Cleveland

I have written about plenty of places around the globe, but I have yet to share the one that I've spent more time in than all the others combined.

This place!

You may not have thought you'd plan a dream trip to Cleveland, but there is plenty to do and explore around Northeast Ohio, so I've put together my own little city guide as well as plans for day trips (weekend trips will be covered next time because this was getting lengthy). We get an undeservedly bad reputation, but there are far worse cities in the world. Just don't visit us in the winter.

In Cleveland

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Probably the most unique draw of our city, the Rock Hall sits next to Lake Erie and is well worth visiting whether you go inside or not. The architecture and glass panes are awesome, and it's my favorite spot for a photo op in the city (regardless of how popular those scattered "Cleveland" signs have gotten in the past few years even though I have already shamelessly used one in this post).

If you are a rock fan, you really should pay admission (about $20) to spend a few hours inside. There is so much memorabilia from so many iconic artists from David Bowie to Johnny Cash to Jimi Hendrix and on and on. You can see Michael Jackson's glove, Elvis's bike, ZZ Top's sweet neon and fur instruments, Slash's hat, and much more. They rotate the exhibition on the top floor every once in awhile, and I've seen a few like famous dresses and Rolling Stones covers.

Also, the gift shop has some very cool souvenirs.

Great Lakes Science Center

Just next door to the Rock Hall is the science center which is honestly fun no matter how old you are, but for kids (or people who wish they were still kids), it's awesome. A whole floor of interactive toys, a big section on the space program, and the great Omnimax theater which is 100x cooler than an IMAX with an unbelievable dome-like screen which shows documentaries on stuff like the national parks or underwater life or the rainforest. You can pay admission to just the theater or just the science center, but a combo ticket is a much better value.

There's also a beer fest called Brewsology here every January that includes three hours of pours from the breweries set up throughout, access to the whole science center, and free Omnimax admission for showtimes all evening.

Botanic Gardens

Head over to University Circle to find the botanical gardens (as well as the natural history museum and art museum, if you're into that sort of thing). They have an indoor area with a Madagascar desert biome (that dry heat is so nice in the dead of winter!) containing baobab trees, a giant tortoise, an albino hedgehog, a lizard, and more. Next to that is a Costa Rica rainforest biome with leafy green trees, birds and butterflies fluttering around, leafcutter ants marching single file along logs to and from their nest, some caged frogs and spiders, and a waterfall.

Outdoors, they've got pretty themed gardens like the rose garden and woodland garden. We grabbed some good coffees and cookies from the cafe and sat by one of the firepits. Since it was Christmas, everything was decorated with lights and there was a little train ride for kids. They also had a gingerbread house competition and tree decorating competition with the entries scattered all around the indoor area. Plus a super cute gift shop.

West Side Market

Located technically in Ohio City, the West Side Market is the oldest indoor/outdoor market in Cleveland. You've got your fruit/veggie sections, your homemade pasta booths, endless cheese, flavored popcorn stands, international foods, pierogies, a crepe stall, and such delicacies as hardboiled eggs marinated in Frank's Red Hot (so good). Come fill your fridge!

Sports Stuff

Clevelanders love their sports teams, even, for some unfathomable reason, the horrendous Browns. I don't fall into this category. Sports are not my thing, which is why this section will be short, but I can't really write about Cleveland without mentioning the rabid obsession with all sorts of ball-based games (and puck - the Monsters are fun to see).

Boooo Browns.

What you should do (!) is go see the Indians game which ends in the Rock N' Blast fireworks show. It's one of my favorite fireworks displays I've seen, and they set it to music by Rock Hall legends! Very cool. You can also attend a summer beer fest at the stadium.

Cleveland Zoo

I love the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, and I am saying that having been to many zoos around the world. Ours remains one of my favorites. It's so affordable (less than $15 to get in), and there's enough there to fill most of a day out. The rainforest building alone takes at least an hour.

We've got lions, elephants (a very large elephant exhibit, actually), gorillas, giraffes (which you can feed), crocs, orangutans, a whole cat and monkey building (my favorite) with a cool nocturnal section, sharks, seals, wolves (once with the Girl Scouts we actually got to spend the night camping out in the wolf lodge which was extremely awesome), a whole Australian section, bats, bears, snakes, so very many monkeys... it's really a great zoo with nice exhibits for the animals and a spacious layout.

They also do events through the year such as the Asian Lantern Festival that are worth checking out.

Playhouse Square

We have a whole theater district in Cleveland which you can't miss since there is a massive outdoor chandelier hanging over the street. I've seen Jesus Christ Superstar, Hadestown, Beauty and the Beast, Six, A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Christmas Carol, Mean Girls, Clue, Kimberly Akimbo, and Book of Mormon here. Very worth checking out!

