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Travel guide
Columbus
5 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to June and September to October
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Welcome
Columbus, in a few days
The capital of Ohio, a student city of 900,000 people, hides behind its office blocks a German quarter of brick streets, an avenue of galleries lit by arches and a covered market where an ice cream maker that went national was born. An hour to the south-east, the gorges of Hocking Hills carve caves and waterfalls into the sandstone.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 1 thing
- D5 Day 5 1 thing
- 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 · German Village free · half a dayThe 19th-century German immigrants' quarter south of downtown, saved by its residents from 1960, with red-brick houses and pavements, Schiller Park and The Book Loft, a bookshop of 32 rooms.
- Late afternoon · Scioto Mile free · about 2 hA riverside promenade below the downtown towers linking parks and gardens, with the Bicentennial Park fountain and the spiralling, grass-covered National Veterans Memorial and Museum across the river.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Graduate by Hilton Columbus ↗ · All places to stay by budget →€160 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · North Market free · about 1 h 30Columbus's public market since 1876, now in a former warehouse by the Short North, with dozens of counters from butchers to Ethiopian and Vietnamese food, and the first Jeni's ice cream shop.
- Afternoon · COSI · half a dayThe science centre in a 1924 former high school facing downtown, with hands-on exhibits on the ocean, space and the human body, a planetarium and life-size dinosaur casts, ideal on a rainy day.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Graduate by Hilton Columbus ↗€160 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Short North Arts District free · about 3 hThe stretch of High Street between downtown and campus, turned into a district of galleries, designer shops and restaurants beneath illuminated arches, with a Gallery Hop on the first Saturday of each month.
- Afternoon · Franklin Park Conservatory · about 2 hAn 1895 Victorian glasshouse recreating rainforest, desert, Himalayan cloud forest and Pacific islands, with a major collection of Dale Chihuly's blown glass set among the plants.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Graduate by Hilton Columbus ↗€160 a night
D4
Day 4
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- All day · Columbus Zoo and Aquarium · a full dayOne of the largest zoos in the United States, made famous by Jack Hanna, with African savannah, Asia, Australia, polar bears and a Florida coast where rescued manatees swim.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Graduate by Hilton Columbus ↗€160 a night
D5
Day 5
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- All day · Hocking Hills State Park free · a full daySandstone gorges, waterfalls and vast rock shelters south-east of Columbus, from Old Man's Cave and the horseshoe-shaped Ash Cave to Cedar Falls and Rock House, all free to visit.
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 seasonMay 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/columbus
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.