My parents are both from Syracuse. 
So am I!  I love it there - it's the economic and educational hub of Central New York
I have never been there. 
It's a great city!  It even has a downtown convention complex.
How big is it?
In 2010 it had a population of 145,252
What are some neat things to see or do?
a major research university, as well as Le Moyne College, a nationally recognized liberal arts college.
History.
French missionaries were the first Europeans to come to this area, arriving to work with the Native Americans in the 1600s. At the invitation of the Onondaga Nation, one of the five nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, a group of Jesuit priests, soldiers, and coureurs des bois (including Pierre Esprit Radisson) set up a mission, known as Sainte Marie among the Iroquois, or Ste. Marie de
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse () is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, and Yonkers.
At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,252, and its metropolitan area had a population of 662,577. It is the economic and educational hub of Central New York, a region with over one million inhabitants. Syracuse is also well-provided