Top Rated Attractions in Amherst

Opened in 1849, the Forest Lawn Cemetery is a 267-acre (108 hectares) property that serves as the gravesite of some of the city's most important citizens. Buried here are former U.S. President Millard Fillmore, Indian Chief Red Jacket, from whom the land to create the city of Buffalo was purchased and Pony Express pioneer William Fargo, to name a few. You can stop at the office inside the main entrance for a self-guiding map. Bird watching and Sunday hayride-style tours of the beautiful grounds are also available.

The Darwin D. Martin House Complex is one of the several historic buildings built by Frank Lloyd Wright in and around Buffalo. Located near Delaware Park, the building is a good example of Wright's Prairie style. Other structures on the complex include the Barton House, with original interior wood and art glass, a covered walkway connecting the main house with the conservatory and a gardener's cottage.

Considered among the best in the city when it comes to modern and contemporary 20th-century art, this gallery has a rich selection of works by artists like Sol Lewitt, René Magritte, and Mark Rothko. The Delaware Park gallery also features outstanding work from the 17th-19th Centuries. In addition to the gallery, the center also includes a gift shop and the Garden Restaurant for a bite to eat after all that culture.

The jewel of Buffalo's park system, this public space was one of six designed by famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in the late 19th Century. The Delaware Park's 376 acres (152 hectares) include one of Buffalo's three public golf courses (Delaware Park Golf Course), plus tennis courts, baseball diamonds, the Buffalo Zoological Gardens and it hosts the popular Shakespeare in the Park Festival every summer. The Rose Garden makes a perfect setting for a romantic walk when Spring arrives and in the winter, bring your skis and do some cross-country skiing over the demarcated trails.

Located three miles from downtown Buffalo on the Lake Erie shoreline, this unique urban nature reserve offers 264-acre (106 hectares) of trails, anachronistic boardwalks and a marsh. This preserve is the environmental education site for the Buffalo Museum of Science and it's perfect for bird-watching, hiking, and family picnics—not to mention snowshoeing and cross-country skiing during the cold winters. In the 1950s, the site was used as a refuse dump, but thankfully it was converted to a nature preserve in the 1980s. Admission is free but donations are requested.

Located in an 1890s tri-domed Victorian glass conservatory on the grounds of South Park and created by NY Central Park designer Frederick Law Olmsted, these gardens feature exotic flowers and plants from around the world. The gardens are operated by the Erie County Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Highlights include an orchid and bromeliad house, herb collection, and waterfall. There are also seasonal shows such as Spring Flowers, All-American Annuals in summer, and December Poinsettias.