Columbus

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Ohio’s capital — the Short North, German Village & a great immigrant table

Downtown & Scioto Mile 23 places · area 1 of 8

1 Must see within Downtown & Scioto Mile

Ohio Theatre

The 'Official Theatre of the State of Ohio' — a lavishly gilded 1928 Spanish-Baroque movie palace on Capitol Square, saved from the wrecking ball in 1969 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977. CAPA runs it today, with free summer walking tours and 'Mighty Morton' organ demos.
Your guide’s note Free guided tours on select summer Saturdays; otherwise a ticketed performance venue.
39 E State St, Columbus, OH 43215

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Photo: Ɱ · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

2 Must see within Downtown & Scioto Mile

Ohio Statehouse

Ohio's 1861 Greek Revival capitol on Capitol Square — free tours, the Statehouse Museum, and grounds dotted with monuments in the heart of downtown.
1 Capitol Sq, Columbus, OH 43215

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Photo: puroticorico · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

3 Must see within Downtown & Scioto Mile

COSI

The Center of Science and Industry — a top-ranked U.S. science museum in an Arata Isozaki building on the Scioto riverfront, with giant hands-on exhibits and a dinosaur gallery.
333 W Broad St, Columbus, OH 43215

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Photo: Ɱ · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

4 Must see within Downtown & Scioto Mile

Columbus Museum of Art

Strong holdings of American and European modernism (including Columbus native George Bellows) in a 1931 Renaissance-revival building with a light-filled modern wing.
480 E Broad St, Columbus, OH 43215

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Photo: J. Jessee · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

5 Must see within Downtown & Scioto Mile

Scioto Mile and Bicentennial Park

Downtown's riverfront promenade — a 15,000-sq-ft interactive fountain, gardens and skyline views stretching along the Scioto from the Arena District to the Whittier Peninsula.
233 Civic Center Dr, Columbus, OH 43215

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6 Must see within Downtown & Scioto Mile

North Market

Columbus's last true public market (est. 1876) — 30-plus merchants including the original Jeni's, Momo Ghar and Hoyo's, just off the Short North and Arena District.
59 Spruce St, Columbus, OH 43215

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7 Must see within Downtown & Scioto Mile · Ice cream & bakeries

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams — North Market

Jeni Britton Bauer launched Jeni's at the North Market in 2002; the grassy-buttermilk base and inventive flavors (Brambleberry Crisp, Brown Butter Almond Brittle) that turned a Columbus stall into a national brand.
59 Spruce St, Columbus, OH 43215

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8 Must see within Downtown & Scioto Mile

Momo Ghar — North Market

Phenomenal Himalayan dumplings that put Columbus's huge Nepali-Bhutanese community on the map; the jhol momo swim in a spiced sesame broth. Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
59 Spruce St, Columbus, OH 43215

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9 Must see within Downtown & Scioto Mile

Hoyo's Kitchen — North Market

The friendly gateway to Columbus's Somali food scene (one of the largest Somali communities in the US): tender suqaar, crisp sambusas and rice served the traditional way with a banana. 'Hoyo' means mother.
59 Spruce St, Columbus, OH 43215

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Photo: Ɱ · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

10 Must see within Downtown & Scioto Mile

Veritas

Chef Josh Dalton's glass-kitchen tasting menu, reinvented every few months — repeatedly ranked Columbus's #1 restaurant since 2012.
11 W Gay St, Columbus, OH 43215

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11 Must see within Downtown & Scioto Mile · Breweries & bars

Wolf's Ridge Brewing

The rare brewery that's also one of the city's best restaurants — award-winning beers (the coffee-and-vanilla Daybreak cream ale) alongside a serious downtown dining room.
215 N 4th St, Columbus, OH 43215

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12 Must see within Downtown & Scioto Mile · Asian

Lan Viet Market

North Market's Northern Vietnamese stall from Khanh Le and his mother Lan Pham (a North Market staple since 2010; earlier known as Lac Viet) — a from-scratch pho broth simmered 24 hours and crisp, balanced banh mi.
59 Spruce St, Columbus, OH 43215

