Rosemary

Flying into Columbus OH from DC (early Oct) o arrive about 10 a.m. We have most of the day to spend there before driving on to Dayton for the night ready to start a business trip the next day.

What are the best sights to see? 2 adults.

jack

Hi Rosemary, depending on what you want to see, If shopping is in your plans I would recommend Easton Town Centre. Just north of the airport (about 5-10 minute drive) from airport take I-270 north & exit at easton town centre. This is a newer development with inside & ouside shopping & some very good restaurants. (brio for Italian, fado for Irish pub, cheescake factory & others) If you would like to visit a beautiful neighborhood, definitely go to German Village located just south of the downtown scyscrapers.from airport take 670 to downtown & exit at 3rd st. take until you cross over I-70 & you will see beautiful red brick streets & homes. Some of the favorites are Katz deli (Pres. Clinton ate here), cup o' joe for coffee, & the book loft (many many rooms of books)all very close together on 3rd st.

jack

Sorry my anxious fingers hit reply too soon. You also may like the Victorian village & short north area just north of downtown. Take High st. & just north of convention center you will see many interesting galleries, shops & restaurants. If you then travel west to Neil Ave from any side street (buttles, starr,etc) you can see some very nice homes there. Wherever the day takes you- enjoy.

Former DC resident

I moved from DC to Columbus last year. I love raising my family here in a quiet little suburb: BUT there isn't a lot to do in Columbus. A couple things do come to mind, though.

The Columbus Zoo is very nice, so you might want to consider spending the day there. They have a website, I think it's www.colszoo.org

There also is The Wexner Center for the Arts. You can check out there website which is www.wexarts.org I generally don't like the exhibits they have, but The Wexner itself is an interesting building designed by Peter Eisenman and is located on the Ohio State Campus which is very pretty in October. It's also just a short drive to the Short North and German Village from there.

Hope this has helped.

RJ

Rosemary:

The Columbus Art Museum has a surprisingly good collection - it's right downtown (don't remember the street) and should be easy to find. Also downtown and of passing curiosity interest, you can see Dave Thomas's very first Wendy's (or the site at least - there's a massive Wendy's there now with memorabilia of their history). Plus I second the motion to check out German Village and the Short North/Victorian village areas, just south and just north of downtown, respectively.

For something truly unique to Columbus, I highly recommend Shadowbox Cabaret (www.shadowboxcabaret.com). It's an offbeat blend of entertainment: comedy, live music, sketches, even short plays. The comedy is broad, the music is loud, the servers are raucously friendly (they're also the performers), and the atmosphere is quite unlike anything else. If you're interested, call ahead - they have a rabidly loyal following and tend to sell out in advance.

Enjoy!

xxxx

Go to the zoo!

joy

How much free time do you have in Dayton once you get there? If you have any interest in these types of things at all - the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base has a wonderful museum - hundreds of classic and current planes on display to tour, lots of exhibits, several of the former presidential aircraft and an IMAX theater. It's all free except the IMAX. If I could only pick one - Columbus or Dayton, I'd spend my day at Wright-Patt. Just off route 70 between Columbus and Dayton, you'll see the signs.

BuckeyeChuck

Former DC Resident-You must not get out much because there are lots of things to do in Columbus. This weekend for example Easton has their arts festival. Columbus has a pretty good ballet, jazz arts group, theater, symphony, picnic with the pops, great metroparks, antique shops, short north hop, great restaurants etc. If you can't find something to do in Columbus you aren't really trying....

Chuckagain

Forgot to mention the North Market downtown, Clippers Games, Crew games, Blue Jacket games, Ohio State, Capital University, Otterbein University, Ohio Dominican University, Franklin University, COSI downtown, Brewery District, jazz concerts at Wendy's HQ in Dublin, Thursday morning concerts for families in Whetstone Park, wonderful libraries, world class shopping, German Village, community concerts on Sunday night, Worthington arts festival, Jazz and Ribfest downtown, Red,White and Boom, Columbus Arts Festival, Columbus Marathon, Len Imke Classic Car Show, Memorial Golf Tournament in May, tons of golf courses, softball. Look in the Sunday paper or Thursday Weekender and you will find tons of stuff to do. Columbus is a wonderful city.

Former DC resident

Chuck, I agree that Columbus is a wonderful place to live. There’s less crime and the standard of living is higher. It doesn’t compare in “things to do” however to a city like DC. That said, it was a traffic nightmare to get anywhere in the DC Metro area we often didn’t take advantage of the wonderful things there are to do there. It’s easier to get around here and everyone is so friendly. I really appreciate the ideas for things to do. I was already planning to go to Easton this weekend to check out the “Art Affair”. I have done a few of the things that you listed, some I liked and others I didn’t. I’ll have to check out the concerts at Whetstone. That sounds like it could be very nice. PLEASE, don’t take what I said the wrong way, though. I really like it here. I look forward to discovering more about the city.

Christina

I am a current DC resident, former COlumbus resident, and I also think that there is not a lot to do there. It may seem that way if one has never visited elsewhere much or never lived in a big city, but going to a shopping mall like Easton to the Cheesecake Factory is not a big whoop de doo. We have stores in DC, not to mention a Cheesecake Factory. Some of these ideas might be good except the point is that Rosemary only has part of a day to visit the city, apparently, from 10 until 6 pm or so, so that kind of leaves ballet, ball games etc, out (they do have a pretty good regional ballet company and the old theater downtown has been renovated beautifully) I don't consider college campuses very unique (and I went to Ohio State), as we have plenty here, also, and we do have a little zoo in DC called the National Zoo. I suppose I'd go to German Village or the art museum, and they have a good science & industry museum (COSI on Broad St); if you like history or Williamsburg-type stuff, maybe Ohio Village would be the most unique thing to do (it's near downtown)-- it's supposed to be a recreation of a typical town of the 1860s with gardens, craft shops, etc. here is the URL:http://www.ohiohistory.org/places/ohvillag/

Rosemary

Well, thanks everyone, you have given me plenty of ideas, of which I think the Art Museum and the German and/or Short North/Victorian villages will fill all the time we have in Columbus.

