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Rochester's oldest neighborhood movie theater. It's just a single screen, but you can order food and drink to be delivered to your seat. Shows a select first-run film each week; free showings of older favorites on Mondays.
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Equal parts burger joint, casual bar, and retro arcade, The Playhouse // Swillburger offers a little something for everyone. The food is counter-service, but everything on the menu (burgers, fries/tots, and shakes) is highly regarded. Arcade machines ($0.50–$1 each) are vintage and thus prone to breaking down, but they do their best to keep them in repair. 21+ after 10PM.
The conservatory holds a number of more exotic plants that wouldn't survive outside in Rochester, including desert and tropical species. Open year-round and a wonderful refuge from the stark winter landscapes.
Most famous for its hundreds of lilacs, Highland Park is the site of the annual Lilac Festival. Even when the lilacs aren't blooming, though, there are countless other examples of Rochester's horticultural tradition. There is a Sunken Garden behind the Warner Castle, and the Highland Park Bowl, a natural amphitheater, hosts concerts and films during the summer. Adjacent Beikirch Park hosts the county's Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the AIDS Remembrance Garden.
If Dice Versa is a gaming lounge with food, Nerdvana is a restaurant and bar with games. When you check in for a meal, you'll be asked "Nintendo, Xbox, or PlayStation?" and be seated at a table with your chosen video game console attached to a built-in screen and loaded with a variety of games. Play all you want while you wait for your food (or while you eat, they don't judge). They also have a big selection of board games (only somewhat smaller than Dice Versa's library) if that's more your speed. And don't worry—you can also play at the bar. The food menu is varied and includes some nice twists, and the cocktail menu is equally good.
A small-ish art gallery operated by RIT, featuring the work of fine arts students, faculty, alumni, and other artists of note.
This downtown children's museum, the only one in the world with a specific focus on play, is the place to visit if you have kids from 1-12. You can easily spend a whole day here, or visit a couple of times to enjoy everything. This museum focuses on learning through play and features tons of interactive exhibits, including some focused on well-known themes like Sesame Street. The kid-sized Wegmans supermarket is always a must-do. One nice feature is that most exhibits have information for adults to read (such as on how fairy tales have changed with the times) while the kids do things like climb on a pirate ship. Older visitors (those who can remember the 1980s) may also enjoy the classic arcade cabinets in the eGameRevolution exhibit. The Strong is also home to the National Toy Hall of Fame and the World Video Game Hall of Fame. The museum's Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden costs $6 extra and has a limited number of timed tickets available each day.