We recently went on a trip to Cincinnati, and I have to say, I was quite impressed. Now let me tell you why…
When it comes to travel, I’m kind of a walking contradiction. (Now that I think about it, I’m a contradiction in all other aspects of life as well..) I like to be “lazy” but want to see nature more than culture. I love uncrowded waterfalls but don’t want to take long hikes. I want to be on top of a mountain, but scared of heights. I love ski resorts, but reluctant to actually ski… So I digress… Point being, when people tell me I should visit things like “markets” or “parks” or “museums”, I always take it with a grain of salt… because most of the time, I find them boring.
That was not the case here. For Cincinnati, Ohio, I will gladly report that I would happily visit Over The Rhine, Washington Park, Findlay Market, ANY DAY OF THE WEEK. If you are going to Cincinnati, then jump in a car and go to one of the places I just mentioned. Park, and start walking. We parked at Washington Park, then walked the route of Over The Rhine. But you could take a shuttle as well. Along the streets are restaurants, bars, galleries, theaters, etc. You can spend all day just window shopping here (make sure to check out all the amazing murals around town) then enjoy the great food!
What’s most impressive to me is that when I yelp’ed, I realized that all the restaurants have excellent reviews. You really can’t go wrong here. We saw a restaurant called Panino with a daily drink special. For our visit, they had the Bloody Mary for $3, and it was VERY good.
Then we walked some more and came across A Tavola. Here’s an advice: If you’ve never had Cincinnati pizza, then you’ve got to try it! The crust is thin and the pizza has more flavor. I would have never thought sausage and sage would go so well together!
Also On The Rhine, is the Graeter’s Ice Cream shop!! They are the only ice cream company in the world that still uses a handcrafted French pot process that makes one small batch of ice cream at a time. Oh my God I want some right now!! If you are going to Cincinnati, you DEFINITELY don’t want to miss Graeter’s ice cream. I know a certain someone that used to drive all the way from Atlanta to Cincinnati JUST FOR THIS. His name may or may not be Teddy…
One more thing about food: the Cincinnati chili. If you’ve never had it, you should try it. To me it tasted like chili on top of spaghetti? It’s weird, but it’s good, fast, and cheap.
Another thing I really enjoyed was all the galleries. There are dozens of art galleries in this walking area and each one has beautiful artwork on display. I know their goal is to sell the art but I never felt any pressure to buy. There are some really amazing pieces and lots of pictures of surrounding nature on display as well.
One thing I wish I did was to attend a play at the Cincinnati Playhouse. It’s located right across from Washington Park and it looks SO NICE!! I did take a tour inside – there are lots of theater halls and full service bars and little snacks… Ok next time…
This is a city I know I’m going to want to come back. There are just so many amazing restaurants I want to try and walking around downtown and Findlay market would never get old on me. There’s something really special about this city that I can’t quite put it into words. Maybe the delicious pizza and ice cream has something to do with it too.