I'm sure the Zoo is great but we're not really into zoos. And Joy, I agree with you that the museum at Wright-Patterson is fantastic but we saw that (plus the art museum in Dayton) on our last business trip to Dayton when we flew directly there instead of via Columbus.

Thanks again everyone.

Bill

Definitely go to German Village and just walk around and then get a great meal at one of the restaurants (I recommend Schmitts). Visit the replica of one of Christipher Columbus' sailing ships downtown. This is very near German Village, also. Visit the Boatnical Garden in Franklin Park. Just relax and explore! Columbus is a wonderful city..and impressively very clean for an American city!

jj

Can't believe COSI got such short shrift here -- I think it's one of the best museum of science in the country -- in many ways, it's better than Chicago's, for example.

Seriously consider a visit -- it's right down town.

jack

Hi Rosemary just wanted to clear some things up from previous posters. The Columbus Museum of Art is located at 480 E Broad St. downtown while COSI (Center of Science & Industry) has moved from E Broad st to 333 W Broad st. You can't miss it - located on the bank of the Scioto river. Sorry that some people have tried to turn this into a DC vs Columbus debate. There are pluses & minuses of living anywhere. I have spent a lot of time in the DC area (used to live in Virginia) & choose to move back to Columbus. I find it to be an oasis in the middle of conversative Ohio maybe along the lines of Austin in Texas. Contrary to Christina's bitter post, I have traveled throughout (san fran, london, paris, ireland, NYC, chicago, LA etc etc) & still find Cols a great find with enough to keep you busy without the expense & hassle. For the money I could spend renting a studio apt in NW DC, you could own a home here & travel when not taking advantage of what Cols. has to offer. It never suprises me that wherever you go people have a need to put down the city/state/region/country you are from in order to validate their own decisions or worthiness. bizarre. If anyone has traveled, you get this almost everywhere. west coast vs. east coast. us vs uk (or europe) etc etc. Just lightened up people & enjoy the differences. Thats what travel is all about. I mentioned Easton beacuse it is a very short drive from the airport & because of your time limit in Cols. If you have been to the Reston, Va town center, it is on the lines of that but larger. German Village reminds me of Georgetown while the short north area is like Dupont Circle but on a smaller scale. Hope you enjoy your time here.

Megan

Rosemary-Fall is one of our most beautiful seasons here in Columbus. The Thurber House and the Kelton House downtown are pretty interesting as in a tour of the newly renovated State Capitol Building downtown and the Santa Maria downtown. Fodor's named Columbus a surprise destination last winter. You can access the website: surpriseitscolumbus.com.

And to Former DC resident-IMO, you are nothing but a pretentious SNOB! Quit your whining! There is plenty of things to do in Columbus. If you don't have anything to do or don't like it here--THAT'S YOUR PROBLEM! Sounds like you need to see a professional to find out why you are such an unhappy person.

THINK FIRST

If you want to know why people are beginning to give up on this forum, here's a good example.

Former DC resident -- you wanted to be helpful but couldn't resist a negative comment. What difference would it have made to Rosemary if your answer hadn't included the comparison to DC? None! I don't think it was meant to be a whole-handed slam at all of Columbus, just a comparison -- but THINK! What if you had not made that comment and just offered your suggestion?

As for Buckeye Chuck -- understandable you might want to defend your city, but THINK! What if you had just ignored DC's comment and JUST offered your own suggestion? You would have demonstrated that Columbus-ites (??) are proud of their city (not defensive) and that there is something more to do that no one mentioned.

And as for you, Megan -- what on earth did you think you added by coming out swinging like that? THINK! What if you had just let things alone and offered something to Rosemary that might be helpful? You may think you "scored points" for Columbus, but you didn't really. All you did was raise the nastiness level and make it seem like people from Columbus are ready to call names and start a fight at the least provocation.

THINK, people, before you post something that isn't an answer to a question. Are you actually helping the questioner?

Please

Obviously Think First didn't THINK before making their inane comments.

Former DC Resident slammed Columbus. The people who live their have every right to defend their city. And Megan is right, former DC resident IS a pretentious SNOB! That's what's wrong with this forum--some people have way too high an opinion of themselves and put down everyone and everywhere else.

Phil

Hey Think First you asshole! If you can't contribute to the original question don't answer!! Doesn't take a genuis to figure out that your comments will fan the troll flames and accomplish nothing! You should follow your own advice and THINK FIRST before you post!

THINK FIRST

Okay, have it your way. We'll just keep slamming each other (by the way, I don't think DC resident "slammed" anyone)"

***You're all idiots and a$$holes! What a stupid post!! Why would anyone want to go to Columbus?? What a hellhole!!! Why would anyone want to live in DC?? What a hellhole!!!

Everyone who posted here is an jerk! You all need to get a life!! I hate Megan and Please and Phil. I wish curses on their children and may their grandchildren travel only to slimeponds in Lower Slobovia!!!!****

There, like that better?? Ah, yes, in the fine Fodors tradition that Phil and Please are so keen to preserve!

Rosemary -- enjoy Columbus -- you certainly have enough info for 24 hrs. there. Best wishes to you, at least.