Cleveland may be a city you may not have thought of for a weekend getaway, but you might want to think again. Home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland will offer you plenty to do in 72 hours and so much more.
How to get around Cleveland: The city’s grid of streets and highways are easy to navigate; with the help of a GPS (and the occasional assistance from a resident), renting a car from one of the numerous national car rental agencies is a worthwhile option for those flying into Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE). There’s also the Rapid, and easily navigated light-rail system, and cabs are available outside most downtown hotels and clubs, especially on the weekend. The Rapid offers a station at the Cleveland International Airport (CLE) to downtown and many places around Cleveland. So it is possible to just buy a Rapid pass for your 72 hour visit, toss in a few short cab rides and you are set! An all day pass on the Rapid is $5 for adults and $2.50 for seniors, disabled and children (Age 6 to 12). The RTA (Rapid Transit System) has an excellent website that shows you which stop you want based on where you want to get to. You can even buy your Rapid ticket online or when you arrive.
Where to stay: Well if you can get a crew rate at the hotel where your airline’s flight crew stay that would be a good start. However, for a weekend in Cleveland you might want to take the Rapid downtown and stay in downtown Cleveland. You will be near the lake and many of the major attractions Cleveland has to offer plus a lot of excellent restaurants for dining. leaving downtown you are a quick ride to East or West Cleveland should you want to go in either direction for some sightseeing. There are plenty of major hotel chains in downtown Cleveland that offer all price ranges depending on what is going on in Cleveland the days you are traveling there. If downtown rates are high then check out the rates by the Airport and take the Rapid to and from downtown or rent a car.
What to see and do in Cleveland:
Sports – Depending on the time of year you have at least one sports team playing and hopefully in town the days you plan to be in Cleveland. From Browns football, Indians baseball, Cavaliers basketball, Gladiators arena football, Lake Erie Monsters hockey, horse racing and more, you can easily catch a game as the stadiums are almost all near Rapid stops.
Then continuing with sports you have lake front activities offering fishing and beach activities on the shores of Lake Erie, again just blocks from a Rapid stop. The Cleveland area also offers over 300 golf courses (you will need a cab or rental car to get to most) that you can play depending on the time of year you go. Cleveland’s prime golf season begins in late spring and lasts well into the fall each year.
Gaming –
Ohio’s first gambling destination, the Horseshoe Cleveland Casino features more than 96,000 square feet of non-stop action with 2,100 slot machines, 65 table games and a 30-table World Series of Poker room. Located near a Rapid rail stop the Horseshoe Cleveland Casino is in the Historic Higbee Building in the heart of downtown Cleveland. Guests can also enjoy many dining options including The Spread, a multi-station buffet, and the food court featuring Celebrity Chef Michael Symon’s B Spot and Cleveland’s favorite deli, Corky & Lenny’s, as well as two bars. Horseshoe Casino Cleveland is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Arts & Culture – Catch a show at PlayhouseSquare, the nation’s second-largest performing arts complex, hear the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra at beautiful Severance Hall. If that’s not enough you can visit theatres and companies that started it all for actors like Robert Guillaime (Karamu House), Hal Linden (Cleveland Play House) and Tom Hanks (Great Lakes Theater Festival)… all here in Cleveland Plus.
As you move forward through Cleveland, you can also “find yourself in the circle.” Cleveland’s University Circle is the most concentrated square mile of arts and culture institutions in the nation with the Cleveland Botanical Garden, Cleveland Museum of Art, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland Museum of Natural History and more.
Then there is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Where else can you relive the soundtrack of your life? Over 50 exhibits, dynamic cinema presentations plus the largest single collection of rock and roll artifacts. If you are a fan of Rock and Roll figure at least a half of a day at this place! Admission is $22 unless you are a Cleveland resident and then it’s $18. Seniors 65 and older get in for $17 as do military with an ID. Kids age 9 to 13 are $13 and kids under 8 get in free with the purchase of an adult ticket. You can also become a member for $50 a year and get free admission any time.
Now if local galleries, installations and cutting edge artists are your thing, then Cleveland’s gallery events shouldn’t be missed. Little Italy’s Art Walk takes place annually, in June, October and December, so pick up some tiramisu and start walking! Visit the Little Italy or Murray Hill Art Walk websites for more information.
