In my opinion this is the best part of the city. Murals…read moregalore, historic buildings, small shops, great neighborhood. Small intimate restaurants with excellent menus. Locally owned gems all bunched together in this small part of town. And beer, let's not forget you can get beer around here. Take a walk around here and discover all there is to see.

Over-the-Rhine is one of the coolest historic areas in Cincinnati. Walking through the neighborhood…read morefeels like stepping back in time with the beautiful old brick buildings, historic architecture, and European influence throughout the streets. I really enjoyed seeing how the area blends its rich German heritage with modern restaurants, shops, and attractions. The neighborhood has so much character and is a great place to explore on foot. From the historic buildings to nearby landmarks like Cincinnati Music Hall and Washington Park, there is always something interesting to see. A must-visit spot for anyone who enjoys history, architecture, and experiencing what makes Cincinnati unique.

Such a pretty view both from the bottom of the steps and from the top! I really enjoyed getting…read moresome exercise with my dog by walking the steps. They were really neat and unique to look at which made the walk even more fun. The area was very clean and well-shaded, too. It's quite a sight and a fun activity if you like some physical exertion.

If you're visiting the art museum, take some time to use The Art Climb. It leads right to the…read moremuseum, and ar the bottom goes to the park across the street. It looks really nice, especially at night. On the way, there are a few art pieces to look at. I will say, it's also a very nice workout.

Only one weekend after the Bacon Fest in Des Moines, I found myself ponying up to the creamery…read morebooths at Jungle Jim's Cheese Fest in Cincy. I'm pretty certain my body is officially pissed at me. My fridge is loaded with recovery veggies as we speak. All this to say, wowzers, what a great deal and fun afternoon of cheese sampling and discovery. I walked away with a new favorite cheese from Cypress Groves in California - their cheese was a close tie with the Trillium and European Cultured butter from Tulip Tree Creamery in Zionsville, IN. For $15 you can sample your way through cheeses, charcuterie, olives and more. I loved the way they organized the space by origin (East Coast (primarily Vermont), European, regional, West Coast, etc.). And, if you're looking to kick your ticket up to the next level, for $25 you can sample wines and beers every few stations between the cheese. That appeared to be a heck of a deal as well. When it's all said and done, you can go downstairs into the marketplace to purchase your favorite frommage finds of the day.

What an awesome event! I've never ate so many cheese in my life! This was held at the Oscar Event…read moreCenter. Pricing was very reasonable. $30.00 VIP Early Admission, $12.00 (Adults) at the door, $2.00 Children. If you want to purchase $25.00 for alcohol, you get a glass which gets you unlimited wine and beer at the booths or bar. Good thing I purchased the tickets in advance because it was sold out once we got there. My boyfriend and I went on a Saturday afternoon. This is my first time attending so I felt like the lineup was great! So many vendors to choose from. Here is the line up for this year: Champignon North America Rutherford & Meyer Red Apple Cheese BelGioioso Cheese Tillamook Bertozzi Specialty Parmigiano Reggiano Fabrique Delices Cabot Creamery Columbus Les Trois Petits Cochons Olivia's Beer Cheese Fromi USA Deer Creek Cheese Fortune Fish & Gourmet Burnett Dairy & Valley Lahvosh Finlandia & Kii Natural Crisps Ambriola & Oil Salami Monte Nevado BrewCity Sausage Co. Carr Valley Agora Foods International JJ Fresh Mozz Mackenzie Creamery Montchevre Yancey's Fancy Beehive Cheese Columbia Cheese Minerva Dairy Laura Chenel/Marin French Sweet Grass Dairy Jasper Hill Farm My Artisano Foods Vermont Creamery Widmer's Cheese Cellars Ed-Mar Dairy FraMani. Kerry Gold Volpi Foods Howard's Creek Authentic Beer Cheese Forever Cheese There was 4 stations where you can try the Mac and cheese and vote for your favorite using a ticket. Photo station to take pictures, a raffle to enter to win prizes, and more! I felt like the beers and wines paired well with the cheese! I also felt like the event was very organized and lines went fast. This event is worth going to for the price! I highly recommend it if you are a lover or cheese!

Just a few blocks from my AirBnB- I managed to get over there twice during my stay. First time, was…read moreabout 30 minutes before close- but I got my Babushka's perogies! I also snagged an apple crumb mini pie, cookies and found a chocolate shop with marvelous St Patrick's Truffles! The public art surrounding the market is vibrant and playful. When I returned on my last day, my first stop was for coffee and I enjoyed (even though it was bitterly cold) the outdoor market. The flower shop was delightful and I found myself in several shops buying various items like an apron, teas, honey and more! I even snagged quiche at a small bakery. I am so happy I made time to explore and I highly recommend. Locals must love all the meat markets, delis, produce and eateries!

Love the market. Great food, shopping, people watching & great gathering spot with friends. Would…read morehave given it a 5 but their music (not the entertainment) is WAY TOO LOUD!!! Almost impossible to have a conversation.

