We will be going to the Finger Lakes area for 5 nights in August- starting on a Monday-we will be driving from Cleveland- interested in leaving on Saturday and staying 2 nights along the way (Hotels booked in the Finger Lakes over the weekend)Any suggestions? We enjoy small villages, strolling around, quaint shopping and restaurants. Would appreciate any advice from all of you! Thank you! Susan

One suggestion would be East Aurora, NY, which is about 20 miles southeast of Buffalo. There are a number of boutiques and restaurants along Main St. The village is so charming - I love to wander down the side streets to admire the beautiful homes. In addition, it is the home of Fisher Price. If you have any children, or know of any kids with birthdays coming up, definitely stop at the store for great bargains on toys.

The main attraction of East Aurora is the Roycroft campus. Roycroft was a leader in the arts and crafts movement in the early 1900's. You can now explore the campus, museum and buy home furnishings. There is also the Millard Fillmore house (13th president).

I would stay at the Roycroft Inn - www.roycroftinn.com

There is also a Hampton Inn and a few small B&B's. As for restaurants, I love Tantalus for lunch and Borealis for dinner.

From East Aurora, you could venture into Buffalo for day two. Elmwood Ave and Allentown sound like the kind of areas you would enjoy. Both are densely packed with shops and restaurants. You could also visit the Darwin Martin House - a Frank Lloyd Wright designed house, Delaware Park - designed by Frederick Law Olmstead and the Albright-Know art gallery - an excellent modern art gallery. There are several walking tours of Buffalo aimed at viewing its amazing architecture, both self-guided and guided. Here is a link: www.landmark-niagara.org/sched/sched.html

As for restaurants in Buffalo, I would recommend Brodo (soup and wine bar) on Elmwood, Mother's on Virginia (American continental), Ya Ya Bayou Brewhouse (New Orleans style) on Main St and Hutch's (American continental) on Delaware Ave.

As you can probably tell, I live in the Buffalo area. I can offer many other suggestions if you would like... You'll love the Finger Lakes!

I'm not sure how much on the way it is (check a map) but you might like to visit the Genesee COuntry Museum. It is a "living history" museum where they have moved very old, historical local buildings and houses to and recreated a 19th century village. It's really nice. There are live demonstrations, nice gardens, etc. Here is the web site:
http://www.gcv.org/

I do this trip frequently from NE Ohio. It's actually a pretty quick trip (about 6 hrs) and there are some nice places to stop along the way.

I'd suggest stopping in Ellicottville NY. It's really a skiing resort town, but it's a quaint small resort area and would be fine to stroll around in the summer. There's a great brewpub there with good food.

You may also want to consider Chautauqua.

Where in the Finger Lakes are you staying? I'd highly recommend a day in Corning and a visit to the glass museum. There are some decent restaurants in downtown Corning too.

Have a great trip!

The Chautauqua Institute on Chautauqua Lake, if for no other reason than to walk the grounds.

http://www.chautauqua-inst.org/about.html

For unbelievable natural beauty, check out Letchworth State Park (the grand canyon of the east). It's amazing!

The Finger Lakes are beautiful!!!
Have a great trip.

If you have time and really want to a scenic route..take route 20(west). There is a most beautiful little town on the far end of the Finger Lakes (on route 20) called Skaneateles. Seneca Falls is very nice too. But I love Skaneteles..and I think you will too. But remember..route 20 is the way to go.

As far as restaurants go, you'll want to go the Dinosaur BBQ in Rochester (the original is in Syracuse)best BBQ you'll ever eat.

Letchworth Park is definitely worth a visit along the way and is a great place for a picnic. It's known as "the Grand Canyon of the East" due to the scenic gorges that the Genesee River has formed through the length of the park.