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13 Worth the detour within Downtown & Scioto Mile

Topiary Park

The only park based on a painting: sculpted yews recreate Seurat's 'A Sunday on La Grande Jatte' — 54 people, boats and dogs — on the Old Deaf School Park grounds. Free.
480 E Town St, Columbus, OH 43215

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14 Worth the detour within Downtown & Scioto Mile

National Veterans Memorial and Museum

The only congressionally designated national museum for veterans of every branch and era, in a sculptural 2018 concrete-arch building (Allied Works) on the Scioto's west bank, ringed by a memorial grove and rooftop sanctuary.
300 W Broad St, Columbus, OH 43215

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Photo: Jud McCranie · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

15 Worth the detour within Downtown & Scioto Mile

LeVeque Tower

The 1927 Art Deco skyscraper that has defined the skyline for a century — 555 feet, now a hotel, lit in changing colors nightly.
50 W Broad St, Columbus, OH 43215

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16 Worth the detour within Downtown & Scioto Mile

Grange Insurance Audubon Center and Scioto Audubon Metro Park

A LEED-Platinum birding center on the restored Whittier Peninsula wetlands, plus a 35-ft outdoor climbing wall and downtown skyline views. Free.
505 W Whittier St, Columbus, OH 43215

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Photo: Nyttend · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

17 Worth the detour within Downtown & Scioto Mile

Thurber House

The restored home of humorist and New Yorker cartoonist James Thurber, now a literary center, museum and bookstore on a Jefferson Avenue historic row.
77 Jefferson Ave, Columbus, OH 43215

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Photo: Wacko Jack O · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

18 Worth the detour within Downtown & Scioto Mile

Southern Theatre

The oldest surviving theatre in central Ohio — opened 1896 as the 'Great Southern Fireproof Hotel and Opera House' after a run of downtown theatre fires, it hosted Sarah Bernhardt, Anna Pavlova and John Philip Sousa. CAPA restored it in a 14-month, $10M rebuild reopening in 1998.
21 E Main St, Columbus, OH 43215

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Photo: J. Jessee · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

19 Worth the detour within Downtown & Scioto Mile

Columbus Commons

A six-acre downtown green built on the footprint of the old City Center mall — a restored 1914 carousel, free summer concerts, a Thursday farmers market and 200+ free events a year. Free.
Look for Free; carousel rides seasonal (Apr–Sep).
160 S High St, Columbus, OH 43215

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Photo: Nyttend · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

20 Deep cut within Downtown & Scioto Mile

Central Ohio Fire Museum

A restored 1908 downtown engine house of hand-drawn, horse-drawn and early motorized fire apparatus, with a kids' play space and fire-safety tours.
260 N 4th St, Columbus, OH 43215

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Photo: Ɱ · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

21 Deep cut within Downtown & Scioto Mile

Union Station Arch at McFerson Commons

The last surviving arch of Columbus's demolished 1897 Union Station (a Daniel Burnham design), rescued during the 1976 wrecking and re-erected as the centerpiece of the 2.2-acre McFerson Commons in the Arena District. Free.
McFerson Commons, Nationwide Blvd, Arena District, Columbus, OH 43215

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Photo: Ɱ · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

22 Deep cut within Downtown & Scioto Mile

Columbus Metropolitan Library — Main Library

The flagship of a system twice named National Library of the Year — its $30M 2016 daylight-flooded renovation (GUND Partnership), opening onto Topiary Park, won the Columbus Landmarks James B. Recchie Design Award. Free to wander.
96 S Grant Ave, Columbus, OH 43215

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Closed — kept for the record 23

Hot Chicken Takeover — CLOSED

A Columbus original that launched at the North Market in 2014 and built a devoted following (and a social mission) around its Nashville hot chicken. All central-Ohio locations closed in September 2025 — kept here for the record.
59 Spruce St, Columbus, OH 43215

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Short North, Victorian & Italian Village 7 places · area 2 of 8

1 Must see within Short North, Victorian & Italian Village

Short North Arts District

The gallery, restaurant and shopping spine on High Street between downtown and OSU, marked by its signature lit metal arches; monthly Gallery Hop has run since 1984.
N High St (Goodale St to W 5th Ave), Columbus, OH 43215

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2 Must see within Short North, Victorian & Italian Village · Breweries & bars

Seventh Son Brewing

One of Columbus's OG craft breweries (2013), a local institution in Italian Village with street-level and second-floor patios in a former auto garage.

