Cleveland
A former steel capital on Lake Erie, which has housed the temple of rock in a glass pyramid by I. M. Pei and keeps one of the country's great art museums free to enter. Half an hour to the south, the Cuyahoga valley unfolds a national park of forests, waterfalls and canal towpath.
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Cleveland · Photo Stephen Leonardi / Pexels
Things to do in Cleveland in 5 days
Day 1
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The museum of rock in I. M. Pei's glass pyramid on Lake Erie, tracing popular music from blues and gospel to hip-hop through guitars, stage costumes and handwritten lyrics.
💡 Buy your ticket online and allow half a day, as the floors follow one another without you noticing the time pass. On Thursdays, the museum stays open until 9 p.m. from September to June. Price: $45, about €39, for adults; $30, about €26, for ages 6 to 12; free for under-5s.
User:Zoeguy / Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)Learn moreMore
Five restored 1920s theatres with gilded ceilings and marble staircases, the largest performing arts centre in the country after Lincoln Center, beneath a giant outdoor chandelier lit every evening.
💡 Check the programme on the Playhouse Square website before your trip: touring Broadway shows often cost less here than in New York. Arrive early to see the lobbies, as the decoration is worth the ticket. Price: depends on the show.
Erik Drost / CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 2
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Ohio City's yellow-brick market hall of 1912, under a tiled vault and clock tower, where some sixty traders sell Polish and Hungarian sausages, pierogi, cheeses and pastries.
💡 The market is open on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and closed on Tuesday and Thursday. Come on a weekday morning to avoid the Saturday crowds, and cross the street for a beer at Great Lakes Brewing. Price: free entry.
Scott David / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Learn moreMore
The big lakefront park west of downtown, with a sandy beach, a fishing pier and the giant script Cleveland sign framing the skyline, the place for sunset over Lake Erie.
💡 Come an hour before sunset with a picnic bought at the West Side Market, 10 minutes away by car. Swimming depends on the water quality, posted daily in season. Price: free, free parking.
Erik Drost / CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 3
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One of the richest art museums in the country, free to enter, with more than 60,000 works from ancient Egypt to Caravaggio, Monet and Picasso, plus armour and a major medieval treasure.
💡 The museum is closed on Mondays and stays open until 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays, the quietest evenings. Come by the HealthLine, the Euclid Avenue rapid bus, as the museum car park charges. Price: free for the permanent collections.
Tim Evanson from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, USA / CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Learn moreMore
A 115-hectare garden cemetery where John D. Rockefeller rests, with the mosaic-lined Garfield Memorial overlooking Lake Erie and the Wade Chapel, its interior designed entirely by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
💡 The Garfield Memorial and the Wade Chapel only open in the warmer months, roughly from May to mid-November, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the cemetery gates open daily at 7.30 a.m. Pick up the map at the Euclid Avenue entrance and finish in Little Italy, just below. Price: free.
Kevin Payravi / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 4
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Ohio's only national park, between Cleveland and Akron, with the Towpath Trail along the old canal, the 20-metre Brandywine Falls, the mossy Ledges and a scenic railway, all free to enter.
💡 Start at the Boston Mill Visitor Center for maps, then go to Brandywine Falls early: the car park is often full by 10 a.m. on fine weekends. Hire a bike in Peninsula and, in season, come back on the scenic train, which takes cyclists. Price: free entry, no park ticket required.
Erik Drost / CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 5
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The Victorian house in Tremont where the 1983 film A Christmas Story was shot, restored to match the film with the leg lamp in the window, plus a small museum of props opposite.
💡 Guided tours last 45 to 50 minutes and run all year from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on some public holidays and the last two weeks of February, with digital tickets online. Make the most of it to have lunch in Tremont, one of the most pleasant neighbourhoods for eating. Price: from $20, about €17, free for under-5s.
HeatherMarieKosur / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)"Book" (hotels) and "via GetYourGuide" (activities) are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide). Prices, times and distances are approximate.
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Good to know before you go
🍽️ Must-try food
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.
Dishes to look for in the good places: Cleveland.
⚠️ 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.
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The little details that make all the difference once you're there.
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