The sprawling State Fairgrounds came to a rough, rowdy life when America's oldest state fair, first held in 1841, was set up in the heart of Syracuse, New York, just outside Buffalo. The fair offered a wide variety of events, from food and drinks to entertainment and a place to eat, drink and dance. In this huge, sunlit interior was also the largest and most famous of all the state fairs, the State Museum of Natural History.

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Burnett Park, one of the ten largest zoos in the country, has more than 700 animals, including lions, tigers, leopards, elephants, rhinos, gorillas, bears and other animals. The zoo is just the right size to enjoy in a single day, and together it is one of the most popular attractions on the state festival grounds.

Lawyers, accountants and nurses are among the highest-paid employees in Syracuse. The RN is the most sought-after job title in the region, closely followed by the Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Nearly 18,000 people are employed, making Syracuse the second-largest city in New York State with more than 1.5 million residents.

St. Joseph's College of Nursing offers student nursing programs, including evening and weekend programs for working students. SU includes nine colleges and schools, including Syracuse University School of Medicine, the University at Buffalo, Syracuse Community College and Syracuse Medical Center. SU is reported to be one of the leading colleges in the U.S., with several of its bachelor's degrees nationally ranked high, according to the American Association of University Professors.

Many local colleges, including Syracuse University, offer online and hybrid course programs ranging from a teaching degree to a master's degree in computer engineering. While students can travel to campus, some colleges also offer hybrid programs, requiring 50 percent of the curriculum to be completed on campus. Online courses for primary and secondary schools are available in 17 specialist areas, including business administration, computer science, engineering, mathematics, psychology, sociology, social work, history, philosophy, economics, political science and psychology.

If you need to change buses, ask the bus driver for a transfer card so you don't have to pay double for the same journey. If you plan to take the bus to downtown Syracuse, buses arrive every 15 minutes, so check bus schedules online in advance.

Libraries are the best choice for public Internet access, although you will find Wi-Fi hotspots everywhere else. Fortunately, there are many free public Wi-Fi hotspots in both the city and suburbs, such as the Syracuse Public Library and Syracuse City Library.

Onondaga Community College is part of the SUNY system and offers 11 fully online programs, including a wide range of bachelor and master's degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The University of Environmental Sciences and Forestry offers more than 1,000 full and part-time courses in environmental sciences and forestry as well as a variety of master's and doctoral degrees. It is the College of Medicine of the University and offers a range of bachelor's, master's and doctorates in health sciences and medicine.

In 2011-2012, the SUNY Learning Network served more than 200,000 students enrolled in 12,500 full-time online courses and 12.5 million hours of in-person tuition through 12,000 online course enrollments.

The SUNY Learning Network, the nation's largest online learning network, offers more than 3,000 full-time and more than 1,500 individual courses.

The Centro Bus System offers a fair alternative to travel to most places, and passengers can walk to the markets that share a parking space with the Regional Transport Center.

Most of downtown is relatively flat, but it is worth bearing in mind that the Syracuse University area has many steep hills and the residential areas around downtown also have a few hills. People will take the bus to the city center, put their bicycles on a bike rack in front of it and use it to reach the city center and thus avoid the steeper hills. Several unique food vendors also have stalls here, some of which offer a variety of different types of food, such as fresh produce, fresh fruit and vegetables or fresh vegetables. As a bonus, most of them are on the renovated Armoury Square, a popular destination for tourists and locals alike.

For up-to-date information on events in Syracuse, visit the Syracuse Public Library website and its Facebook page. The best way to get around Syracuse without a car is to get around by car, but there are many places you can walk to from downtown, such as Syracuse University, the University on the Buffalo campus, or the city center from Syracuse International Airport.

The weekend section will be released Thursday and will include news about upcoming events in Syracuse, as well as links to local news and information about events in the area.

The permanent collection tells the story of the canal from its beginnings at the end of the 19th century until today. The crown jewel of this museum is the cradle that weighed ships on the canals for 30 years. It is one of only two remaining scales in New York City and the only one in North America and houses some of the most important artefacts from Syracuse past and present.