Why Cleveland Is a Great Destination for More Than Just Business Travelers

Cleveland may not be at the top of the itinerary for most leisure travelers in the United States, but travelers would be mistaken to write the city off as an uninspiring place visited only for business. For one thing, Cleveland rocks! Or so says the city’s de-facto 1970s rock anthem, which the city’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame backs up completely. But besides that there are so many reasons why Cleveland is a great place to visit, like art museums, luxury hotels and a great market.

The Cleveland Museum of Art is an unexpected art gem

The Cleveland Museum of Art is a must-see for any art-loving visitors to Cleveland. Situated at the southern end of Wade Park, just a few minutes from the Cleveland Botanical Garden, the Cleveland Museum of Art houses a huge collection of over 40,000 works of art that includes an impressive number of works from the old masters. The only thing visitors love more than the museum’s art collection, though, is its completely free admission. The nearby Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA) is less than a 10-minute walk away, and its modern art exhibitions make for a nice complement to the Cleveland Museum of Art's more classical offerings.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum just plain rocks

This non-profit museum celebrates rock and roll in all of its glory. It’s hard to miss, since it’s the only pyramid-like structure in Cleveland — and if it looks familiar, that’s because it was designed by I.M Pei (who also designed the pyramid outside of the Louvre). The museum isn’t quite like the Louvre, though, as instead it focuses on educating visitors on the cultural significance of rock and roll and its past and present rock gods.

Locals and visitors alike love the West Side Market

Cleveland’s public market, the West Side Market, started out in the 1840s and is still going strong – some would say better than ever. The market attracts over a million visitors each year who come to visit its more than 100 vendors who sell produce, homemade goods and crafts from all over Ohio. Of more interest to tourists is the market’s cooked-food stalls that serve ready-to-eat foods and whose culinary excellence has attracted attention from the likes of the Travel Channel and Food Network.

Go green at the Cleveland Botanical Garden

Its lush gardens and many attractions make the Cleveland Botanical Garden a great stop for the whole family during any visit to the city. The gardens were founded in the 1930s and were the first of their kind in the entire country. In the warmer months the manicured gardens make for a perfect, green oasis in the heart of the city, and in the colder months the action moves indoors to one of the many glasshouses, like the 18,000-square-foot Eleanor Armstrong Smith Glasshouse.

Stay in the heart of Cleveland’s cultural attractions at the lavish Glidden House Hotel

Cleveland has a lot of hotels, but none quite like the Glidden House Hotel. Its early 20th-century exterior, old-world charm and warm decor are a perfect complement to the romantic atmosphere the hotel seeks to cultivate. One thing’s for sure, guests will not be bored, as the hotel is situated on the campus of the Case Western Reserve University just a few minutes’ walk from some of the city’s top attractions: the Cleveland Botanical Garden, Cleveland Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland and Severance Hall, home of the Cleveland Orchestra.