We too the Christmas tour of the Franklin Castle. It had been on my list of things to do for some…read moretime. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and seemed very invested in the history of the castle. Oh! My! The castle is rich in history. My guess is you could take three different tours and learn something new from each one. We were only allowed to take photos of the first floor. The other floors had Air BnB rooms. Everything from the paranormal phenomena to the tunnels from the carriage house to Lake Erie were fascinating.

Fun fact: The castle is haunted!…read more I recently had an unexpected chance to visit Franklin Castle in Ohio City, and it was a very interesting experience. The Victorian mansion is ornate and makes you feel the weight of its history. The ornate stonework, hidden passageways, and eerie ambiance all add to its mysterious charm. It's definitely picture-worthy whether you're walking by or walking in. The event organizers were friendly. I was at the castle for pop art show held by Zack Webb. It was so fun to see the juxtaposition of history/antique and bright pop art. There was no guided tour, just a hang out in the main area of the house, and basement lounge (both very cool). If you're into history, architecture, or the paranormal, Franklin Castle is a must-see. Although I didn't see or feel any ghosts. It's equal parts creepy and captivating. Whether you're a Clevelander or a visitor, go see it!

It's difficult to rate this, since it's a free tour. But it did not meet my expectations at all…read more My family and I went on a Statue tour downtown on a Sunday morning. There was an older male who was our tour guide. Now, I've been on several other city tours before, both in Cleveland and other cities, so I've seen a wide range. This tour wasn't my favorite, and I wouldn't recommend it. Our tour guide was pretty arrogant. Instead of trying to impress us with the history of our city, he tried to prove he was superior by all the things he's done. Okay? Like idc, pal ! He wasn't open to any questions, requests, or feedback of any kind. It was his tour and he did things his way, and that was THAT! No engagement whatsoever. The "facts" were really just one generic sentence written from a page. (Other tour companies provide stories about what we're seeing, you know, like history!) At the end of our tour though, there was a man who played Tom Johnson who was PHENOMENAL though. He should be the one giving all the tours !!!!

Patty was a very good guide. We had a group outing for one of the December tours about the historic…read morehotels of downtown CLE. It was a seasonal holiday tour and the city was sparkling. They provided us with hot chocolate and cookies at the start of the tour, as well as a complimentary gift to choose from several options. I picked a tumbler with the Take a Hike logo. You also get a drink coupon for the bar at the Arcade to use after the tour or at another date. What a great touch! For a little over 30 bucks, you get a 90 minute tour, which I think is probably pretty close to the national average for a walking tour, especially considering it comes with some swag. We had a special guest, Mr. Schofield, who acted in character and told us a bit of history about one of the stops, which was a clever touch. The only suggestion I have is to have a warming stop or two in the middle of the tour. (We did have one, but that was close to the end of the tour.) I love learning the history, but honestly by the last stop I was kind of checked out because it was so cold. I would love to come back in the summer. Patty told us the summer tours are free! They also have a passport program where you collect stamps for each tour you take and can earn prizes and stuff. What a great concept!

Another Cleveland museum crossed off the list! I took my boyfriend here a few months ago and we had…read morea great time, spending a few hours looking around, before needing to leave as they were closing to the public to host a private wedding reception (great location for that, btw. The building is gorgeous!) It did need to have better signage throughout and I wish the layout was a bit less random as we kept circling back and forth and not knowing what we had and had not seen. Anyway, as of August 2025, the cost was $15 a ticket per adult for entry. The Hay-McKinney Mansion was included in the ticket price. We probably should have waited to go in a free tour because information was scarce. I liked touring the mansion but I had a much better time going through the non mansion of the museum complex. I am glad we were able to attend the doll exhibit before it went away later that month. I grew up collecting American Girl dolls and Madame Alexander dolls and this filled me with nostalgia. I also loved the fashion in WWII exhibits. The outfits were fabulous! They closed off a gallery and the outside for a wedding that was about to begin. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and I wish I could have been invited, lol. There were also temporary exhibits on black photographers, women in politics, mini bikes, the superman hum vee from the 2025 I had a good time looking through the Crawford auto aviation museum and of course, riding the massive and free, carousel! It's almost 125 years old and cost 3 million dollars to restore and each horse is hand carved out of wood. The ride is a must-do for all ages! Overall, a good local city museum with some awesome things inside.