Nightlife

Check out my list of best Cleveland bars and nightlife here.

E 4th

Restaurants

Upon realizing years after first writing this that my restaurant list was wildly outdated, I have put together a new one that can be found here.

Annual Events

Keep an eye out for special events around the city. I've been to great concerts, taco and pickle fests downtown, pop-up cocktail bars, skunk fest in the fall (yes, real skunks! in costumes!), a Yule Ball with loads of themed activities and drinks at the Masonic Arts Center in Ohio City, a Gatsby style private party on W 6th set up speakeasy style, a foam party, and more.

Pop-up Alice bar

There are also some annual events that can be counted on. I recommend Oktoberfest at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds over Labor Day weekend, the Feast in Little Italy each August, the spooky pooch parade in Lakewood at Halloween time, a trippy warehouse installation called Ingenuity Fest every September, Pride downtown in June, and the Scottish and Irish fest at the fairgrounds each summer.

Oktoberfest

Ingenuity Fest

Scottish Fest

Cleveland Pride

We also do up St. Patrick's Day pretty big in downtown Cleveland, and Ohio has more haunted houses at Halloween than any other state. My favorites are: Mansfield Penitentiary in the actual old state prison, Nightmare Cleveland and Chippewa Lake Slaughterhouse which are the absolute scariest with the coolest set designs, Factory of Terror in Canton with five haunted houses and five themed bars, and Akron Haunted Schoolhouse which does a Valentine's haunted house annually. For the first three, be sure to get a touch pass!

Other

There are other little things to stop by and see downtown. The Hyatt Arcade is absolutely stunning. The Cleveland Public Library (old one) is another beautiful building that sometimes has exhibitions on.

Hyatt Arcade

Public Library

The art museum at University Circle is FREE and hosts works by famous artists like Picasso, Monet, Van Gogh, and more. They also host a monthly mixer with dancing and drinks that allows access to the museum.

The natural history museum is right next door, and it has fossils as well as an entire outdoor animal area.

The Cleveland Cultural Gardens are small gardens lining MLK Jr Blvd that you can spend a few hours walking around to see. Each is sponsored by a different country.

Heinen's grocery store on E 9th is probably the most impressive grocery store I've seen with its glass dome ceiling.

Loganberry Books on Larchmere is the cutest bookstore.

Also east is the Lake View Cemetery featuring the Haserot Angel.

Hit a concert either at one of the many downtown venues or a bit further out. Have a night of arcade games at Pins in Ohio City, Dave & Buster's in Westlake, or Scene 75 in Brunswick (which also has laser tag, go karts, mini golf, and miniature bowling), both of which also have bars. Head to Tabletop Boardgame Cafe in Ohio City for a few hours with some friends. Play WhirlyBall in Bedford Heights. Go to Rocky Horror on the first Saturday of every month at Cedar Lee.

Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls

The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist

Being on the lake, we also have water activities available. I've also been jetskiing at Edgewater Park and you get the most beautiful view of Cleveland over the water from out on Lake Erie. Edgewater Beach is right there for swimming, beach sports, a bar, and free concerts in the summer. Bring your own kayak to the wharf and row along the river. If you don't have your own, you can head to Rocky River Reservation to rent. You can also take a booze cruise on the lake from downtown, either on the Nautica or by private tiki boat.

80s Booze Cruise on the Nautica Queen

We also have an aquarium... but that I'm going to discourage you from visiting. It's almost double the cost of the zoo with barely a tenth of the animals. I like the shark tunnel and petting the manta rays, but you'll be done in an hour. It's a rip off.

I did, however, visit Windows on the River (the location of the aquarium) for a New Year's Eve, and in this case, it would be worth it as it's included in the admission price, along with multiple party rooms, dance floors, open bars, and food buffets. Also, there is yet another beer fest I'd like to recommend - Winter Warmer at Windows every March.

Day Trips

If you're looking to get out of the city area for the day, there are plenty of options within an hour's drive.

Stan Hywet

Stan Hywet Hall in Akron is a historic estate you can tour. It's so fancy! You can check out the red-carpeted banquet hall with chandeliers, brick floored sunroom, conservatory, library, high-ceilinged entrance hall, indoor pool, game room, study, impressive gardens and greenhouse, and so on.

Boston Mills & Brandywine

We've got some slopes just in Peninsula if you want to ski or snowboard in the winter. Brandywine's slopes intersect a bit while Boston Mills has theirs lined up in a straight row, and Brandywine probably has the more challenging slopes, but Boston Mills has a better lodge. I like Boston Mills (and the super steep black diamond Tiger slope), but take your pick.