1101 N 4th St, Columbus, OH 43201

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3 Must see within Short North, Victorian & Italian Village · Coffee & cafés

Specialty roaster's showcase Short North bar with a pour-over station and small sample-roaster; works directly with small coffee farmers and cooperatives, and among the strongest in-city options for locally roasted single-origin beans.

745 N High St, Columbus, OH 43215

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4 Worth the detour within Short North, Victorian & Italian Village · Ice cream & bakeries

Fox in the Snow Cafe

Italian Village's scratch bakery and hand-poured-coffee darling since 2014; the gooey cinnamon roll and egg sandwich draw morning lines.

1031 N 4th St, Columbus, OH 43201

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5 Worth the detour within Short North, Victorian & Italian Village

Goodale Park

Columbus's oldest park (donated 1851) in Victorian Village — a pond, fountain and gazebo, and host of the summer ComFest gathering.

120 W Goodale St, Columbus, OH 43215

Pizzuti Collection — Photo: Ɱ · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

6 Worth the detour within Short North, Victorian & Italian Village

Columbus Museum of Art at The Pizzuti

CMA's contemporary satellite in a restored Short North building — rotating exhibitions drawn from Ron and Ann Pizzuti's globe-spanning collection of contemporary art.

632 N Park St, Columbus, OH 43215

7 Deep cut within Short North, Victorian & Italian Village

Italian Village

The historic district just east of the Short North — brick worker cottages and the redeveloped Jeffrey Park, now home to Seventh Son and Fox in the Snow. Address is the landmark Jeffrey Manufacturing office building.

224 E 1st Ave, Columbus, OH 43201

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German Village & Brewery District 7 places · area 3 of 8

1 Must see within German Village & Brewery District · German

Schmidt's Sausage Haus

German Village institution since 1886 in a brick livery stable. The Bahama Mama smoked sausage was voted Columbus's official food; the world-famous jumbo cream puffs are the other reason to come.

240 E Kossuth St, Columbus, OH 43206

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2 Must see within German Village & Brewery District

The Book Loft of German Village

A literary labyrinth of 32 rooms of discounted books in pre-Civil War buildings — one of the largest independent bookstores in the country.

631 S 3rd St, Columbus, OH 43206

3 Must see within German Village & Brewery District

German Village

A 19th-century German immigrant neighborhood of brick-paved streets and Italianate cottages — the largest privately funded historic district on the National Register. Address is the German Village Society Meeting Haus.

588 S 3rd St, Columbus, OH 43206

4 Must see within German Village & Brewery District

Lindey's

German Village's see-and-be-seen bistro since 1981 — steaks, seafood and one of the most beloved leafy patios in America.

169 E Beck St, Columbus, OH 43206

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5 Must see within German Village & Brewery District

Agni

Chef Avishar Barua — a James Beard 'Best Chef: Great Lakes' semifinalist — cooks inventive, Bangladeshi-inflected New American on the German Village edge; a recent Columbus Monthly #1.

716 S High St, Columbus, OH 43206

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6 Worth the detour within German Village & Brewery District

Schiller Park

German Village's 23-acre green heart (est. 1867) — Columbus's second-oldest park, with a lake, the Umbrella Girl fountain, a bust of poet Friedrich Schiller and summer 'Actors' Theatre' Shakespeare. Free.

1069 Jaeger St, Columbus, OH 43206

Closed — kept for the record 7

The Thurman Cafe — CLOSED

Family-owned since 1942 and home of the Thurmanator, a monster double burger loaded with ham, bacon and three cheeses. TEMPORARILY CLOSED after an April 2026 electrical fire; owners have vowed to rebuild — call ahead before visiting.

