3 Best Sights in Columbus, Ohio

Four blocks east of the state capitol, this collection is particularly strong in early modernist paintings, modern American paintings, and impressionist and expressionist works. The museum holds the largest public collection of woodcarvings by Columbus folk artist Elijah Pierce and the world's largest repository of paintings and lithographs by Columbus native George Bellows. Outdoors is a sculpture garden, and a café and a gift shop are on the premises.

Zoo director emeritus "Jungle Jack" Hanna draws the late-night spotlight to the Columbus Zoo with his regular appearances, along with his cadre of animals, on the Late Show with David Letterman. The 588-acre zoo lies along the Scioto River, about 25 mi northwest of Downtown. Sights include a 100,000-gallon coral reef exhibit, one of the largest reptile collections in the United States and the largest manatee exhibit outside Florida. The newest exhibit is Asia Quest, which showcases fascinating Himalayan creatures like Siberian tigers, red pandas, and sun bears.

In 2006 the zoo bought the adjacent Wyandot Lake theme park from Six Flags and is renovating it in time to open for the 2008 season. The updated park will feature a theme park side and a water park side, as well as golf and, eventually, a hotel and indoor water park. The zoo and expanded theme park will share a common entrance, and visitors to both will receive discounted admissions.

German Village, the 233-acre enclave of preserved cottages and town homes six blocks south of the Ohio Statehouse, has its roots in an 1814 addition to Columbus's south side. It developed in the 1840s as Germans fled from wars, famine, and poor living conditions in their home country to this ethnic pocket in Ohio. After barely surviving the wrecking ball in the years after World War II, German Village has been protected as a historic area since the 1960s and listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975. Its narrow brick streets are lined with charming old homes, gardens, and shops. There's a lively Oktoberfest in September and Shakespeare in Schiller Park in summer.