It wasn't a huge area but the exhibit was nice. We didn't feel rushed. Aample amount of butterflies…read moreand chance for photos

The Krohn's Conservatory Butterfly Show today didn't disappoint!! I expected to see a few…read morebutterflies around, maybe in the bushes. But I didn't expect to be immersed in the midst of so many varieties of butterflies: feeding together on oranges, fluttering by me, perched on the floor, clustered on leaves of plants, perching on my own clothes (interestingly, I felt them land and knew the moment they left). I was ushered in to this protected enclosed space with a group for a 45-minute experience, with a few instructions: don't touch the butterflies, except with the provided paper perch, don't bring any drinks in besides bottled water, etc., all provided to keep the butterflies safe. Also unexpected was how friendly an experience it was. Yes, the best way to meet everyone was to have a butterfly perched on your back, so that each person walked up to tell you that. But as we all experienced this together, we laughed and enjoyed the experience together!!

Always a great place to visit in Ohio. It's probably the best downtown in Ohio. If you get a time…read moreto go take a weekend and go all through Cincinnati and downtown, you'll have a great time

I was recently in Downtown Cincinnati for a weekend stay a month ago. I am an international student…read morefrom Norway who has been in the States for two months now. I have traveled a lot in my 18 years on this planet, but this is my first time outside of Europe. I have been to 12 countries in total and have been to a lot of cities in different countries. Cincinnati was my first impression of an American city, and my expectations were high. I expected a clean, colorful, and fun riverside city that had a lot to offer. I went there with my mom because she came to visit me. We stayed at Quality hotel Downtown Cincinnati, witch were a pretty outdated and disappointing hotel. The first day, we walked over a big bridge over to the Ohio side and in to the city, we headed north up towards Washington Park and Cincinnati soccer stadium. All I saw within a 1 km radius was just grey beat down buildings, homeless people and trash. It was really ugly and disgusting to be honest. I have never in my life seen that many homeless as in Downtown Cincinnati. We also thought it was really weird, because there were no stores or places to eat at all. We eventually reached Washington Park where there was a second hand marked, witch were cool. Big ups for that! After that we headed down towards the river and the football stadium after advice from a friend. After touring the stadium and walking alongside the river, we quickly realized that this was the "nicer area" of the city. We walked until we reached the baseball stadium and also walked over the river to the Newport area and the Aquarium. I have to say that these areas actually met my expectations. The next day we also viewed the high rise area, with also met my expectations. Clean, good infrastructure, cafes and no homeless people. I also have to give credit to the life of the city. We were fortunate to be there at the same time as the Oktoberfest in the park alongside the river, which was fun. There were a lot of people and fun activities. An inviting and social event for everyone. There was also a Bengals game that same day, which was also fun to witness. We did not go, because we went out to eat, but it was something that gave life to the city and lifted the overall spirit. Overall I have to give it a 3/5 rating. The nicer areas and the culture of the city lifts the rating up, but other than that it was a lot of bad aspects of the city. There was really ugly areas downtown filled with trash, old and almost destroyed buildings, no colors or soul, no stores or activities, and a huge amount of homeless people. I truly believe that there is more homeless people in Downtown Cincinnati than in every Norwegian city combined.

Took a chance on getting into Sotto tonight. Drove down there and put ourselves on the waitlist for…read morethe bar. Love walking down those steps, waiting for your eyes to adjust, while knowing you're somewhere special. Luckily, after not too long of a wait we were seated!! We had the most amazing bartenders, Trevor was fantastic! They all were. We had another absolutely out of this world meal. Love their oil packed tuna, their bistecca fiorentina and the pappardelle al cinghiale!! Unfortunately, we had no room for dessert so we're going to have to go back again to eat more. Haha Oh and we actually tried their Blue Oven bread for the first time and it was incredible. What a fabulous restaurant! So lucky to have it here in Cincinnati! We don't even miss La Normandie anymore!

First time in Cincinnati -- dined at Sotto the evening after the Flying Pig Half…read more I went solo and sat at the bar. The ambiance is intimate and very dim, mostly candlelit. It's a nice vibe, though definitely on the darker side. I ordered the black kale salad, cappellacci (short rib, shallot, thyme), and the branzino. * The kale salad was solid, but a bit heavy on the pecorino. * The cappellacci was decent, though the accompanying elements didn't quite work for me. * The branzino was cooked well, but overall the dish didn't stand out in flavor. In general, the food felt underwhelming for the price. My bill was around $100, and I didn't feel the quality or flavor justified it. Some dishes came across a bit muted -- not sure if that's the intended style, but it didn't land for me. Parking in the area was also a bit inconvenient. Overall: great ambiance, but the food didn't meet expectations for the cost. I probably wouldn't return.