183 Thurman Ave, Columbus, OH 43206

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University District, Clintonville & OSU 14 places · area 4 of 8

1 Must see within University District, Clintonville & OSU · Asian

Meshikou

Columbus' pioneering ramen shop (Bethel Centre), routinely called the best ramen in the city — and named best in Ohio by a national food guide. Columbus Monthly ran a First Look, and it's covered on alt.eats.columbus and by creator Breakfast With Nick. Yelp 587 reviews / Google high-rated.

1506 Bethel Rd, Columbus, OH 43220

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2 Must see within University District, Clintonville & OSU

Wexner Center for the Arts

Ohio State's contemporary-art laboratory in Peter Eisenman's landmark 1989 Deconstructivist building — galleries, avant-garde film and performance at the campus's edge.

1871 N High St, Columbus, OH 43210

3 Must see within University District, Clintonville & OSU

Ohio Stadium (the Horseshoe)

The 1922 horseshoe-shaped, 100,000-plus-seat home of Buckeyes football — an enduring icon of college-football gameday and a National Register landmark.

411 Woody Hayes Dr, Columbus, OH 43210

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum lobby — Photo: Maria Rimmel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

4 Must see within University District, Clintonville & OSU

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum

The world's largest collection of cartoons and comics — original Calvin and Hobbes, Peanuts and Pogo art — in Ohio State's Sullivant Hall, with free rotating gallery exhibitions.

1813 N High St, Columbus, OH 43210

5 Must see within University District, Clintonville & OSU · Burgers & diners

Preston's: A Burger Joint

Chefs Matt Heaggans & Catie Randazzo's cult smash burger — Ohio beef, American cheese, pickles and special sauce. A James Beard Blended Burger Project entrant that graduated from pop-up to a beloved Clintonville brick-and-mortar next to Combustion Brewery.

2973 N High St, Columbus, OH 43202

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6 Worth the detour within University District, Clintonville & OSU · Asian

NE Chinese Restaurant

University District specialist in Dongbei (Northeastern/Manchurian) Chinese cooking — a rare regional cuisine for the city, reviewed by Columbus Underground and Columbus Monthly ("Short Order") and written up by creator Breakfast With Nick. Google high-rated with real volume.

2620 N High St, Columbus, OH 43202

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7 Worth the detour within University District, Clintonville & OSU

Columbus Park of Roses

A free 13-acre rose garden inside Clintonville's Whetstone Park — 11,000-plus roses across 350-plus varieties, at their peak in June.

3901 N High St, Columbus, OH 43214

the Oval lawn at Ohio State — Photo: Ibagli · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

8 Worth the detour within University District, Clintonville & OSU

The Oval at Ohio State

The 11-acre historic green at the heart of OSU's campus, framed by University Hall and Thompson Library and landscaped with Olmsted-brothers input — the campus 'living room.'

181 S Oval Dr, Columbus, OH 43210

9 Worth the detour within University District, Clintonville & OSU

Olentangy Trail

A 13-plus-mile paved riverside greenway from downtown's North Bank Park up through OSU and Clintonville to Worthington — the city's spine for cycling and running. Address is the southern North Bank Park trailhead.

311 W Long St, Columbus, OH 43215

exterior of the Ohio History Center — Photo: Sam Howzit · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

10 Worth the detour within University District, Clintonville & OSU

Ohio History Center and Ohio Village

The state history museum in a striking 1970 Brutalist building, with the adjacent Ohio Village recreating an 1890s town. Ohio Village is under phased restoration into the mid-2020s.

800 E 17th Ave, Columbus, OH 43211

11 Worth the detour within University District, Clintonville & OSU

Jack Nicklaus Museum

A 24,000-sq-ft shrine to the Golden Bear — the Columbus-born golf legend — inside the OSU sports complex, tracing his record 18 major championships.

2355 Olentangy River Rd, Columbus, OH 43210

12 Worth the detour within University District, Clintonville & OSU

Orton Geological Museum

Ohio State's free natural-history gem inside the 1893 Romanesque Orton Hall (a National Historic Landmark built of Ohio stone) — a full Cretodus shark, a giant ground sloth and thousands of fossils and minerals.

