We spent a jam-packed two weeks in Cincinnati! When we weren’t working (which wasn’t often), we were out doing something. There was still much more to eat, see, and do when we left. Cincinnati is certainly worth a revisit at some point.
eat
› Skyline Chili – So much cheese. There was so much cheese on our plates that we couldn’t even see what was under it. We were told that this was a Cincinnati staple and that we had to try Cincinnati Chili. We’ve done that now and won’t be going back.
› Graeter’s Ice Cream – Yum. Some of the best ice cream we’ve ever had. The Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip, Cookie Dough Chocolate Chip, and S’mores were a few of our favorite flavors, but you really can’t go wrong. Occasionally you can get their pints in grocery stores, but they also ship nationally! (hint, hint…)
› Maverick Chocolate Co. – The hot chocolate here was some of the best we’ve ever had as well. The chocolate bars were also delicious. They offer samples of all of their chocolates so take your time picking out your favorites!
› Nada – Delicious contemporary Mexican food. It was right next to the theatre and there was a salad that we just couldn’t get enough of. The tacos were also great
› Nicholson’s Pub – Their fish and chips were just what we needed.
see
› Public Art – Like many cities, Cincinnati has a large public art collection to discover as you traverse the city. We particularly loved the Cincinnati Toy Heritage mural that was a sort of tucked away off Vine Street.
do
› Cincinnati Zoo – Occasionally, the cast and crew gets special offers for things, and in Cincinnati, we were offered to take a “backstage” tour of the zoo. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour and appreciated the opportunity to get up-close to and even cuddle some of the animals. Even without that experience, visiting the zoo would have been a wonderful activity.
› Findlay Market – A large collection of shops and restaurants. We didn’t spend much time here because it wasn’t open on Mondays, which is our day off, but it’s worth checking out.
› Cincinnati Museum Center – This Art Deco train station houses multiple organizations including the Cincinnati History Museum, the Museum of Natural History and Science, a children’s museum, and more. We particularly enjoyed the Cincinnati in Motion exhibit in the History Museum, which had a few model train scenes including a 1/64 scale model of Cincinnati! We were here in November so some of the train scenes had a holiday theme which was fun.
› The Escape Game Cincinnati – This was our first foray into escape rooms on tour. We had such a blast that we ended up doing two games while we were in Cincinnati and committed to going to as many escape rooms as we could in future cities! This particular company has locations around the United States with really excellent, challenging games.
› Over-the-Rhine – A trendy shopping and dining district just north of downtown. A nice area to walk around or catch a bite.
souvenir shops
› Deerhaus Decor – Finding non-sports souvenirs in Cincinnati was a challenge! This small shop in Findlay Market had great stickers, prints, and other cute boutique items.
stay
› Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza – This is a beautiful, Art Deco hotel that is centrally located. Even if you don’t stay here, its worth visiting just to see the wonderful architecture. Consider grabbing a bite or a drink at The Bar at Palm Court
getting around
› Car Sharing – We actually rented a car for a short time which made it easier to get around. The rest of the time, we mostly used car sharing apps since the public transportation never seemed convenient.
if we go back...
› National Underground Railroad Freedom Center – One of our cast members, Niani Feelings, had a personal tie to Cincinnati. Her dad, Tom Feelings, along with another artist, Tyron Geter, created a striking mural that is housed here. We did not make time to visit and wish we had.
› Kentucky – We heard really good things about Covington and Newport, but never made it across the river from Ohio to Kentucky.
