The Essential Guide to Cincinnati, Ohio

I’ve lived in the Midwest for five years now, and I think that Cincinnati may be the most underrated city in the region.

Located on the banks of the Ohio River, the Queen City is home to the largest Oktoberfest celebration in the United States and ranks No. 2 on Travel + Leisure‘s list of the Best Places to Live in the Midwest. With its unique mix of German heritage, folksy charm, metropolitan energy, and bourbon culture, it’s easy to see why.

Cincinnati has arguably one of the most culinary exciting scenes in the Midwest, too. The city has long been known for Cincinnati chili, which is spiced with cinnamon and Mediterranean herbs and typically served with spaghetti, but the dining scene offers so much more. The city is peppered with James Beard-nominated eateries such as Wildweed and The Aperture, and is also home to international hotspots like Nepali restaurant Bridges and the Japanese izakaya Kiki—pretty impressive for a city of just over 300,000 residents.

On the arts and culture front, Cincinnati has earned international recognition thanks to its hundreds of murals and Blink, America’s largest immersive light and art festival. The historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood is home to one of America’s largest collections of 19th-century Italianate architecture and to dozens of craft breweries and cocktail bars. If you want to catch a quiet moment outside, the city’s Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area zones and pocket parks allow visitors to enjoy beverages outdoors while exploring neighborhoods like The Banks. Sports history runs deep here, too, being the home of the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first openly professional baseball club, established in 1869.

From world-class museums to the historic John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge (a prototype of the Brooklyn Bridge), the Queen City has somehow effortlessly blended big-city culture without losing its Midwestern charm.

Here’s what you need to know before planning a trip to Cincinnati, Ohio.

Best Hotels & Resorts 

The Lytle Park Hotel

This historic 1909 building was voted one of the best hotels in the world by T+L readers in 2025. The property was once the Anna Louise Inn, and provided housing for young rural women who had relocated to Cincinnati for work. After a thorough modern overhaul, it reopened in 2020 as The Lytle Park Hotel. Throughout the space, guests will notice classic architectural details that seamlessly coexist with contemporary touches of luxury and a chic botanical theme. The rooftop bar has panoramic downtown views, while its proximity to the Taft Museum of Art makes it convenient for art connoisseurs.

Hotel Covington

Located across the Ohio River in Covington, Kentucky, this 114-room boutique property occupies the building that shot to fame as Kentucky’s first modern skyscraper. The original owner of the space, John Coppin, built the property after betting and winning on a horse named Knowledge in a race. The downtown Covington hotel is conveniently located within walking distance to the Roebling Suspension Bridge, the B-Line bourbon trail, and Cincinnati’s riverfront.

21c Museum Hotel Cincinnati

For those looking for a stay with character, head to the 21c Museum Hotel Cincinnati. This quirky property has 156 rooms and a rotating art gallery with exhibitions accessible to guests 24/7. Touches like the Rookwood Pottery tiles throughout the interior reference Cincinnati’s ceramic heritage, and the hotel restaurant, Metropole, deserves a visit on its own. 

Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza

An Art Deco masterpiece, this National Historic Landmark opened in 1931 with beautiful details like Brazilian rosewood paneling and its legendary Hall of Mirrors ballroom. The hotel is located in Carew Tower, one of the first mixed-use buildings in the United States, where everything you need is under one roof.

Best Things to Do

Findlay Market

Established in 1852, this is Ohio’s oldest continuously operated public market. Findlay Market hosts 50 merchants selling everything from flowers to fresh sausage. Take a spin through the space with Cincinnati Food Tours to experience the behind-the-scenes of vendor life and try out samples like steaming goetta breakfast sandwiches, fresh-made hummus, and Colombian-style arepas.

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

Steps from the Ohio River, which once separated the slave state of Kentucky from the free state of Ohio, this powerful museum, explores the history and poignant stories of the Underground Railroad, the historic battle for freedom in the United States, and the struggle of modern-day slavery. The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center has a collection of permanent exhibits, as well as a selection of rotating exhibits—some current displays include an installation dedicated to the Negro Motorist Green Book. On the top floor, you’ll find the free FamilySearch Center, where visitors can research and trace their genealogy using extensive databases and resources.

