Go There: Queen of the Midwest Cincinnati is Sure to Captivate You
If you haven’t thought about Cincinnati as a destination in a hot minute, you need to start thinking about it.
This city will surprise and delight with its cool architecture, expansive parks, fascinating history, pretty waterfront and things to do and see for every taste and every type of visitor. We also recently recognized Cincy as a Top 100 Best Place to Live in the U.S. So whether you’re looking to make a move or plan a getaway, read on to find out about all the fun to be had in Cincinnati.
In This Article
Where to Stay
You’ll have plenty of options, but a few stand out, including the Lytle Park Hotel, The Kinley and the 21c Museum Hotel, complete with 21c’s signature yellow penguins, onsite art galleries and little extras like a box of (very yummy) caramels waiting in your room. You can also expect fun surprises at 21c, like custom shower tiles from Cincinnati-based Rookwood Pottery Company. The tiles feature (appropriate!) body parts like ears and noses.
What to Do
You could easily spend an entire week or more perusing Cincy’s numerous attractions, so if you have less time, you may want to narrow your list based on your interests.
For the art lovers out there, stop by 21c (even if you’re not a guest) and the Contemporary Art Center, which is free and open as late as 7 p.m. on some week nights. The Taft Museum of Art and the Cincinnati Art Museum boast not only impressive collections, but historical connections and context too, both local and way beyond.
27th President Howard Taft hailed from Cincinnati, and you’ll run across the Taft name frequently. The Taft Museum of Art is also a historic home which housed several prominent locals over about 100 years, and its last residents – President Taft’s brother Charles and wife Anna, bequeathed the house and their extensive private art collection to be enjoyed by everyone as a museum. View the collection in a manageable hour or two – some of its impressive pieces include an array of watches and timepieces, some dating back to the 1600s, and a 13th century Virgin and Child ivory sculpture originally housed at the Basilica of Saint Denis in Paris, where many French royals are interred.
The Cincinnati Art Museum, located inside Eden Park, doesn’t charge admission and offers an impressive collection spanning African, East Asian, European, indigenous American art and more. Opened in the 1880s, the museum was the first purpose-built art museum west of the Allegheny Mountains. One of its more recent accomplishments – the Art Climb – is an outdoor grand staircase connecting the museum to surrounding neighborhoods. And you don’t even have to go to a museum to see art in this city – public art is everywhere you look!
For the history buffs who want even more, American Legacy Tours offers a range of guided excursions covering ghosts to gangsters to baseball to hidden caverns underneath the city. Fair warning: it’s pretty creepy down in the underground tunnels once used for brewing, distilling and some even for speakeasies and gambling. The Harriet Beecher Stowe House preserves the Cincinnati residence of the Beecher family, later a Green Book site called the Edgemont Inn. The house is under reconstruction for the foreseeable future, but you can still join an extensive tour addressing the life and experiences of Harriet Beecher Stowe in Cincinnati. The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is a “learning center for inclusive freedom.” Built on the principles of the Underground Railroad, the Center’s thought-provoking exhibits and programming not only examine our history of inequality but also modern-day slavery and human trafficking.
Love live performances? You can find that here too. In fact, Cincinnati’s impressive and well-funded arts scene is one of only 13 cities in the U.S. to offer ballet, opera, fine art, symphony and theater companies. The Cincinnati Opera is the second oldest in the country. It seems that most weekends you can find a live show somewhere in the city. Fountain Square almost always has live music and various events going on.
For more family-oriented attractions, see the hippos – and way more of the animal kingdom – at the nationally recognized Cincinnati Zoo. At the Cincinnati Museum Center, you’ll have the Children’s Museum; Natural History Museum, complete with indoor caves, dinosaur specimens, space experiences and more; and local history exhibits at the Cincinnati History Museum.
Want to get outside? This is one city packed with parks! Beautiful Spring Grove Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in the country, with graves dating from the mid-1800s to today. A peaceful place for a quiet stroll, Spring Grove also offers guided tours a few times a month including occasional after dark tours of the historic section with lanterned guides.
Several parks form the linear green space along the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati. You can bike the entire length in about half an hour. Be sure to spend some time relaxing in one of the waterfront swings that can accommodate 2-3 people each. These parks are just outside The Banks neighborhood between the football and baseball stadiums, so they’re perfect for hanging out before or after games with restaurants nearby too.
Where to Eat & Drink
There’s plenty to choose from for every taste in every neighborhood.
For fine dining, checkout Boca, Jeff Ruby’s or Prime Cincinnati. Nada’s casual but delicious Mexican fare is sure to please, as is Via Vite’s crispy gnocchi (pillows of heaven, according to some!) and other great picks. Absolutely be sure to pop into a Graeter’s Ice Cream, with locations throughout the city, for a local treat.
Grab a delicious Cuban in Over the Rhine at Chacabanas or check out any number of local favorites like Losanti, Alcove, Pepp & Dolores or Salazar. You can also get a cocktail in a very unique environment – Ghost Baby is located in the tunnels formerly used for brewing, four stories below street level. At Findlay Market, one of the oldest continuously operating public markets in the country, find everything from snacks you can eat on the spot to meat, fish, poultry, produce, flowers, cheese and more.
A couple other neighborhoods you may want to check out include Northside – try The Littlefield – and Mount Adams. Reminiscent of Sausalito, Mount Adams offers sweeping views of the river, Northern Kentucky and the Cincinnati skyline. Try the Mt. Adams Bar & Grill – its location was the first Ohio drinking establishment to obtain a liquor license after Prohibition was repealed in 1933. The bar reputedly came out of a speakeasy owned by the infamous Cincinnati bootlegger, George Remus.
Where to Work, If You Must
If you’re looking to start a business, we also recently recognized Cincinnati as an unexpected city perfect for entrepreneurs. But whether you work for yourself or someone else, 1628’s “curated coworking” will have you all set with everything you need and some extras to help you be your most productive. The Mercantile Library has been around since 1835 and today is part of a small group of membership libraries in the U.S. Anyone can visit, and members can use it as a workspace.
Local Obsession: Historic Preservation
In any area of the city, so much historical architecture is preserved and it lends a very unique atmosphere, with 250 local buildings, structures, sites and objects holding a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. You may be surprised to learn that the largest historic district and concentration of 19th century buildings in America is Cincinnati’s Over the Rhine neighborhood. This makes sense when you consider that it was one of the most populous cities in the country for parts of the 1800s. One of many must-sees? Cincinnati’s landmark Music Hall, a Victorian-Gothic structure built in 1878 and today providing performance space for the community to enjoy the opera, symphony, ballet and more.
