Cincinnati has more to offer than just baseball
By Greg Seiter // Photography by Visit Cincy
When I was growing up, Cincinnati and Major League Baseball were synonymous. I was a dedicated Cincinnati Reds fan and cherished the tradition my dad and I built together of going to see the Big Red Machine in action two or three times each summer at the city’s old Riverfront Stadium.
The Big Red Machine is a nickname given to the Reds throughout much of the 1970s, as they proved to be one of the most dominate teams in the history of professional baseball.With the recent death of one of the Big Red Machine’s stars, Pete Rose, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about those days and my visits to southwestern Ohio. But now, I have a much better appreciation for the cultural gem Cincinnati truly is.
A once a thriving boat-building town in the 1800s is now a culturally rich, family-friendly destination that welcomes visitors year round.
Cincinnati is home to an impressive arts community that centers on venues like the Cincinnati Art Museum and the downtown area’s Taft Museum of Art. Many visitors frequent the region’s other museums, too, including the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame Museum and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
A must see is the Cincinnati Museum Center, a National Historic Landmark and a unique complex housed in Union Terminal with a historic Art Deco train station. Hosting more than 1.4 million visitors per year and boasting an estimated 1.8 million artifacts, art works and archives, the Museum Center is home to the Cincinnati History Museum, the Museum of Natural History & Science and a children’s museum, which is consistently ranked among the top 10 museums for children in the United States.
Guests visiting the Cincinnati History Museum will catch a glimpse of what the city was like in the early 19th century by studying an impressive miniature working model of the area that depicts 1900 through the 1940s. It’s also possible to experience early city life by navigating a recreated, life-size, city-block area that features historically accurate structures and props, complete with fact-sharing actors who are more than happy to answer questions.
The Museum of Natural History & Science offers, among other things, a fun-to-explore replica of an actual limestone cave and an Ice Age exhibit that transports guests back to the Ohio Valley 19,000 years ago. In the facility’s children’s museum, visitors can crawl, climb and explore through the Kids’ Town play area and the hands-on adventure-based section, called The Woods.
Just across the Ohio River in Newport, Kentucky — a short car ride from downtown Cincinnati or a 30-minute walk from the river’s south bank, via a popular pedestrian bridge known as the Purple People Bridge — is a multilevel, urban-retail entertainment center. Newport on the Levee — or The Levee, originally rose on the south bank of the Ohio River in 2001, playing a key role in the renaissance of Newport, Kentucky’s, once-seedy Monmouth Business District, historically known for its gambling halls and Vegas-style nightclubs.
Twenty years after its initial debut, North American Properties (NAP) completed a multimillion-dollar redevelopment of the mixed-use destination, transforming it into a walkable, family-friendly entertainment hub. These efforts led The Levee to be recognized as the NAIOP Cincinnati Retail/Mixed-Use/Hospitality Deal of the Year and the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce ImageMaker recipient in 2021.
Today, The Levee is home to a collection of unique-to-Newport retailers and restaurants, national experience-driven brands, a food hall, Class A office suites, a 20-screen AMC Theater, the Newport Aquarium, and more than 200,000 square feet of community-gathering space. It provides outstanding skyline views, direct access to the Purple People Bridge and Riverfront Commons trail, and in close proximity to popular attractions like the Great American Ball Park, today’s home of the Cincinnati Reds.
Within minutes of downtown Cincinnati is an area known as “Uptown,” home to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. Opened in 1875 and recognized as the second oldest zoo in the country, visitors will find more than 500 animals and 3,000 plant species on display at the Cincinnati Zoo. From cougars, bull elephants, gorillas and reptiles to insects, sea lions, giraffes, penguins and manatees, there’s something for everyone there.
No matter the weather, guests are able to enjoy both indoor and outdoor exhibits at the zoo, which, for the most part, allow for up-close viewing. During my most recent visit, I spent nearly 45 minutes in the Primate area alone!
Even Cincinnati’s widely popular Fountain Square is hopping with activity all year, rain or shine.
Recognized as a community-gathering place and the center of Cincinnati’s civic, social and commercial life, Fountain Square, found downtown at the intersection of Fifth and Vine streets, attracts more than 2 million people annually to its special events, free contests, tailgates and lunchtime contests. From fall through late winter, the primary draw to the area is an ice skating rink.
Even if you haven’t been to Cincinnati, you may have caught a glimpse or two of various spots in the city on the big screen without even realizing it. A few of the movies that include scenes from Cincinnati include: “Rain Man,” “In Too Deep” and “Milk Money.”
Located within a one-hour flight and three-hour drive of 60 percent of the U.S. population, Cincinnati is surprisingly easy to navigate and boasts approximately 3,000 hotel rooms, 200 shops and 75 restaurants within five-square blocks of the downtown area.