I'll never forget moving to New Jersey in the mid-90s and meeting the lady who would eventually…read morebecome my wife. During one of our first dates, she commented that I knew more about her hone state than she did. Though I doubt that was the case, I had made it a point to learn about the place that my broadcast career took me at the time. Had I been moving to Cleveland, this would have been the spot to learn more about the city and area. My daughter is here as a patient of the Cleveland Clinic. She awaits a transplant and has lived here for a few months already (in Parma). I took a quick weekend trip here to visit her and learn more about the culture. This museum offered a wonderful crash course. I've always thought of this town as the dingy, cold locale for unfortunate fans of the Browns and Indians. I was totally wrong. In fact, Cleveland was very much a player in our country's industrial age. (Far more than my home state of Texas!) Detroit seems to get all the credit for the automobile industry, but Ohio -- particularly Cleveland -- really got there for the cash. Who knew? There are other parts of this museum that left me asking 'Why?' The motorcycle display, while pretty cool, doesn't have much to do with Cleveland any more than any other place. Some of the art ... same thing. Still, you'll learn more about Euclid Avenue than you ever thought possible, and the carousel is a marvelous piece of history.

I just want to let Tarot and Psychics be aware of Stacia. She got rid of a couple of really good…read morereaders and psychics, all because of being jealous/or didn't like their personalities. If she didn't like their craft, don't go around them. Maybe she could have just not talk to them, or even go near them. I was really disappointed when the owner of Haunted Hill View Manor, didn't even defend/or talk to the other talented readers and psychics. It's sad it can take one person to wreck people from going back to an event. The owner also needs to have the tours go down to where the vendors are. I have heard complaints some hardly get anyone in their room because they don't have the tours go down the vendor hall. Haunted Hill View Manor is a cool place, from what I understand. It's just disappointing the owner wouldn't talk to the others, who were blackballed by Stacia.

Oh my gosh this was so much fun! My friends and I went on the 1.5 hour tour followed by the 1.5…read morehour paranormal investigation. The energy in the building was palpable! We enjoyed the heck out of the experience and can't wait to do another investigation! The only thing were a little disappointed about was that the initial tour ran well over and cut into our private investigation time. This made the investigation very rushed. Overall, though, I can't wait to go back!

Came here for Mothers Day. Worth the visit to see the house and gardens…read more We were told when you come around Christmas there are not as many rooms open for the house tour. But on Mother's Day we got to see a lot of the rooms we never saw. And got to ask more questions and take our time a bit more. All around good experience. You want to see as many of the rooms as possible. Pro tip. If you are doing a house and garden tour leave the house thru the front door. This way you don't have to back track the gardens. Out the front door take a right to head along the back of the house and the gardens. Don't miss the greenhouse. The Japanese garden and the really all the gardens are beautiful. It's a nice walk. You can definitely get your steps in. It's a nice afternoon. We spent about 2.5 hours. Could have spent longer. But we were hungry. This was a good experience overall and fun afternoon.

Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens is such a beautiful place to visit all year round. I remember going…read morehere several times as a child for field trips and I have always been fascinated with this home. Several years ago I found out that they have special tours at Christmas time where you can tour the house and each room has a different theme and you can also tour the grounds where they have Christmas light displays. I believe the tickets this past Christmas or $28 each which goes towards keeping up the estate and grounds. I feel like that's a fair price. There is so much to see in the estate and out on the grounds and I suggest coming here during the year as well for a regular tour. The Christmas decor is so beautiful each room in the estate is typically sponsored by a local business. It's so interesting to see some of the old furniture, dishes, light fixtures, truly whatever you can think of it's all so beautiful. They even have a greenhouse on the property where you can go to purchase plants, especially poinsettias for the Christmas season. They have a little concession stand where they sell things like hot chocolate, coffee, wine and beer, cookies, chili, soft pretzels, etc. Santa even stops by during certain hours where you can visit him. Overall, this is one of my favorite places to visit during the Christmas season and as a child I loved coming here during the year.

