Have you discovered all there is to explore in Albany County?
Whether you head into the bustling city of Albany or travel just down the road, Albany County offers something for history buffs, art, music, and theater lovers, and those who appreciate it all.
and the Regional Food Bank
Don’t fly away so fast.
Mural by Artist Michael Conlin and Capital Walls (Albany Barn, Albany Center Gallery, and Albany Parking Authority)
Don’t spend time reading checklists.
You can while away an afternoon, a weekend, or a whole week exploring art and history in Albany County. Dive right in, and start making plans to visit any of these attractions.
Contemporary
Art
Albany Center Gallery
48 N Pearl St.
Albany, NY 12207
Albany Center Gallery (ACG) is a non-profit art gallery and community space that is free and open to the public. The organization hosts a diverse array of exhibitions, youth art workshops, public art programs, art festivals, and creative collaborations. ACG promotes and exhibits art produced by the region’s emerging and established artists and engages, enriches, and inspires the community to appreciate the importance of art.
What you’ll find there:
Eight exhibits a year, including curated and juried exhibits like the Photography Regional, High School Regional, and an Annual Members’ Exhibition. The gallery works with more than 350 artists a year.
Bonus! Albany Center Gallery and its Executive Director curate the Capital Walls Mural Program as well as expand more public art around the region and in local schools and businesses.
Opalka Gallery
140 New Scotland Ave.
Albany, NY 12208
Built in 2002, Opalka Gallery is the formal exhibition space of Russell Sage College. Located on the Albany campus, Opalka’s primary focus is on contemporary art and design from nationally recognized artists. An important part of the cultural life in the Capital Region, the gallery frequently engages the community in exhibitions and events.
What you’ll find there:
Opalka mounts five exhibitions a year, including the Russell Sage College BFA student exhibition every May, and now offers a free comprehensive guide, available on the Bloomberg Connects app. It supports regional artists, artisans, writers, musicians, small businesses, and other non-profits.
Visual And Performing Arts
Albany Institute of History & Art
125 Washington Ave.
Albany, NY 12210
Founded in 1791, the Albany Institute of History & Art is New York’s oldest museum. Its collections document the Hudson Valley as a crossroads of culture, influencing the art and history of the region, the state, and the nation. With more than 25,000 objects in the collection and one million documents in the research library, it is an important resource for the region, giving our community a sense of the part the Hudson Valley played in the American story and our own place in history.
What you’ll find there:
The Albany Institute houses one of the largest collections of 19th-century “Hudson River School” landscape paintings, which is considered the first American art movement. It is the home of two mummies, and offers an extensive Ancient Egypt collection. And in addition to long-term exhibitions, the Albany Institute organizes temporary exhibitions that rotate approximately three times a year.
The Albany Institute’s archive and library houses over one million documents, including books, manuscripts, posters, photographs, maps, and ephemera. These documents support both scholarly research and local residents interested in discovering more about the region’s rich past. The library is open by appointment only.
The unique architecture joins a 1907 building (the museum’s first and only dedicated building) and a historic 19th-century Beaux Arts mansion with a modern glass central atrium that was constructed in 2001.
Palace Theatre
19 Clinton Ave.
Albany, NY 12207
Added to The National Register of Historic Places in 1979, The Palace Theatre has been Albany’s iconic downtown landmark for more than nine decades, bringing the biggest names in arts and entertainment to the Capital Region. The history and programming of the Palace is a unique and often untold story with roots dating back to the period of the Great Depression. Built in 1931, the Palace originally presented vaudeville acts and feature films. Today, they carry out their mission through core programming and community initiatives that include performing arts, free arts education, family-friendly performances, free summer movies, and more.
What you’ll find there:
The Palace Theatre has several free community engagement initiative programs throughout the year, where families can visit and enjoy the theatre free of charge (Summer in the City, Community Block Party, Family Fun Days, etc). It has hosted some of the biggest names in music throughout its storied history, including Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, Tommy Dorsey, Tony Bennett, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Phish, Nas, Jerry Seinfeld, Neil Young, and Eddie Vedder. This season’s lineup includes an evening with filmmaker Ken Burns; concerts by ZZ Top, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and The Psychedelic Furs; Swan Lake by Grand Kiev Ballet; and comedians Steve Martin and Martin Short.
History
Shaker Heritage Society
25 Meeting House Road
Albany, NY 12211
The Shaker Heritage Society preserves and shares the site of America’s first Shaker settlement, founded alongside the nation in 1776. For nearly 150 years, it was a thriving village built on community, equality, and hard work. Today, we seek to create a place where history and innovation meet, inviting people to explore how Shaker values remain deeply relevant today. In 2026 Shaker Heritage Society is celebrating the 250th anniversary of its founding.
What you’ll find there:
The 1848 Meeting House was the spiritual center of the Watervliet Shaker community. Today it is a cultural hub where it hosts musical and theatrical performances, art, and exhibits. The grounds and gardens are open free of charge from dawn-dusk 365 days a year, with free guided walking tours offered April through October.
Hands-on community workshops focused on art and traditional American crafts are offered year-round, and Shaker Heritage Society’s long-running annual Holiday Market features exceptional regional artisans and hand-made goods that reflect the Shakers’ commitment to craftsmanship.
Ten Broeck Mansion
9 Ten Broeck Place
Albany, NY 12210
The Ten Broeck Mansion is operated by the Albany County Historical Association to present the rich and diverse history and culture of Albany County, one of the most significant areas of European, Native American, and African cultural contact and settlement in North America.
What you’ll find there:
The site’s four acres of gardens date to 1764, and the federal-style Ten Broeck Mansion was completed in 1798. As the home of a Revolutionary War General, Black woman abolitionist, and prominent banker and advisor to Abraham Lincoln, the Ten Broeck Mansion captures generations of history, connecting Albany’s history to our nation’s history.
The mansion’s gardens are open free to visitors who are engaged in self-guided tours of the site. Free educational materials, self-guided tours, and children’s educational kits and activities are available free via the mansion’s Garden Kiosk.
Underground Railroad
Education Center
194 Livingston Avenue
Albany, NY 12210
Underground Railroad Education Center (UREC) researches and preserves the local and national history of the Underground Railroad movement, its international connections, and its legacy to today’s social justice issues, thereby empowering people of all ages to be agents of change toward an equitable and just society.
What you’ll find there:
The Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence is the heartbeat of UREC. Built in 1847 by Black boat captain John Johnson as a 10-room Greek Revival building with what were high-end architectural features of the day, it was home to African American abolitionists Stephen and Harriet Myers, the site where the Vigilance Committee met, and the site where over 50 Freedom Seekers found refuge.
The Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence is open year-round, hosting 90-minute group and small private tours.
The education center hosts a large variety of events, such as July 4th Oration, Juneteenth, Young Abolitionist Leadership Institute, tour experiences of The Myers Residence, historic gardening, senior drawing programs, and more.