophelia's for a bite to eat after a long day. I took a seat up at the bar as there was a band already here doing soundcheck. The food menu has been simplified offering burgers, grilled chicken sandwiches, salads, wings, mac & cheese, quesadillas, loaded nachos, chips & queso, loaded fries, and fried pickles. There was no cajun/creole dishes and no po boys on this menu (in April 2024), which is offered at Nanola in Malta. The bar had 14 beers on tap, cocktails, and mixed drinks. I ordered the Ophelia's Burger ($14) which took about 25 minutes to to come out. This thick burger had a grilled beef burger patty topped with lettuce, tomato, onions, and melted cheese (pepperjack) on a toasted artisan egg bun from Rock Hill Bakehouse. The burger could've been a bit hotter. The side of golden fries (not salted) were firm and not greasy. The side of Homemade pickle chips was a nice touch.  After I was done with my food, the bartender refilled my water and brought out the check. Overall, I enjoyed my food and was able to watch the NFL Draft on TV (muted) because of the live music getting underway in the front window. The service was laid back here. Took note: the customers next to me enjoyed a few drinks, but their quesadilla never arrived, so they eventually headed out. Not sure if they were understaffed in the kitchen, but other than the temperature of my food, I enjoyed the burger. I will hopefully get to try the msc & cheese next time.

Our family of four had a very nice time. The puzzles are a good level for adults or 15 year old…read moreand our 11 year old too. The rooms are well decorated and immersive. My complaint is that we only took about 25-30 minutes to finish and it cost almost $185. The cost to time ratio is just ridiculous.

If you enjoy puzzle solving or escape rooms, then this place is for you! Unlike escape rooms where…read moreyour main objective is to escape the room, 5-wits an immersive interactive experience that's more focused on story telling where the main objective is to reach the ending of each story based on decisions you've made throughout the gameplay. We did the package deal that includes admission to all three experiences. Each experience takes about 25-40 minutes to play through. Out of all three, my personal favorite was the tomb, which felt the most immersive out of the three. The puzzles were well designed and the visual effects were great. It's a fun place for adults and kids alike.

I'm not sure how to describe this place. It's unlike any other I've been. That said, if you…read moresculpture, art, history, walking, nature, and how they all intersect, you're going to like Opus 40. Essentially, a man named Harvey Fite single-handledly took over 60 acres of Saugerties and built a giant bluestone sculpture in the center of it. The beauty of the walls, the paths, the pools...it's worth checking out. The scale is incredible when you realize one man did it all himself, including hoisting the 14 foot, 9 ton stone he called FLAME in the center. Opus 40 hosts concerts, nature talks and walks, events, and more at this beautiful, serene space, so check those out. And if you're more inclined, just do what my mom and her friends do often (what I've only done once so far), and walk the grounds and take it all in.

Well worth visiting including the on-site museum. I would say think about the historical context as…read moreto when this was being built.

This is a yearly must come event. I been coming here for the past 8 years. It never fails how much…read morevariety of tulips they have. Nice peaceful event, it's helps to come the week before and get to see the early bloomers. Then come again later on for the late bloomers. Plenty of parking in the area and it's a nice stroll through the park.

I came on the day after the last day. It was still beautiful. Bring your cameras. I'm not sure if…read moreparking during the festival was a mess but there were plenty of roped off areas and signs saying no parking close to the flowers. There was also a delightful ticket guy roaming the area. I got great pictures. The vibe was nice. Young and old were enjoying the beautiful weather and sights.

The Egg re-hatched on January 8th after a nearly $20 M renovation. That was great news! It was…read morestarting to become an eyesore with its aging seating and bathrooms. Now, it's a sight for sore eyes! Better sound system and LED lighting were among the upgrades. A little more seating. New seats and flooring. New wall coverings.The public was invited to check out the improvements at a free evening event. When you consider that the distinctive facility is about a half century old, the upgrades were overdue. The helpful ushers are not paid to be tour guides so I'm not sure how accurate their information was. Some ushers said the bathrooms were not renovated. The bathrooms I visited did have upgrades, but I cannot understand why the some of the original hardware including the old, chipped sanitary napkin receptacles were screwed back into the womens' bathrooms stalls. It seriously detracted from the overall appearance and seemed to be a bad penny pinching decision after so much money was spent. I can't tell you about the men's rooms. The men in our group of friends said they thought some work had been done. The Egg's unique shape was inspired by the half grapefruit that Gov. Rockefeller was eating during a planning meeting. In this day and age of large venues, it remains a more intimate setting. The Kitty Carlisle Hart theatre has a capacity of just under 1,000 seats and there's another smaller theater just below it. I was in the audience a few years ago when Pete Davidson did his stand-up act at the Egg. He complained about the small size of the venue. He added another show for same day just to make it worth his while. I came away offended by some of what he tried to pass off as humor. If performers like Davidson don't want to play the Egg again, I'm okay with that. It has great acoustics for fine artists of a whole different caliber. The Egg re-cracked open with aerial performances by Good Karma Studio and the DJ Hollyw8d. Looking forward to attending many awesome performances in this newly improved venue!