155 S Oval Mall, Columbus, OH 43210

13 Worth the detour within University District, Clintonville & OSU

Studio 35 Cinema & Drafthouse

Clintonville's beloved neighborhood movie house — opened 1938 as the Indianola Theatre, it's Columbus's oldest cinema and the last independent one left, famous as the first U.S. theater licensed to serve alcohol. Two screens, 40 taps and an in-house pizza kitchen.

3055 Indianola Ave, Columbus, OH 43202

Chadwick Arboretum in winter — Photo: dankeck · CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons

14 Deep cut within University District, Clintonville & OSU

Chadwick Arboretum & Learning Gardens

A 60-plus-acre living plant collection across OSU's campus — ornamental Learning Gardens, a conifer and hosta collection and a Chartres-style labyrinth. Open dawn to dusk, free.

2001 Fyffe Ct, Columbus, OH 43210

Bexley, Olde Towne East & Whitehall 8 places · area 5 of 8

1 Must see within Bexley, Olde Towne East & Whitehall

Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

An 1895 glasshouse built for a world's fair, with themed biomes, a permanent Chihuly glass collection and blooming seasonal gardens on the near east side.

1777 E Broad St, Columbus, OH 43203

2 Must see within Bexley, Olde Towne East & Whitehall · Columbus-style pizza

Rubino's Pizza

A Bexley shrine since 1954: ultra-thin cracker crust, cash only, no alcohol, hand-written checks and folded paper 'tents' — Columbus-style pizza at its most austere and beloved.

2643 E Main St, Bexley, OH 43209

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3 Worth the detour within Bexley, Olde Towne East & Whitehall

Drexel Theatre

Central Ohio's home for independent and international film — a 1937 Art Deco/Art Moderne neighborhood movie house in Bexley, on the National Register and running continuously since Christmas Day 1937.

2254 E Main St, Bexley, OH 43209

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exterior of the Kelton House — Photo: Ɱ · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

4 Worth the detour within Bexley, Olde Towne East & Whitehall

Kelton House Museum & Garden

An 1852 Greek Revival/Italianate home on the near east side, a documented Underground Railroad stop, preserved with original Kelton-family furnishings and a period garden.

586 E Town St, Columbus, OH 43215

5 Worth the detour within Bexley, Olde Towne East & Whitehall

Schumacher Gallery

Capital University's free art museum on the top floor of its Bexley library — 3,000+ works spanning Rembrandt, Dürer, Goya, Renoir, Cassatt, Picasso, Chagall and Warhol, plus rotating exhibits of Indigenous and local artists.

Your guide’s note Free; open during the academic year only (closed summers and university holidays).

Blackmore Library, 4th Fl, 2199 E Main St, Bexley, OH 43209

6 Worth the detour within Bexley, Olde Towne East & Whitehall

TAT Ristorante di Famiglia

Columbus's oldest Italian restaurant (est. 1929, 'Talk of the Town'), credited with serving the city's first pizza. Wood-paneled, red-sauce, old-world charm.

1210 S James Rd, Columbus, OH 43227

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7 Worth the detour within Bexley, Olde Towne East & Whitehall · Asian

Huong Vietnamese Restaurant

Long-running Morse Rd Vietnamese room (murals, plastic fruit trees) singled out by Columbus Underground for a super-crunchy grilled-chicken banh mi and picked as a reviewers' favorite on alt.eats.columbus (Columbus Food Adventures). Google ~4.4 with high volume.

1270 Morse Rd, Columbus, OH 43229

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8 Deep cut within Bexley, Olde Towne East & Whitehall

Jeffrey Mansion

A 1905 brick mansion built by Columbus mayor Robert H. Jeffrey, willed to Bexley in 1941 and now the centerpiece of a 40-acre park of woodland trails, an Alum Creek overlook and a pool.

