I will be visiting the fair city of Cincinnati again in just over a week. I was able to do some exploring when I was there last year, but I'm hoping you Cincy people might be able to give me some more insight into things to check out. Every time I try looking up things to do, I get the same responses: Kings Island, the zoo, the Cincinnati Museum Center, the Underground Railroad Center, etc. I'm sure these things are great, but I'm more interested in seeing "real" Cincinnati. I like walking around cool neighborhoods, meeting locals, seeing historical things, and just experiencing urbanism. Also, I'm open to some good food suggestions (and please, for the love of God, do not mention Skyline Chili). I'll be traveling alone, so if anyone is up for showing me around as well, that'd be cool.

 

Here is a list of the places I got to last time I was there:

-OTR: Vine and Main Sts. and Washington Park

-Mt. Adams

-All of downtown/riverfront

-Observation deck of the Carew Tower

-Great American Ballpark

 

And here is my photo thread from the last time I was there: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,28029.msg648784.html#msg648784

 

Thanks guys!

 

Here's a guide to Cincinnati's central area. You hear a lot about Porktown's east & west sides, but the central area is pretty unique.

http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-28438-guide_to_clifton_col.html

Go back to the riverfront park, as there's more there now (the "porch swings" are great). Go to the Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar on Mainstrasse in Covington. Walk around Northside and Clifton. If you have time, walk around Newport and Covington. For commercial streets, Main and Madison in Covington are nice. For residential, from 3rd up to maybe 9th, east of Washington are nice in Newport (especially the Mansion Hill neighborhood).

 

Other people might have better or more specific suggestions.

Here's a guide to Cincinnati's central area. You hear a lot about Porktown's east & west sides, but the central area is pretty unique.

http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-28438-guide_to_clifton_col.html

 

God, I hate that "guide" from the beginning, where they refer to several different neighborhoods as Clifton.

 

Edit: And Sitwell's has been around for 16 years? Maybe in its current location. But it's been around for much longer!

If you love steak, go to the Precinct (sit in the bar, it's better than the restaurant).  It's pricey, but phenomenal, and you can use that as an excuse to walk around Columbia/Tusculum, which has some gorgeous housing stock, similar to the painted ladies in San Francisco.

If you want to see more "gritty" neighborhoods with some cool architecture but not much to do and a little unsafe to be walking around alone with an expensive camera, go to Walnut Hills, Camp Washington, and Lower Price Hill.

 

For neighborhoods that you feel generally safe walking around and have a lot of stuff to do and take pictures of and places to eat I recommend:

 

Northside (centered along Hamilton Avenue)

* Melt

* Northside Tavern

* one of the three taco eateries in the "Northside Taco District" (unofficial name, btw)

* Shake It Records

* American Can Lofts (factory turned into loft apartments)

* The Comet (bar with really good burritos, especially the tofu)

* Spring Grove Cemetery (technically in neighborhood next door, but adjacent)

 

Clifton (centered around Ludlow Avenue and NW of the University of Cincinnati)

* Arlin's Bar

* Graeter's Ice Cream

* Mt. Storm Park

* Burnet Woods

* Dewey's Pizza

* The Esquire (Movie Theater)

* An Indian restaurant (there are several)

 

Clifton Heights (Centered around Calhoun and W. McMillan between W. Clifton and Vine; South of UC)

* An Indian restaurant (there are several, again)

* Chicago Gyros

* UC's campus (cool bar on campus called the Catskeller with a good selection of beer at a good price if you're into that)

* Rohs Street Cafe

* Mac's Pizza Pub

* Hughes High School

* U Square (polarizing development in the middle, can't miss it, several restaurants, retail stores, and bars just opened there)

* The Goetz House (probably will be torn down soon, but a mansion that used to be home to Christy's Biergarden and Rathskeller)

 

Corryville (Centered around Short Vine (technically just called Vine Street) East of UC)

* Cincy Steak and Lemonade (awesome lemonade, cheesesteak is ok)

* Corryville Library Branch (beautiful little building)

* Bogart's (longtime music venue with a cool marquee)

* Highland's Coffeehouse (more of a bar that serves coffee and alcohol, opens around 5pm each day)

* Mecklenberg Garden's (one of, if not, the oldest biergarten still operating in the city. Kinda expensive, but cool)

 

Also, some other cool neighborhoods worth checking out are: Mt. Lookout, Oakley, Pleasant Ridge, Columbia Tusculum, Sedamsville (not really any businesses here, but some really cool mansions with some unfortunate 50's style single family one-story homes essentially built in their side yards).