Holtmans continues to be yummy perfection! I've been a fan since the day I moved here November 1,…read more2014. My request was for the most talked about donuts in town. Katie, Danny and Maggie were so gracious to open their doors to Yelp community for this event. Love that this is a family thing, that their popularity has grown, and they are still creating new. I hope that it just keeps getting bigger and better! The views behind the scenes was so cool. The smells...definitely delicious. I was amazed at how much they have packed into that little space. Sprinkles galore that would make any child giddy. Clean? Oh wow it was so amazingly clean. I don't think my kitchen floor is that clean...and I don't serve 10000 donuts a day. Tastes...the best. We got to dress our own donut and enjoy. After the tour Danny brought out the newest baby...marshmallows that are created by him. Roasted the marshmallows there and we got to enjoy that bourbon vanilla goodness. I could have eaten the whole tray and gone into a sugar rush and lived happily ever after. Afterwards I ordered up to take home to the rest of the family. Thanks Yelp for bringing us an awesome event! Thanks Holtman's gang for sharing your time, space and talent with us.

This experience was just hands-down amazing. Holtman's Wake and Bake deserves all five stars in my…read morebook for two reasons: One, they threw an awesome event. Fresh coffee for arriving Yelpers? Check. Hot donuts complete with all the fixings? Check. A storefront that smells like heaven?! CHECK. At the beginning of the 4 a.m. tour we got a history lesson from Katie. I was impressed to learn that Holtman's has been around since 1960 using their family recipe to make amazing donuts. The donuts and glazes are all made from scratch. The regular donuts are made using real yeast and doing all the kneading, rising and proofing that goes along with that. One of the other things that makes Holtman's unique is that they do not use wax in their glaze. This means the bowl will start to set and form a skin so you have to stir before dipping, but makes the donuts that much more delicious! I sampled the yeasted donut I made at the event plus part of the red velvet cake donut I purchased at the end of the event. Holtman's toppings are wonderful, but they are only building on the solid foundation of the donuts. As others have said, the donut itself is not super sweet. The regular donut is fluffy and full of yeasty flavor. The cake donut, surprisingly, is dense and moist without being in your face sugary as most are. That said, this is a good thing as the toppings can be super rich (I'm looking at you, cream cheese frosting). One of the best Yelp events I have ever attended, and I was so happy to have the chance to buy donuts at the end! And now, reason two: After the event I went back to Mercer Garage to retrieve my car and the pay stations wouldn't accept my ticket. It being 5 a.m. on a Saturday, there was no attendant and the posted phone numbers went unanswered. Unsure of what else to do, I returned to Holtman's and explained what had happened. Katie so graciously walked me back to the garage and scanned me out with her own parking pass. I cannot say thank you enough for helping me out! In summary, Holtman's is the real deal, with awesome donuts and family-owned vibe. I will be back!

27 feet tall and installed in 1988 to celebrate the city's bicentennial, Metrobot stands mostly…read moreproud in front of the Contemporary Arts Center. Refurbished in 2014, he now has a dynamic digital sign and an electronic message board. Metrobot is the work of Nam June Paik, a Korean-American artist who works out of the Solway Gallery. The artwork is on the streets of downtown Cincinnati and you can't miss it when you're visiting the museum. And while I usually love getting FTR's, I'm really pleased to see that the Cincinnati Yelp community spotted this artwork and added it to the Yelpiverse! Compliments all around! [Review 20497 overall - 224 in Ohio - 1478 of 2023.]

Cannot believe the Cincinnati's Metrobot had not been reviewed yet!…read more It's a staple of Cincinnati's downtown business district. Just a big shiny robot, smiling and sharing fun info on multiple screens! Go see it, he is cool!

This mural gives you quite the optical illusion of an impressive ancient building. I did do a…read moredouble take when I first spotted this one. Resembling some sort of Greek or Roman architecture (not sure) this is a stunning mural. It was created in 1983 by Richard Haas and restored roughly 20 years ago with funding help from Kroger Co. A documentary about the restoration of this mural titled 'The Spirit of Cincinnatus Growing with Cincinnati' was also made and entered into several film festivals. This is truly a must see mural.

Who knew that Cincinnati had so many murals? This mural gives off a 3D appearance and almost looks…read morelike a real building. It is very detailed. The mural's actual title is Homage to Cincinnatus and over looks a parking lot. It is on the side of the downtown Brotherhood Building. It was painted by Richard Haas in 1983 and looks amazing. They did do some touchups in 2015 which was a collaborative effort between Hass and ArtWorks. The painters claimed that they almost had to start from scratch, which explains why it looks so good. It was commissioned by the Kroger Company in honor of their centennial. The mural depicts a statue of the city's namesake, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, in front of a palatial building. It demands your attention. It has an antique feel to it. There is some in metered street parking in a reasonable waking distance. . There are also commercial garages and lots you can park in, but they are pretty pricy. I just pulled into the lot that it overlooked and got my fill and then quietly left. Anyway, as with most murals that I have visited and reviewed, this is not a very long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. You may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other murals in the area or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip. I just did a mural tour of the downtown area. There are a ton within about a half mile of each other.