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Travel guide
Cincinnati
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: April to June and September to October
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Welcome
Cincinnati, in a few days
A hilly city on the Ohio River, built by German brewers, whose Over-the-Rhine district lines up one of the largest ensembles of 19th-century buildings in the United States. An 1867 suspension bridge leads to Kentucky, and the river that once separated the free states from the slave states is the subject of a freedom museum facing the water.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Findlay Market free · about 1 h 30Ohio's oldest public market still in operation, opened in 1855 in a cast-iron and glass hall, where more than 50 traders sell meats, cheeses, pastries, international dishes and local goetta.
- Afternoon · Over-the-Rhine free · half a dayThe German immigrants' district, one of the largest urban historic districts in the country, with hundreds of Italianate brick buildings now home to the city's best restaurants, bars and breweries.
🛏️ Where to sleep · AC Hotel by Marriott Cincinnati at The Banks ↗ · All places to stay by budget →€170 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Cincinnati Museum Center · half a dayUnion Terminal, the 1933 Art Deco station, whose vast half-dome rotunda framed by Winold Reiss mosaics houses museums of city history, natural history and a children's museum.
- Late afternoon · National Underground Railroad Freedom Center · about 2 h 30A museum on the banks of the Ohio telling the story of the Underground Railroad, centred on a log slave pen from the 1830s rebuilt inside the building, with terraces facing Kentucky.
🛏️ Where to sleep · AC Hotel by Marriott Cincinnati at The Banks ↗€170 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Roebling Bridge free · about 1 h 30The blue suspension bridge of 1867 linking Cincinnati to Covington, Kentucky, once the world's longest suspension bridge and forerunner of the Brooklyn Bridge, crossed on foot in about ten minutes.
- Afternoon · Eden Park and Cincinnati Art Museum free · half a dayA hilltop park with the finest views over the loop of the Ohio, home to a free art museum ranging from ancient Egypt to Van Gogh and the 1933 Krohn Conservatory.
🛏️ Where to sleep · AC Hotel by Marriott Cincinnati at The Banks ↗€170 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden · half a day to a full dayThe country's second-oldest zoo, opened in 1875, known for breeding endangered species and for Fiona, the hippo born prematurely in 2017, among gardens of several thousand plant species.
- Late afternoon · American Sign Museum · about 1 h 30Hundreds of American signs in a former warehouse, from 19th-century painted boards to Route 66 motel neon, with a recreated indoor street and a working neon workshop behind glass.
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Burgers and barbecue: brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
- Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl: the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
- Mexican food: tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
- Pancakes and weekend brunch: a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
- Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
Getting by
Words that help
🗣️ English is the main language here, so there is nothing to learn by heart.
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyUS dollar (USD, $)
BudgetAbout €135 a day, mid-range
Best seasonApril to June and September to October
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterSafe to drink
Tipping15 to 20%, expected
Emergency911
EntryUK, Australian and most EU passports need an ESTA, applied for online before departure, for stays of up to 90 days; a few EU countries sit outside the Visa Waiver Program and need a full visa. Canadians need neither, only a passport. Anyone who has been to Cuba since January 2021 cannot use an ESTA and must apply for a visa.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus, diphtheria and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well off the tourist trail. In the desert parks, the heat is the real risk.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/cincinnati
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.