165 N Parkview Ave, Bexley, OH 43209

Franklinton, Grandview & Hilltop 6 places · area 6 of 8

1 Must see within Franklinton, Grandview & Hilltop

Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park

A 7,000-plus-acre metro park on the state-and-national scenic Big and Little Darby Creeks — restored tallgrass prairie with a free-roaming bison herd, a nature center and miles of trail. Free.

1775 Darby Creek Dr, Galloway, OH 43119

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2 Must see within Franklinton, Grandview & Hilltop

Anthony-Thomas Candy Company

Columbus's family chocolatier since 1952 and maker of the definitive Ohio buckeye — peanut-butter fudge dipped in chocolate. Free factory tours on the west side.

1777 Arlingate Ln, Columbus, OH 43228

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3 Must see within Franklinton, Grandview & Hilltop · Coffee & cafés

Stauf's Coffee Roasters — Grandview

Columbus's original micro-roaster and coffee house (founded 1988 in Grandview) — 60-plus small-batch coffees hand-selected from 20-plus countries, plus pastries and locally made desserts.

1277 Grandview Ave, Columbus, OH 43212

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4 Worth the detour within Franklinton, Grandview & Hilltop

Columbus Idea Foundry

A 60,000-sq-ft Franklinton makerspace billed as the physically largest in the world — welding, blacksmithing, woodshop, 3D printing and 80+ classes a month, with free RSVP evening tours and demonstrations.

Look for Free evening tours by RSVP; workshops/membership ticketed.

421 W State St, Columbus, OH 43215

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5 Worth the detour within Franklinton, Grandview & Hilltop

Green Lawn Cemetery

Ohio's second-largest cemetery (est. 1848) — a 325-acre garden cemetery and registered arboretum with an old-growth oak forest, ornate mausoleums and an Audubon Important Bird Area; resting place of the Wright brothers' family and Eddie Rickenbacker.

1000 Greenlawn Ave, Columbus, OH 43223

6 Deep cut within Franklinton, Grandview & Hilltop

Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery

A National Cemetery on the Hilltop holding 2,200-plus Confederate soldiers who died at the Union's Camp Chase prison — rows of white headstones behind a boulder arch reading 'Americans.' Free.

2900 Sullivant Ave, Columbus, OH 43204

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Suburbs 18 places · area 7 of 8

Dublin, Worthington, Westerville, New Albany

1 Must see within Suburbs

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

One of America's premier zoos (Jack Hanna's longtime home base), north of the city in Powell, with the Zoombezi Bay water park next door.

4850 W Powell Rd, Powell, OH 43065

2 Worth the detour within Suburbs

Field of Corn (Cornhenge)

Malcolm Cochran's 1994 public artwork — 109 six-foot white concrete ears of corn standing in rows in a Dublin park, a tribute to farmer Sam Frantz and the area's agricultural roots. Free.

4995 Rings Rd, Dublin, OH 43017

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3 Worth the detour within Suburbs

Dublin Link

The world's longest single-tower S-shaped suspension bridge (760 ft, opened 2020) — a curving pedestrian span whose deck threads the keyhole of a 169-ft tower, linking Historic Dublin to Riverside Crossing Park. Free.

6625 Riverside Dr, Dublin, OH 43017

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4 Worth the detour within Suburbs

Inniswood Metro Gardens

A 123-acre metro park of themed display gardens in Westerville — herb, rose and woodland gardens, a Sisters' Garden and boardwalk nature trails through nature preserve. Free.

940 S Hempstead Rd, Westerville, OH 43081

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5 Worth the detour within Suburbs

Early Television Museum

A 6,000-sq-ft Hilliard oddity holding 150+ working sets — mechanical 1920s scanning-disc TVs, prewar and early-color receivers — one of the world's deepest early-television collections. Free (donations welcome), weekends only.

Look for Free; open Sat 10–6 and Sun 12–5.

5396 Franklin St, Hilliard, OH 43026

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6 Worth the detour within Suburbs

Anti-Saloon League Museum

Inside the Westerville library, in the League's old printing-plant town — 'the dry capital of the world' — the nation's foremost temperance/Prohibition collection: propaganda, artifacts and the story of the Ohio-born movement that drove the 18th Amendment. Free.