This Mid-Century Modern architectural masterpiece was stunning when it was built and now it's…read morerestored to perfection (2026). The artistic integrity remains and of course the proportions and design inside and out continue to WOW! A+ in every way! This venue is worth a good look and please certainly enjoy the top notch offerings! Thank you for the thoughtful restoration! The new seating is super comfortable too!

Ralf was our guide and it was very pleasurable he was very knowledgeable very upbeat and cheerful…read more He kept the tour moving and he answered all our questions intelligently. I was very pleased with the tour and I'm an ex Navy guy so that's saying something !

Only one remains afloat in America [Albany NY]…read more We learned so much from our docent, Caroline.. this is a guided tour inside the World War II destroyer escort. General admission was $10 each and lasted about an hour. There were 563 built during WWII and the USS Slater is the only destroyer escort left in the US. It has been restored to its original 1945 configuration. We were fortunate to learn about this national historic landmark. The first thing we learned was the history behind the name of the USS Slater (DE 766). The destroyer escort was named after Seaman Frank O. Slater. He was assigned to the USS San Francisco at Pearl Harbor and was killed when a Japanese torpedo bomber he had shot down crashed into his gun position. Instead of leaving his gun and trying to find a safe place for cover he stayed at his position continuously firing until the plane crashed his gun mount. The tour took us to the galley, officers and enlisted mess halls (btw, the officer mess hall doubled up as the operating room, there is a medicine cabinet by the wall), we viewed the chart room and the sonar room, captain's cabin, ship's office, signal bridge... we mounted ladders to get up and down between decks. These are steeper than stairs so it could be challenging for some. Overall, a very educational tour and I enjoyed it. A Destroyer Escort's main job is to defend naval task forces from Japanese submarines and Kamikaze air attacks in the Pacific. Review #3014

What a beautiful, CLEAN, friendly, and inviting venue!…read more Aside from incredible cider at more than fair prices (try the classic, the Mule cider, and the Imperial (if you want more bang in your cider)), Nine Pin is absolutely SPOTLESS inside - so impressed with how clean this place is. Also impressive are their Bavarian pretzels with Cider Cheese, the ambient music, the selection of games to play, and their robust calendar of events. The team members working there are super friendly and knowledgeable. One of the highlights of this visit was watching a couple at a nearby table order a cider flight, and it comes as an impressive display of nine tap offerings framed in a nine-pin bowling pin diamond - WOW!!! Though I am not in Albany often, I do have a few friends in the area and rest assured the next time I am in this city, Nine Pin will be where I ask to meet up with all of my friends. I'm excited for another trip here. Well done Nine Pin!

Great drinks but forgettable food. Just stick to the cider here and go elsewhere for a meal. Tons…read moreof seating - some indoors (with garage door open), some outside. Dog friendly and great service!

On my first visit, I just saw a fantastic Blanche Lazzell exhibit here. The Institute is large…read moreenough to provide a comprehensive main exhibit, as well as a smaller one, plus other permanent installments. I like its size, not overwhelming enough to get visual overload, but large enough to provide an artful experience. Parking on the street or in a small lot at the back entrance, reasonable entry fee, beautiful galleries, welcoming staff - excellent venue in the state's capital city.

We visited this museum after visiting the NY State Museum. The gentleman at the reception was…read morepleasant and friendly. Entrance fee was reasonable. As someone who frequents museums wherever we go, I can only give this one three stars. I guess I was expecting more and better quality paintings especially that it's the state capital's art museum. Not to be nit picky but our museum (City of Portland, Maine) has much more interesting pieces. Still glad we went. Happy to support arts and culture.

What a hidden gem off the Taconic parkway! I would enever have guessed this was here unless I…read moresearched for things to do while going on a weekend roadtrip. This place is open pretty much 365 and if the welcome center is closed, you can still walk around the grounds. Wonderful, funky, weird, unsettling, thought-provoking sculptures strewn over a large parcel of land and it's free too. We went in late Dec so it was cold, muddy and a few of the cool interactive pieces were closed.. whomp whomp. Also be aware of the dog 'landmines' as it seems a lot of owners do not bother to pick up. Will be back in the spring!

Awesome sculpture walk! About 50 pieces scattered in the fields and woods on the property. Get a…read moremap at the visitor's center and start your hunt! Wear comfortable shoes- it can be muddy in shaded areas. And wear a hat on a sunny day to keep the sun and flies off of you. Afterwards, rest in the cafe with a cold drink and discuss your favorite pieces. Great day trip for sculpture lovers!