 

In Kentucky I recommend walking across the Roebling Bridge, immediately turning left, and then back toward the Ohio River. The Riverside Historic District is pretty cool. You might get some good shots of Great American Ballpark near there since the reds will be at home that Monday and Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon. (also what natninja said about Kentucky)

 

It's possible I could show you around one day, but it would depend on my schedule. I'll let you know closer to those dates.

If you have a car, like public art, and want a reason to visit many parts of the city, you could hunt down Artworks murals.  They are high quality and there must be 50 of them by now.  Here they are, listed by neighborhood:

 

http://www.artworkscincinnati.org/about/wheretofind.shtml

 

You could easily take a day to just explore the East side neighborhoods.  One thing I always try to do with visitors is take a drive on Columbia Parkway either from Downtown to Mariemont or the reverse.  It's really pretty, and you get some great views of the river and downtown.  Here are some East side highlights:

 

Hyde Park Square: The best shopping district in the city. Hyde Park is a great neighborhood to explore, and the Square has something for everyone.  It can be a little stuffy and preppy, but it's still a great atmosphere to take in. Food ranges from diners to sushi and a lot in between. http://hydeparksquare.org

 

Obryonville: Eclectic strip of shops along Madison Rd. A great restaurant there is Enoteca Emilia, and one of the best bakeries in the city, The BonBonerie is right next door. http://www.obryonville.com

 

Mt. Lookout: More of a neighborhood serving retail district, but still pretty charming.  One of the oldest and best places to get a burger in the city is Zips Cafe. Other options include bars, some sushi places, and Annabelles if you're looking for breakfast/brunch.

 

Ault Park: One of the most beautiful parks in the city. http://www.aultparkac.org

 

Mariemont: One of the first planned communities in the US. Mariemont exudes charm and is one of my favorite neighborhoods to walk around in.  They have a nice little square with a movie theatre, some decent restaurants, and a Graeters.  A really beautiful neighborhood.

 

Finally, if you're looking to kind of cruise around, go get lost in Indian Hill.  It's best known as Cincinnati's uber wealthy enclave, but it's a really beautiful area to drive through.  No businesses are located in IH, and they have very few street lights. Traffic is almost non existent, and the scenery (both natural and built) is awesome.

 

These neighborhoods are much different than OTR, Downtown, Northside, the KY river cities, Clifton Hts, etc.  Not much grit to these places. But if you're looking for something different, the East Side neighborhoods are worth a visit.

God, I hate that "guide" from the beginning, where they refer to several different neighborhoods as Clifton.

Edit: And Sitwell's has been around for 16 years? Maybe in its current location. But it's been around for much longer!

jeeze, ninja.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbhnRuJBHLs

 

ALSO, if you do the east side thing, Alms park is nice, Mariemont has an indian mound & Columbia Parkway is a beautiful drive.

Looks like nothing's going on at Oakley's 20th Century theater.

Check out UC's campus.

Awesome. Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. Can't wait to get back to the Queen City!

Looking forward to your next photo thread.  The last one was great.

I think Mariemont is really a neat (and in many ways unexpected) place.  I am much more familiar with the east-side neighborhoods, which all have some nice walkable neighborhood business districts (Hyde Park, Oakley, Mount Lookout, Pleasant Ridge).  You really need a car (or the bus) to get to any of these places; not sure what your transportation situation will be like. 

 

I'd also second the big old houses in Kentucky, particularly Millionaires' Row in Covington and the historic parts of Newport. 

So I was looking at Megabus tickets to Cincinnati a few weeks back and saw them for $1 each, so I'm making a day trip down tomorrow (1/24) from about 8am-8pm. Most people think I'm weird to just go on a day trip by myself to another city, but it's been a while since I've been to Cincinnati, and to me a fun time is walking around a city and drinking their beer and eating their food. That said, are any of you Cincy people around tomorrow afternoon to maybe grab a beer or something and talk about your great city? I'm also open to any suggestions for things going on this weekend to check out.

Check out the Orchids at Palm Court in the Hilton Netherland hotel - after the Arcade, it's my favorite interior space in Ohio.