Love, love love cemeteries. Very beautiful. Gravestones were kept very clean and good repair. Nice…read morelandscape. Easy to get around and fine certain graves. Very cool to see stones from the 1800s. Church tower and chapel are historical landmarks. Mausoleum Row has like 30+ mausoleum Overall a nice cemetery

Founded in 1839, Akron Rural Cemetery has been renamed to Glendale Cemetery. One of the "park"…read morecemeteries like Mount Auburn near Cambridge Massachusetts and Hollywood in Richmond Virginia and Pere La Chaise in Paris, this uses the hills and promontories to present a more idyllic landscape compared to the flat "lawn" cemeteries. Quiet lanes for driving through or get a good workout by parking and then taking a hike. Politicians and industrialists and regular people are laid to reset here, with perhaps the most well known being Frank Seiberling (1859 to 1955) who founded the Goodyear Tire company that is based here in Akron. Plenty to see here and of course, a peaceful spot for a walk. Please remember that this is an "active" cemetery so be respectful with noise. [Review 1347 of 2024 - 266 in Ohio - 22370 overall]

We always try to book a bike tour the first day in a new city. It helps you to get the lay of the…read moreland and allows you to cover more area than just walking. (We cannot say that about bus tours). This tour did not disappoint! We thoroughly enjoyed our bike tour with Joe on a beautiful August day. He fitted us with helmets, adjusted the seats on our comfortable bikes, and gave us an overview of the tour. Cleveland is a bikeable city and we felt very safe with Joe leading the way. We stopped at 15 to 20 points of historical and current interest. Joe was enthusiastic and gave us exactly what we expected, fresh air on our faces and a fun way to see and learn about Cleveland. Our Rating: A+, 5 stars

After coaster mecca (Cedar Point), a friend and I had about half a day to spend in Cleveland and…read moredecided to look for a sightseeing tour. Cleveland Bike Tours is one of two major bike tour operators in the city and one of just a handful of sightseeing tour operators there period. We'd never done a bike tour before, but they had great reviews on Trip Advisor and a really professional website, so we made last minute reservations for the Downtown tour. Likely due to the poor weather forecast, we were the only two on the tour. Private tour at group-subsidized prices! Score! It did rain a bit during the tour but thankfully it was just water so nobody died. When we started the ride (which were not on those skinny road bikes us tourists love to fall over on) I got nervous that I wasn't cut out for it. I'm in the worst shape of my life and had only been on a bike once in the past ten years. I was really feeling it in my legs and thought I had gotten in over my head after two days of walking and getting abused by coasters. Then I realized we had just biked up a hill... and felt like an idiot. I was so focused on remembering how to bike I hadn't noticed the incline. After the initial hill the ride wasn't strenuous AT ALL. Cleveland, for the most part, is flat as a pancake. Really, anyone can participate. Even lazy people. The tour gives a nice overview of some of the more prominent landmarks downtown, including some historic buildings, sports stadiums, public art, and monuments. While Cleveland may have some of the highest rates of poverty in the nation (for a city), you'd never know it from downtown, which is pristinely clean, beautiful, and filled with activity. I'd love to see a longer tour option in the future with interior stops at some of the historic churches, banks, and the three arcades. The standard tour will leave you wanting to revisit your stops so you can see things in more depth, which is great if you're looking for an introduction to the downtown area and have time to explore after. If you're more limited in time, you might want to look for a private guide for the day. Alternatively, check out CityProwl: free audio-guided tours of various parts of Cleveland. They would make a good supplement to the bike tours. You can find them in the iTunes podcast library if you search for CityProwl as one word. Cleveland has plenty to offer the out-of-towner who has a few days to kill, and the Cleveland Bike Tours offerings are a solid introduction to much of what's available outside University Circle. The tour hosts, Cleveland native couple, Anne and Joe, are fantastic. They were accommodating, polite, and fun. Anne was the primary guide for our tour and is especially energetic; you can really tell she loves her city, and as always the love a guide exudes for their home spills over to the rest of the group. While we probably won't be back to Ohio anytime soon (as Bostonians, we are HIGHLY suspect of midwesterner's overt politeness and eagerness to start conversations with strangers... we know you're all planning something sneaky!), should the call of the coasters become unbearable, we'll definitely be booking with Anne and Joe for another one of their tours.