Look for Free; open library hours or by appointment.

126 S State St, Westerville, OH 43081

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7 Worth the detour within Suburbs

Hayden Run Falls

A 35-foot ravine waterfall in Dublin, reached by a short wheelchair-accessible boardwalk and staircase in Columbus's two-acre Hayden Falls Nature Preserve — best after rain. Free, distinct from Dublin's Indian Run Falls.

Look for Free; open daily 6am–10pm.

4326 Hayden Run Rd, Dublin, OH 43017

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8 Worth the detour within Suburbs

Easton Town Center

A 30-million-visitor-a-year open-air 'town' laid out like a 1950s Main Street — 250+ shops from Nordstrom to Louis Vuitton alongside restaurants, cinemas and free public events. Repeatedly named the top retail experience in America. A tourism draw in its own right.

160 Easton Town Center, Columbus, OH 43219

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9 Worth the detour within Suburbs

Highbanks Metro Park

A 1,200-acre metro park north of the city named for its 100-ft shale bluffs over the Olentangy River — ten trails, a nature center, a sledding hill and ancient Adena burial mounds. Free.

9466 Columbus Pike, Lewis Center, OH 43035

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10 Worth the detour within Suburbs

AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum

The American Motorcyclist Association's national museum in Pickerington — vintage and racing motorcycles and the Hall of Fame honoring the sport's legends.

13515 Yarmouth Dr, Pickerington, OH 43147

11 Worth the detour within Suburbs

Sharon Woods Metro Park

A 761-acre Metro Park wrapping the 11-acre Schrock Lake and the Edward S. Thomas State Nature Preserve, with old-growth oak-hickory-beech woods and a 3.8-mile paved multipurpose loop. Free.

6911 Cleveland Ave, Westerville, OH 43081

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12 Worth the detour within Suburbs

Blendon Woods Metro Park

A 653-acre Metro Park whose 118-acre Walden Waterfowl Refuge and 11-acre Thoreau Lake draw hundreds of birds — 220+ species logged — viewed from two elevated shelters with spotting scopes. Free.

4265 E Dublin-Granville Rd, Westerville, OH 43081

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13 Worth the detour within Suburbs

Slate Run Living Historical Farm

An 1880s working farm inside Slate Run Metro Park — costumed staff tend heirloom pigs, geese, turkeys and Percheron horses and cook in an 1856 Gothic-revival farmhouse, recreating daily central-Ohio farm life. Free.

Your guide’s note Free; seasonal hours (open Tue–Sun; closed some winter days).

1375 State Route 674 N, Canal Winchester, OH 43110

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14 Worth the detour within Suburbs · Soul, BBQ & Southern

City Barbeque — Upper Arlington

The original City Barbeque, founded in Columbus in 1999 in a former doughnut shop by a team that won the American Royal Invitational for best brisket — the recipe that grew a Columbus-born pit-BBQ chain.

2111 W Henderson Rd, Columbus, OH 43220

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15 Deep cut within Suburbs

The Wagnalls Memorial

A storybook 1925 Tudor Gothic library and cultural center in tiny Lithopolis, gifted by Mabel Wagnalls (of Funk & Wagnalls) in memory of her parents — stone, stained glass and a theater.

150 E Columbus St, Lithopolis, OH 43136

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16 Deep cut within Suburbs

Indian Run Falls

A wooded ravine steps from Historic Dublin with a multi-tier waterfall dropping into Indian Run — boardwalks, viewing decks and a short trail named for its Wyandot campsite history. Free.

700 Shawan Falls Dr, Dublin, OH 43017

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17 Deep cut within Suburbs

Orange Johnson House

One of Worthington's oldest homes — an 1811 pioneer house with an 1816 Federal addition, restored by the Worthington Historical Society to show early-19th-century village life.

956 High St, Worthington, OH 43085

18 Deep cut within Suburbs

Hanby House

The 1850s Westerville home of the Hanby family — Bishop William Hanby, an Underground Railroad conductor and Otterbein co-founder, and son Benjamin, composer of 'Up on the Housetop' and abolitionist ballad 'Darling Nelly Gray.'

