Named after a selfless statesman from Ancient Rome, Cincinnati stands on the north bank of the Ohio River as part of an inviting region straddling a historic waterway. Yet, to many visitor’s surprise, Cincy has a walkable core.
The Cincy Region is a twofor-one destination consisting of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. It is ideal as a destination in its own right or a as a gateway at the start or end of a longer U.S. road trip.
Cincy’s most famous landmark is the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge. It was the
prototype for the Brooklyn Bridge and facilitates walking or driving between Ohio and Kentucky. A key aspect of the river’s significance is explored in the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
Five U.S. presidents have called Cincy home yet only William Howard Taft, the 27th, was born in the city. Its bars, restaurants and sporting venues are ideal for experiencing Cincy’s pulse while museums convey a deeper level of understanding.
The Cincy Region is a place that rewards those who eat, drink and love to explore.
Cincinnati was founded in 1788, when the American West was being settled, and quickly won a positive reputation for its grandeur, fairness and as the “Queen City of the West”.
Meanwhile, the meat trade flourished, accounting for another nickname, “Porkopolis”. That moniker explains the flying pig logos seen around the city.
The Ohio River was once a major trade route and paddle steamers still operate sightseeing cruises
HERITAGE IN BRIEF ARTS AND CULTURE HUB
from Newport, Kentucky, offering fine views from their decks.
Migration from Germany in the 19th century left a mark on place names. Subsequent waves of settlement also indelibly influence the Cincy Region’s character and cuisine.
Sports, of course, bring people together and the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade, at the start of each baseball season, is a Cincy tradition that sees thousands of people line the parade route.
‘THE QUEEN CITY’ CONVEYED A CULTURED REPUTATION AS THE U.S. EXPANDED WEST
The region offers much for those who appreciate arts and cultural happenings.
Family-friendly Cincinnati Art Museum’s broad and varied collection includes works by Vincent van Gogh and the Schmidlapp Gallery displays Saul Steinberg’s Moderninst Mural of Cincinnati.
Many more murals, some a legacy of the popular BLINK art and light festival, are on sides of buildings and along Covington’s floodwall – which conveys a colourful history of the region.
The Taft Museum of Art is another highlight, as is the mixed-use Contemporary Arts Center on 6th Street, which holds exhibitions and performances.
Cincinnati Music Hall faces onto Washington Park. Along with the Aronoff Center for the Arts, it is a venue with an engaging events programme.
EVENTS IN CINCY
There’s always plenty going on in Cincy, including unique events celebrating the region’s heritage and thriving creative cultural scene.
Oktoberfest Zinzinnati is the U.S.’s lagest event of its kind. More than a beer festival, it salutes the region’s Germaninfluenced culture. Similarly, the springtime Bockfest in Over-theRhine (OTR) has beer at its core.
Held in Newport’s Festival Park over two weekends, the summertime Goettafest
champions goetta, a sausage-like delicacy found only locally.
Food and culinary creativity also take centre stage in May’s Taste of Cincinnati festival.
Bourbon and Belonging, an LGBTQ+ festival, is held in Northern Kentucky. Both sides of the river host Pride parades.
The long-running Cincinnati Music Festival draws leading acts to the Paycor Stadium.
Illuminating 30 blocks, the BLINK festival of art and light leaves striking murals in Cincy.
FLAVOURS TO SAVOUR
The wave of Germans who settled in the Cincy Region during the 19th century brought a knowledge of brewing and thirst. More than 35 million gallons of beer a year were brewed by 36 breweries in the late 1880s. Prohibition put the industry on pause but the craft beer revolution is a factor in the number of breweries reaching a record high, with several scattered across OTR.
That neighbourhood’s Findlay
DUNIQUE TO CINCY
edicated to telling the story of ventriloquism, Vent Haven Museum is the world’s only attraction of its type. In Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, Vent Haven houses more than 1,000 dummies. It can be visited from May into September and hosts an annual ventroliquism convention.
Clive, a sculpture of a 30-ft alien, is in Covington. Coincidentally, MUFON, the Mutual UFO Network, is headquartered in Cincinnati and its annual symposium is a reason for ufologists to visit.
In the era before refrigeration, lagering tunnels were excavated from the bedrock of OTR to store beer barrels. Guided tours are a way of seeing them. So too is visiting Ghost Baby, a chic underground bar with live music and craft cocktails.
The American Sign Museum doubled in size in 2024. In the Camp Washington neighbourhood, it showcases over a century of signage.
Also, the Lucky Cat Museum beckons visitors with namesake Japanese figurines.
PRONOUNCED ‘GETTAH’, GOETTA IS A CULINARY SPECIALITY OF THE REGION
Market is one of Cincinnati’s leading foodie destinations and OTR’s stores and restaurants offer an array of global cuisines, including Southern style barbecued food, Vietnamese pho, arepas from South America and Ukranian-style pierogis.