Mapleside Farms

Located in Brunswick, Mapleside has gorgeous views over their farm out back and host events throughout the year. There are outdoor concerts in the summer, barn concerts in the winter, and special seasonal events like the Johnny Appleseed Festival every fall plus pumpkin patch and corn maze.

Castle Noel & Christmas

Medina is home to Castle Noel, located in an old church, where it's Christmas all year round. The owner is a very eccentric white-bearded man called Mark Klaus, and he sure fucking loves Christmas. It's basically been his life's passion to gather this massive collection of movie props from Christmas movies through the decades.

He'll even greet the tours or you'll see him pop up working around the building as you go (plus he makes a cameo appearance in a surprise music video towards the end... I won't spoil it). Some of the highlights are the room of retro toys, a giant train set, recreated shop windows from New York City, Cindy Lou Who's entire bedroom set, and the gigantic room at the end full of trees, props, and Santa with his elves on top of the mountain at the end (after which you'll take a slide back to the bottom).

Speaking of Christmas, we also have the Christmas Story house in Cleveland, featuring the leg lamp, a blowup Ralphie bunny, and a huge gift shop. Public Square downtown offers outdoor ice skating during the holidays, so that's worth checking out too, as well as tons of pop-up holiday bars (Around the Corner's is the best).

Portage Lakes

For kayaking around a lake with a beach and along canals beside beautiful lakeside houses, Portage Lakes near Akron is a great spot.

Medina Historical Square

This is just an adorable stop. Medina's historical town square has a gazebo and all sorts of old-fashioned little shops- a toy store, a tea room, a cafe, a delicious popcorn shop, a place to paint ceramics, and more (the aforementioned Castle Noel is located here too).

Miss Molly's Tea Room

Great Lakes Medieval Faire

In late summer/early fall, you can head to Rock Creek for the annual medieval faire. There are themed weekends all throughout the season (such as fantasy or Vikings), food stalls, archery demonstrations, jousting, shops, axe throwing, and more.

Hale Farm

Hale Farm in Bath is a living history museum with old houses from the state relocated onto the premises, employees in period-appropriate dress, and demonstrations like basket weaving, candle making, broom making, glassblowing, pottery, and more. I spent the summer of 2009 doing a summer internship at Hale Farm and loved it. (My favorite spot to work was the brick-laying station where I'd get to stomp around a clay pit barefoot half the day.)

There are also events throughout the year such as the Maple Syrup Festival, Music in the Valley, Made in Ohio craft fair, Winter Lantern Tours, Harvest Festival, and the big one, the Civil War reenactment. Hordes of reenactors come to camp out on the grounds for the weekend and battle it out in the field once on each day. During my summer there, I shared whiskey out of a tin cup with the Confederate reenactors (I'm firmly Union- don't worry), attended the ball later that night (lots of square dancing!), and camped out in a teepee with a bunch of soldiers. Such fun times.

Whipps Ledges

Head to Hinckley to find this park. Go to the upper ledges to hike the cliffs or the lower ledges to swim or rent a paddleboat or kayak on the lake.

Upper Ledges

Lower Ledges

Kent

Also, for a change in nightlife, head out to Highland Square in Akron, or (my recommendation) Kent, OH, my old college town, which has been majorly revamped in the past 5 years and has an adorable downtown area. All the bars are in one square, so hop between a dozen places on your night out. If I can recommend one to you, it would be my all-time favorite bar and old hangout, the Zephyr, with its three story patio and two separate bars. You also have to try Taco Tontos, the best burritos I've ever had, which conveniently has a pickup window located on the Zephyr patio. I suggest Mike's Place as well with the most insane menu you'll ever see (you better narrow down what you want or you'll be reading it for a half hour) and an X-Wing out front.

Zephyr!

Oh, also, Kent has begun throwing an annual Potterfest (recently renamed Wizarding World of Kent) every summer with vendors, butterbeer at the cafes, props all over town, Acorn Alley transformed into Diagon Alley, bar specials (Quidditch pong and themed cocktails at the Zeph!), and attendees dressed up in character, and it is amazing. In fact, so are Halloween and St. Patrick's Day in this town. It's just a fun place.

So, as you can see, Cleveland does indeed rock and there is plenty to keep you occupied in and around the Rock & Roll Capital. For the sake of condensing my entries, I am going to save my follow-up on weekend trips from Northeast Ohio for next time. If you've worn out all Cleveland has to offer and you're looking for your next overnight getaway (or some slightly further away day trips... don't think I've omitted Cedar Point), I'll have you covered!

Flee to the Cleve