160 W Main St, Westerville, OH 43081

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Madison County 3 places · area 8 of 8

London, West Jefferson

Exterior, front and east side of the 1837 Red Brick Tavern — Photo: Nyttend · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

1 Must see within Madison County

The Red Brick Tavern

A genuine National Road landmark still serving dinner — built 1836–37 in Lafayette and reputed to be Ohio's second-oldest stagecoach inn, host to six U.S. presidents (subject of an Ohio Historical Marker and National Road travel histories). Known today for prime rib and home-cooked specials. Open Tue–Sat (active listings, Aug 2026). Merit is the landmark itself; food is honest tavern fare.

1700 Cumberland St, London, OH 43140

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2 Worth the detour within Madison County

Red Brick Tavern

A landmark 1836-37 National Road stagecoach inn in tiny Lafayette, said to be second only to the Golden Lamb among Ohio's oldest continuously recognized taverns; it hosted six U.S. presidents. Documented by the Library of Congress HABS survey. Closed 2020, reopened Feb 2023 and still operating as a historic tavern you can walk into.

1700 Cumberland St (US-40), Lafayette, OH 43140

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3 Worth the detour within Madison County

Prairie Oaks Metro Park

A 2,200-acre Metro Park straddling the Madison-Franklin line along Big Darby Creek (a state and national scenic river), with restored prairie, quarry-pond beaches and paddling, and prime birding. The Madison County side lies west of the creek. Distinct from Battelle Darby Creek downstream.

3225 Plain City-Georgesville Rd, West Jefferson, OH 43162

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How we choose

Named sources recommend every place; review sites never do. Each is pinned to its door and status-checked. Closed places stay, marked closed.

Must see: The places to plan a visit around, graded within each area.
Worth the detour: Strong picks, worth going out of your way for.
Deep cut: For the curious: smaller, odder, more local.

Within each area: by tier, then by named sources, never by popularity. We don’t add ratings, prices or opening hours of our own.

Follow changes — an RSS feed of every closure and status check in this guide.

About this guide

86 places in 8 areas, each recommended by at least two independent sources (33 in all) or one institution such as Michelin.

Every place was checked open and pinned between 24 Aug and 16 Oct 2026. Closed places stay, marked closed.

Photos for 39 places; the rest show a designed cover.

How we choose → Insights →

62 sights and 24 places to eat across Columbus and its neighborhoods, each traceable to the source that named it. The city’s food is a sleeper great — Jeni’s ice cream (born here), the North Market, Columbus-style square-cut pizza, Schmidt’s German cream puffs and one of America’s deepest Somali tables.

Columbus

Columbus

Downtown & Scioto Mile 23 places · area 1 of 8

Ohio Theatre

Ohio Statehouse

COSI

Columbus Museum of Art

Scioto Mile and Bicentennial Park

North Market

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams — North Market

Momo Ghar — North Market

Hoyo's Kitchen — North Market

Veritas

Wolf's Ridge Brewing

Lan Viet Market

Topiary Park

National Veterans Memorial and Museum

LeVeque Tower

Grange Insurance Audubon Center and Scioto Audubon Metro Park

Thurber House

Southern Theatre

Columbus Commons

Central Ohio Fire Museum

Union Station Arch at McFerson Commons

Columbus Metropolitan Library — Main Library

Hot Chicken Takeover — CLOSED

Short North, Victorian & Italian Village 7 places · area 2 of 8

Short North Arts District

German Village & Brewery District 7 places · area 3 of 8

University District, Clintonville & OSU 14 places · area 4 of 8

Bexley, Olde Towne East & Whitehall 8 places · area 5 of 8

Franklinton, Grandview & Hilltop 6 places · area 6 of 8

Suburbs 18 places · area 7 of 8

Madison County 3 places · area 8 of 8

How we choose

Keep Columbus offline

Filters

How this guide was made

How the cuisine filters were policed

Web-searched and fact-checked