Travel Spotlight on Cincinnati and Its Top 16 Attractions

Hopper's travel guide to Cincinnati features its 16 best attractions, restaurants and hotels, and has photos and travel tips from local bloggers.

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Hopper Editors - Thu Oct 26 2017

On a meandering bend of the wide Ohio River, sat neatly on the tri-state join of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, America’s first truly inland city is a hub of cultural energy and undeniable charm that bears all of the curious trademarks of its intersecting states. It’s possible to spy out the classic riverboat heritage of Dixie, while wallowing away days wandering in the downtown historic Over-the-Rhine neighbourhood (the largest inner-city national heritage district in America). Across the river and to the north visitors can admire the undulating green hills of Ohio’s backcountry, while the metro center of downtown continues to transform itself with new creative culinary joints and historical interest museums to boot. In short, Cincinnati is the perfect gateway to the American Midwest, a last vestige of eastern cosmopolitan before the Great Plains and endless swathes of American heartland.

Photo by idcirco/Flickr.

Bats, bears and wild cats at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden

First opened way back in 1875, the Cincinnati Zoo is one of America’s oldest and best loved zoos. Along with all the classic and coveted exhibitions of wild mammals, from the African plains lion to the endangered lowland gorilla, Cincinnati Zoo is also hailed for its conservation and breeding efforts, some of which have led it to become the first North American zoo to successfully house bonobo monkeys! (Man’s closest DNA relative).

From palaeontology to Appalachian preservation at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal

The Museum Center is Cincinnati’s best all-in-one exhibition space, home to a variety of hands-on displays and entertainments that examine all the facets of Ohio’s history. Take a stroll through the historical center of the Tri-State City and uncover its railroad past, or revel in the successes of local scientific research with a trip to the Geier Collections.

Red seats, red stands and red players at the Great American Ball Park

This deceptively modern stadium is nevertheless a place of hallowed ground for followers of the Cincinnati Reds, and a great spot for visitors to become acquainted with the town’s legendary sporting past. Every aspect of the structure oozes with Ohio patriotism too, from the steamer Power Stacks of centerfield to the melange of mosaic artworks that don scoreboard and interior walking passages.

Cincinnati’s biggest burgers and unashamed American dining at Terry's Turf Club

As one of the legendary hotspots of Cincinnati’s surf ‘n’ turf cuisine and Guy Fieri-approved diner, Terry’s offers a formidable array of all-American meat and seafood mix dishes, along with some classic Midwest mains like high-stacked burgers and spicy filet mignon chili. The interior is done out with all the frills of a classic ‘70s diner, complete with glowing neon signs and crooked wooden bar stools.

Quirky adornments all around at the 21c Museum Hotel

Arty, stylish and contemporary 21c is both inundated with cutting-edge facilities and surrounded by them at its location near downtown Cincinnati’s modern art center. Chic rooms and classy in-house dining spots are complemented by on-site spa facilities and an array of quirky museum exhibitions, while the hotel cocktail bar serves up creative concoctions to customers well into the night.

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