Location: 100 Reformatory Rd, Mansfield Ohio…read more Outstanding visit and incredible tour experience. Special thanks to our tour guide, David - he made 90 minutes fly by, great knowledge of the history and filmography of the location. We had a blast and learned so much. My biggest tip is plan to take a guided tour. There is a self-guided option, but the staff here are skilled and will make your visit remarkable.

My husband and I got our tickets online. We were excited to get to see the prison. We came from MI…read moreand we didn't get see most of the stuff we paid for wish we had known that ahead of time. There's nothing else to do in Mansfield really so we seen what 25 minutes of we paid $22(each perso)for I guess and drove back home. The lady at the gift shop was friendly tho. Bummed out we drove all that way and pd what we paid to see 20-25 minutes of the tour(self tour)

Euclid Creek Reservation is one of the smaller parks in the Metroparks system; it is a long…read morerelatively narrow park that mainly follows Euclid Creek between Green Road and Highland Road. The park manages to pack quite a bit into its smaller profile. For those trying to get out and get a hike there are 4 designated trails and a couple more that are not on the map but can still be fun. The longest trail is the Multipurpose trail, paved it winds its way down the park with great views of the creek and the surrounding walls of gorge it has carved. On the West Side of the park the Glenridge and Squirrel Run Trails let you hike up and down the gorge wall and you can use them to form a loop trail; a good way to get some decent vertical and a nice workout. On the East Side there is the newly built Eastern Ledge Trail which uses a recently built bridge to cross the creek and then a steep hill up to the cliff top which presents one of the best views in the Cleveland area. The trail then continues through the woods to the nearby neighborhood. There is an couple of other trails on the East Side of the creek, one that runs from the Rear Quarry picnic area to hook up with the Eastern Ledge Trail; the other unmarked trail starts at the Highland Picnic area and follows the creek until it gets to the cliff face. There are a number of very nice picnic areas along the park with plenty of space to relax, eat and play. There are also a number of other facilities. Near the Kelley picnic area there is a sledding hill for winter fun. Most of the picnic areas have a playground with the biggest one is located in the Highland Picnic Area and there is also outdoor workout stations and a couple of basketball courts which always seem to have some fairly serious games when the weather is good. Although they are physically separated from the main part of the park Metroparks have added the beaches and marina located where Euclid Creek meets Lake Erie into the Euclid Creek Reservation. I have not visited these areas in quite a while, but they do provide public access to Lake Erie for swimming, boating and beach fun. Euclid Creek Reservation is a great way for those located on the East Side to get out and enjoy themselves. The Metroparks keep working to improve the parks and there is plenty of fun to be had; choose an activity or two and get outside.

Cleveland Metroparks... that's all you have to say and everyone knows it's gonna' be GREAT…read more Everything these people do is a homerun. The "Euclid Creek Reservation" (Euclid Beach) is no exception. The park is expansive, beautifully manicured, clean and offers a multitude of ecosystems to explore. The beaches are wonderful and include matting to accommodate wheelchair access. There are two peers for sitting and enjoying the lake view or casting in a line and going fishing. There are picnic areas with grills and a pavilion as well as public restrooms. There is a bridge connecting it to Neff road boat launch as well as Wildwood Park. There really is something for everyone. The best thing is it is open to ALL the public and totally FREE! So go, take the family and spend the day. You'll love it.