Queen City Underground Tour

Descend beneath Cincinnati’s streets to explore historic lagering tunnels vital to the city’s German brewing heritage with American Legacy Tours. Tours begin in Over-the-Rhine and include stops at a secret underground crypt and at historic pre-Prohibition-era lager-brewing tunnels.

Revival Vintage Spirits

While this is technically located across the river in Covington, this museum-meets-bar is a must-visit for bourbon lovers and history buffs. You can sip from vintage bottles dating back to the early 20th century, with tasting pours starting at just $3. Revival Vintage Spirits is the first of its kind in the United States and is well worth a stop in. 

Cincinnati Music Hall

Built in 1877 atop a potter’s field cemetery (a burial site for those who couldn’t afford to pay for a funeral) with an estimated 10,000 graves, Music Hall has been recognized as one of America’s most haunted buildings. The National Historic Landmark hosts special after-hours ghost tours where visitors can explore both public and private areas while hearing stories of the building’s paranormal activity. The Victorian Gothic architecture makes Music Hall worth a visit alone, but the ghost stories add an unforgettable color to this iconic venue. 

Nightlife

Ghost Baby

Located four stories beneath Vine Street in 150-year-old underground lagering tunnels, Ghost Baby has fast become one of Cincinnati’s must-visit speakeasy experiences. The Rattle Room is first-come, first-served, but the real experience is in the Den, where you can experience intimate performances in a room seemingly designed for live music. This is a popular hangout spot, so reservations are recommended.

Longfellow

This unpretentious Over-the-Rhine bar is a local favorite, thanks to its chic, but slightly divey energy and craft cocktails like the Arizona Dry, which has notes of dry gin and Earl Grey tea. Don’t miss Longfellow’s Other Room, where rum lovers can appreciate Ohio’s largest rum selection.  

Homemakers Bar

This nationally recognized, woman-owned bar brings retro-inspired aesthetics to Over-the-Rhine with its a special twist, like its beautiful bar top adorned with broken porcelain plates. Homemakers’ drinks are innovative, and use ingredients such as fermented chili, broad beans, purple corn, and persimmons. They also have light bites—the pickle dip is a customer favorite. 

King Pigeon

Coffee shop by day, cocktail bar by night, this Walnut Hills establishment has all kinds of inventive cocktails that utilize techniques like lacto-fermentation, cryo-concentration, and milk-washed clarification. King Pigeon’s quirky cocktail menu includes a flavor map so guests can see how sour, sweet, umami, and bitter each cocktail is in relation to the others. 

Somerset

Somerset’s vibe is one of the bar’s biggest draws, with a classic, moody lounge, a lush outdoor garden, a courtyard, and a bar; there’s an area for every mood of the day. The Over-the-Rhine spot has seasonal cocktails along with fun creations like its classic Ube Margarita. 

Best Restaurants 

Wildweed

Located in Over-the-Rhine, this James Beard Award-nominated eatery focuses on foraged and locally sourced ingredients. Chef David Jackman’s menu changes with the seasons, featuring Midwestern ingredients and handmade pastas like their Kentucky rye gramigna pasta, which is served with sorghum molasses vinegar and sheep’s milk cheese. 

The Aperture

Chef Jordan Anthony-Brown’s restaurant in Walnut Hills has quickly gained prestige since it opened in 2025. The James Beard Award semifinalist specializes in shareable dishes like lamb ribs with pistachio picada (a type of Catalan sauce) and gnocchetti with braised rabbit. 

Bridges Nepali Cuisine

This fast-casual Nepali restaurant started as a Findlay Market vendor and has since expanded to four Cincinnati locations. Bridges specializes in traditional Nepali momos (a steamed dumpling) stuffed with seasoned chicken, pork, or vegetables, as well as other Asian favorites like spring rolls and samosas. 

Kiki

Led by husband-and-wife duo Hideki and Yuko Harada (they met at culinary school in Osaka), Kiki is a James Beard-nominated gastropub in Clifton. Featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Kiki’s menu centers on sushi, house-made ramen, karaage (Japanese fried chicken, and nikuman (pork buns).

