My friend and I are flying from Austin to Burlington, VT tomorrow. Because of a schedule change,we will have a five hour layover in Cleveland- from 10:30a to 3:30p. Is there anything close enough to the airport that we can do? What about a restaurant where we can get a decent meal?
I've heard that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame takes about 6 hrs, so that is out. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!
L

I'm not sure what places are right around the airport, the zoo is fairly close by, a cab ride. I would take the Rapid Transit (RTA train) into tower city from the airport. Tower City is a small mall with very few stores left. It is on publoic square in the heart of downtown. If the weather is good, you could walk down to the lake and see the WWII sub in the harbor by the Science Museum.

There are a few places to eat in Tower City including a Hard Rock Cafe. There are a bunch of restaraunts on West 25 from there that are good. I'm not sure which ones are open for lunch. A few upscale suggestions are the Blue Pointe Grill, Johnny's Downtown.

Another idea is to get a cab and go to edgewater park on the Cleveland/ Lakewood border, pick up some sandwiches and have a picnic. But you would probably need to keep the cab the whole time as it can be difficult to get cabs in Cleveland.

You will not be able to stay downtown long. 5 hrs in an airport is a long time, but with traveling and security lines it is not really long enough to do anthing.

If its your only chance to see it, i'd go the Rock Hall. We've visited a few times, once when we only had a few hours. You can still see alot.

Doing a quick search, i don't see any special exhibits which can slow you down considerably with crowds. Its location is nice too, right on lake erie, next to a science museum and WWII sub.

http://rockhall.com/