How To Spend 24 Hours In Cincinnati OH

Do you only have the weekend to explore Cincinnati, Ohio? Are you on a short business trip or a mini-vacation? You won’t get to see everything the city has to offer, but you’ll hit many of its highlights with our guide to how to spend 24 hours in the Queen City.

Day 1

Morning

First things first: Check into your hotel and settle in for your stay in Cincinnati. We recommend the 21c Museum Hotel, a working contemporary art museum that also offers first-class dining and a boutique hotel experience. Stroll through one of the many galleries in the hotel, taking in work from contemporary artists from around the globe.

Next, enjoy breakfast at the hotel’s famed restaurant, Metropole. The chef here partners with local farmers for sustainable eats cooked in a wood-burning fireplace. Try homemade pastries, Metropole hot chocolate, brioche French toast, or the 21c breakfast with eggs, potatoes, toast, roasted tomatoes, and Goetta, a Cincinnati German-inspired sausage-like dish.

Afternoon

Spend your first afternoon in Cincinnati at Smale Riverfront Park, a scenic waterfront park with a gorgeous view of the Ohio River. Take your time strolling through the park’s many features, including porch-style swings, brightly lit fountains with water that plays and dances, and a blooming, lush rose garden.

Next, head over to Cincinnati’s Business District and enjoy a coffee or beer at Lola’s, which serves up $3 locally brewed drafts during happy hour and locally brewed coffees all day.

Evening

For your first night in Cincinnati, you can’t go wrong with a riverboat cruise. BB Riverboats hosts daily sightseeing, dining, and drinking cruises. Admiral’s Dinner Cruises, on Fridays and Saturdays, feature live music, dancing, and multi-course meals. StoneBrook Winery Sunset Cruises are on Fridays and offer a full meal as well as samplings of local wines.

If you’re more of the dive bar sort, Madonna’s Bar and Grill on East Seventh Street is your best bet for a low-key atmosphere. Play pool, watch the game or listen to songs on the jukebox. Food is served until 1 a.m., and the pours are generous.

Day 2

Morning

Start off your second day in Cincinnati at the Taste of Belgium, one of the city’s favorite brunch spots, with locations in Clifton, Over-the-Rhine, Rookwood, The Banks, and near Findlay Market. The waffles here are the best. The brunch burger includes eggs, bacon, Ohio maple syrup, and Havarti cheese in a waffle bun, and your sandwiches, too, can be served on waffles if you prefer.

Next, take in the sights and shop at the picturesque Findlay Market, open Tuesday through Sunday all year in Over-the-Rhine. Over 40 vendors sell local cheeses, meats, fruits, flowers, jams, pastries, chocolates, and ethnic foods.

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Afternoon

Spend the afternoon in one of Cincinnati’s favorite museums and one of America’s quirkiest, the American Sign Museum. This museum is an ode to retro Americana and is home to hundreds of neon signs, posters, statues, and advertisements from over 100 years of American history.

Top off your brief stay in Cincinnati with a visit to one of the city’s institutions: Graeter’s Ice Cream. This legendary homemade French pot ice cream has been served up for over 145 years. Today, there are 17 Graeter’s locations throughout Cincinnati. Black cherry chocolate chip, bourbon pecan chocolate chip, salted caramel chocolate chip, and buckeye chocolate chip are some of Graeter’s signature flavors, and you can buy a carton to take home.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.