Sotto

Sotto is chef David Falk’s downstairs trattoria in downtown Cincinnati. Guests descend into a low-lit room with exposed brick and wood, known for a quiet, date-night feel and tightly packed tables. The menu is straightforward Italian, with a focus on hearth-cooked dishes and house-made pasta. Regulars love these two staples: ricotta doughnuts and cappellacci pasta stuffed with short rib, shallots, and thyme.

Best Time To Visit

The best time to visit Cincinnati is during spring and the fall when temperatures are comfortable and outdoor festivals are plentiful. Spring sees pleasant weather for exploring riverfront parks and outdoor dining throughout Over-the-Rhine, and Cincy’s infamous Flying Pig Marathon Weekend. Fall brings ideal conditions for bourbon tours in Northern Kentucky. The Blink festival, the nation’s largest public art and light event, returns every other October. September is when Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, the nation’s largest Oktoberfest celebration takes place with over 700,000 attendees. Baseball fans can catch Cincinnati Reds games at the Great American Ball Park from April through September, while NFL enthusiasts can experience Bengals games at Paycor Stadium during the fall and winter. 

How to Get There

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) serves as the main gateway, about 13 miles from downtown Cincinnati. It takes less than 30 minutes to get to downtown from the airport, and there are plenty of ride-hailing service options as well as taxis. Cincinnati is easily accessible by car from major Midwest cities via I-75, I-71, and I-74. The city is within driving distance to most major Midwest cities, including Chicago (three hours north), Louisville (two hours south), and Indianapolis (under two hours northwest), and within a day’s drive of 60 percent of the country’s population. Cincinnati also has an Amtrak station, Union Terminal, which is serviced by the Cardinal line three times per week.

Cities & Neighborhood to Visit 

Over-the-Rhine

Located just north of downtown, OTR is on the National Register of Historic Places and is known for having one of the nation’s largest collections of well-preserved Italianate architecture. Today, it’s home to Washington Park’s markets and events, breweries like Rhinegeist, and miles of historic underground lagering cellars. The neighborhood sits within a citywide mural scene of more than 300 works, and dozens are concentrated in OTR.

The Banks

This riverfront district between the ballpark and the football stadium has great dining options, Smale Riverfront Park, and a DORA that permits carryout drinks in official cups. It also hosts the free Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame, an interactive experience honoring artists like Bootsy Collins and The Isley Brothers, and sits next to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

Mount Adams

Perched on a hilltop east of downtown, Mount Adams has historic architecture and stunning city views. The area houses the Cincinnati Art Museum, which has free admission and art that spans 6,000 years of human history. The Krohn Conservatory botanical garden and the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park are also in Mount Adams. 

Covington

Walk across the Roebling Suspension Bridge to Kentucky, where you’ll find yourself in the small city of Covington. It has a 19th-century National Register Historic District known for German-influenced architecture and notable bourbon bars on its B-Line bourbon trail, including Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar and Wenzel Distillery, where you can blend your own whiskey. 

Northside

Cincinnati’s indie hub has vegan spots, vintage shops, coffee, record stores, and LGBTQ+-owned businesses. Bridges Nepali Cuisine anchors the food scene here. Nearby Spring Grove Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in the nation and provides beautiful green space with impressive monuments to famous Cincinnatians. 

Walnut Hills

One of Cincinnati’s oldest hilltop neighborhoods, Walnut Hills played an essential role in the Underground Railroad. The Harriet Beecher Stowe House anchors the local history scene and once appeared in the Negro Motorist Green Book, a Jim Crow–era travel guide for Black motorists. Today, the area has historic housing as well as a growing arts scene.

How to Get Around

Downtown Cincinnati is highly walkable, and the electric-powered Connector streetcar is free. It has 18 stops linking OTR, the Central Business District, and The Banks. The Southbank Shuttle is another option, traveling every 15 minutes between Bellevue, Newport, and Covington in Kentucky and downtown Cincinnati in Ohio. Walking between Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky is also convenient on the historic Roebling Suspension Bridge. The 1,057-foot span takes about 15 minutes to cross.

Visitors hoping to explore neighborhoods beyond Cincinnati’s urban core will definitely want to book a car, as other attractions are easiest to access by car, although ride-hailing services like Lyft and Uber are readily available throughout the city.