Travel like a local.

Podcast, Reedy Press

Salt City Market, Tipp Hill & Columbus Baking Company in Syracuse, New York

Best things to do in Syracuse New York - Linda Lowen - fountains at Clinton Square

Fountains at Clinton Square

I’m really excited to interview Linda Lowen, author of 100 Things to Do in Syracuse Before You Die, about Syracuse, New York. Linda’s tips for the best things to do in Syracuse are awesome because she went to graduate school in Syracuse and married her upstairs neighbor. Since then, they’ve raised their family in the city, and Linda loves that it’s a community of builders, creators, and innovators as evidenced by Micron’s decision to spend $100 billion building a tech hub in Syracuse.

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Best things to do in Syracuse New York - Linda Lowen - mural in an urban pocket park M Lemp Park

Mural in an urban pocket park, M. Lemp Park

Syracuse, New York

We share a lot of resources and local suggestions in today’s podcast, but you should also check out Visit Syracuse, the local visitor’s bureau. They are a wealth of information and can help you plan an itinerary based on your time, budget, and interests.

If you’d like to learn how to travel for free using airline miles and hotel points, check out my free 7-day email course.

Best things to do in Syracuse New York - Linda Lowen - Hotel Syracuse ballroom

A majestic ballroom at Hotel Syracuse.

Getting around Syracuse

The local airport is Syracuse Hancock International Airport (SYR), which is about a ten-minute drive to downtown.

Linda recommends renting a car to explore the area, but she says that the city’s parking meters have some problems. Look for a parking garage when you’re exploring the city. For the best offers on rental cars, visit Avis, Budget, or Hertz. While there is public transportation available, Linda doesn’t recommend riding the bus if you’re not normally someone who rides public transit.

Uber and Lyft are excellent ways to get around.

When you only need a car for a couple of hours, you can rent by the hour with Zipcar. Join now to get $25 loaded into your account.

Best things to do in Syracuse New York - Linda Lowen - Famous cheeseburger pizza at Robbie T’s Pizza

Famous cheeseburger pizza at Robbie T’s Pizza.

Places we talked about on the podcast

Here is a map of all of the places we talked about on the podcast episode with Linda Lowen about Syracuse, New York. You can zoom into the map and click on each dot to explore the city.

  • Red dots = best places to eat in Syracuse, New York
  • Green dots = best things to do in Syracuse, New York
  • Yellow dots = best places to stay in Syracuse, New York

Who is Linda Lowen?

Linda Lowen is the author of “100 Things to Do in Syracuse Before You Die” (Reedy Press 2022), the city’s first travel tourism guidebook, and is writing/researching “Secret Syracuse: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure” due out Fall 2023. A book reviewer for Publishers Weekly and theater reviewer for the Syracuse Post-Standard, Linda’s nonfiction has been published in the Sunday New York Times and in “Tiny Love Stories: True Tales of Love in 100 Words or Less” (Artisan Books 2020Amazon affiliate link).

Her writing advice has appeared in The Writer and Writer’s Digest magazines. A creative writing instructor at the Downtown Writers Center, she’s a former radio/TV talk show host who’s written/produced award-winning programming for NPR /PBS stations in Central New York.

Best things to do in Syracuse New York - Linda Lowen headshot

Here are a few articles and videos about her book:

You can connect with Linda on her website and on her book website. Support the podcast and Linda by buying her book on Amazon (affiliate link).

Big thanks to today’s affiliate partner – Acorns

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I’ve been using Acorns for years, and I love how easy it is to use. For a limited time, when you sign up at wetravelthere.com/acorns, we’ll both earn $5.

Best things to do in Syracuse New York - Linda Lowen - Dinosaur BBQ

Texas isn’t the only destination with tasty BBQ. Check out Dinosaur BBQ when you visit.

Stay tuned for our next episode

Best things to do in Bueno Aires Argentina - Karolina Guilcapi headshotListen to the next episode when Karolina Guilcapi of Sated Ventures Travel shares the best things to do in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In this episode, Karolina and I talk about visiting the San Telmo Market, exploring the books at El Ateneo, and taking tango lessons with Carolina Buenaventura. We hope you’ll join us when We Travel There.

What’s your favorite part of Syracuse? Send us a Tweet, let us know in the comment section below, or continue the discussion in our Facebook group!

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To see which cities we’ve interviewed and scheduled, please visit WeTravelThere.com/map. If you’d like to be a guest on the show, please submit an application at WeTravelThere.com/guest.

Related episodes

To learn more about New York state, please listen to our other episodes from this area:

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