Beyond goetta, a culinary speciality of the region, local delicacies include Cincinnati chili. Developed by Greek and Macedonian immigrants, its
mild flavour is characterised by cinnamon, allspice and cloves. It is served in diner-like chili parlours on hotdogs, known as coneys, or on spaghetti. Add grated cheese, plus chopped onions and/or beans.
Enjoy a bit of indulgence? Founded in 1870, Graeter’s Ice Cream mixes flavours such as its flagship Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip in 2.5-gallon French pots. It’s a must try!
CINCINNATI IS FAMED AS THE BIRTHPLACE OF PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL
Passions for sports run high in the Cincy Region and heading to a live game, or even to a bar, makes for a great experience.
The origins of professional baseball are traced to Cincinnati in 1869 and the game’s history is engagingly explored in the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum. The Cincinnati Reds play home games at the riverfront Great American Ball Park.
Nearby, the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals play at the Paycor Stadium, whose nickname of “The Jungle” hints at the intense atmosphere that home fans generate. The Bengal Nation is also known for spirited tailgating – partying in parking lots before kick-off – and participating is fun.
LOTS FOR SPORTS FANS
Love movies? There’s a good chance you’ll have seen Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky on the screen. Bones and All, McVeigh and The Bikeriders are among a long list of movies filmed in the region.
Released in 2025, The Alto Knights is set in New York and stars Robert De Niro as a 1950s mob boss. Filming locations include Eden Park, Arnold’s Bar and Grill and the Netherland Plaza Hotel – an Art Deco masterpiece and National Historic
Landmark in the Downtown. Cincinnati Public Library was the setting for The Public, written and directed by Emilio Estevez.
The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge and Pompilio’s Restaurant in Newport are the locations which appear in Rain Man, which won four Academy Awards.
The arched facade of the Union Terminal, home to the Cincinnati Museum Center, may look familiar too. The Hall of Justice in DC Comics’ Superman series is based on the Art Deco building.
CINCY MOVIE LOCATIONS
The other variety of football is also popular. FC Cincinnati plays Major League Soccer at the city’s West End neighbourhood. The regular season runs from February into October.
The Cincinnati Open, now an ATP Masters 1000 event, was first held in 1899. The tournament is played in August and represents an opportunity for fans to get close to top tennis stars.
Elsewhere, the Cincinnati Cyclones’ home ice for ECHL games is at the Heritage Bank Center and the University of Cincinnati’s sporting programme means opportunities to watch a variety of sports.
OTR is how locals reference Over-the-Rhine, a neighbourhood with the U.S.’s largest number of historic, Italianate buildings.
A short walk from Cincinnati’s Downtown, the Banks overlooks the Ohio River. It has waterfront trails as well as sporting and cultural attractions, including the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame Symbolically, it is the location of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
South of the Ohio River, Covington’s Mainstrasse village is another reminder of the region’s German settlement while tours of New Riff Distilling are among the reasons to head to Newport.
Dotted with bars and restaurants, Mount Adams offers skyline views and hosts the impressive Cincinnati Art Museum and Playhouse in the Park.
BOURBON
RABBIT HASH IN NORTHERN KENTUCKY HAS ELECTED A DOG MAYOR SINCE 1988
CONNECTIONS
Cincinnati is a four-hour drive from Nashville, a five-hour drive from Pittsburgh and an 11-hour drive from New York City
Direct flights from Heathrow to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport take around eight hours and 40 minutes
Visitors can sample a wide variety of America’s Native Spirit in the bourbon-centric bars and restaurants of the Cincy Region’s B-Line, a self-guided trail with nine distilleries. Collecting stamps in the official guide means a chance to collect B-Line merch. The disilleries are part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, which offers insights into the heritage and craft of distilling.
DAY TRIPS
A 45-minute drive northeast of Cincinnati, the 2,000-year-old Fort Ancient is North America’s largest hilltop enclosure and is part of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks UNESCO World Heritage Site. The visitor centre tells the story of the Indigenous people who built the earthworks. Less than an hour’s drive southeast of Cincy, the pretty
Northern Kentucky town of Augusta is famed for its ferry across the Ohio River. The Augusta Distillery welcomes guests and the world’s largest collection of White Christmas memorabilia is at Rosemary Clooney House.
Collecting states? The OhioIndiana state line is a mere 30-minute drive from Cincinnati.
OVERNIGHT STAYS
Louisville is a 90- minute drive away. Attractions including the Muhammad Ali Center, Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs and the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory make overnight stays well worthwhile.
A similar distance away, Lexington offers access to horse farms and bourbon distilleries.
Bardstown, two hours from Cincy, is ‘the Bourbon Capital of the World’ and an ideal base for those who appreciate whiskey.