Plus, on the second Friday of every month, the trendy Tremont neighborhood offers the Tremont Art Hop. Take advantage of local happy hours and dining, then hop on over to some galleries for your local art fix. All of these neighborhoods are easily reached on the Rapid train or Rapid bus service.
Dining Options:
Since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, start your morning with a hearty breakfast at the Waterstreet Grill on Ninth Street. The welcoming staff and relaxed environs with plenty of windows to let in the morning sun this has been a perennial hot spot for many years with the locals. Expect a crowd on weekends, but it will be busy on weekdays as well since many downtown dwellers choose to start their day here with robust sunrise sustenance. If you’d rather design your own breakfast or lunch then head over to Constantino’s Market, directly across the street from Waterstreet. Constantino’s Market offers an impressive selection of pre-made items, as well as an assortment of cheeses and gourmet goodies. Maybe pack a picnic to enjoy on the lake front!
The Downtown Cleveland area is also a destination for foodies. Here you will find Chef Michael Symon, the now-famed Food Network’s Iron Chef, and his ultra hip and cool Lola on East Fourth. The menu here exemplifies Symon’s approach to cuisine, offering playful interpretations of Cleveland staples with a Mediterranean flair and an eye toward underutilized cuts of meat. East Fourth street also offers a multi-level Mexican restaurant and expansive tequila bar with Zocalo Mexican Grill & Tequileria, Vietnamese cuisine at Saigon, and jazz and small plates at Wonder Bar. For after dinner activities, the lively street is also home to the House of Blues and a bowling alley for the new millennium, the Corner Alley Bar & Grill, as well as Pickwick & Frolic, which is a restaurant, cabaret, comedy club and martini bar all under one roof!
You can also head over to Cleveland’s East Side which include the city’s own Little Italy area . For those needing to tend to their sweet tooth, check out, Corbo’s Bakery and Presti’s Bakery on Mayfield Road offer a wonderful assortment of pastries, cookies, cakes and other desserts. If you choose to stick around Little Italy for dinner, Michalangelo’s is a great option located in a small former farmhouse. There, Chef Michael Annandono, who trained in Piedmont, offers a tempting menu highlighting the rustic, beautiful simplicity of northern Italian cuisine in a casually elegant dining room. Make reservations in advance!!
If you can avoid the temptation of eating in Little Italy, then head over to Shaker Square, despite its relatively small size, it is home to a wealth of dining options. Check out Chef Douglas Katz’s menu of simple, seasonal foods, creatively presented using the best quality ingredients at Fire Food & Drink or enjoy tapas-style dining at Sasa, or try Sergio Abramof’s Brazilian dishes at Sarava.
No trip to Cleveland is complete without a stop at the West Side Market on Lorain Avenue in Ohio City on the city’s west side. No place in Cleveland combines more cultures under one roof than the market with more than 180 vendors offering ethnic delicacies and an amazing variety of fresh bakery, produce, dairy products, meats and seafood it’s one of the country’s largest, continually operating markets.
Outside, you’ll quickly notice the enormous complex’s clock tower and neo-classical architecture. Inside, your senses will be assaulted by the hustle and bustle of throngs of shoppers, the reverberation of many languages filling the air along with an intoxicating blend of smells, a kaleidoscopic array of food stuffs and never-ending opportunities for tastings. The market serves as the embodiment of Cleveland’s ethnic diversity, with nearly every nationality and food represented among the dozen of vendors located within the market. This is an ideal spot to pick and choose your lunch, which you can eat on the second story balcony of the market, while looking down on the whirlwind of activity below. Or, you may head over to the adjoining West Side Market Café for a quick bite. This is one place you will want to put on your must see list when in Cleveland.
On the neighboring Market Street is another Cleveland legend, though not nearly as old. Since 1988, Great Lakes Brewing Company has been supplying an award-winning variety of microbrews. More than just a brewery, the facility is among the most green friendly in the city. It’s delivery vehicles run on bio-diesel and the brewery has strict recycling and sustainability practices, not to mention a beer garden with radiant-heat floors, straw bale-insulated walls and a retractable roof that allows in sunshine. The brewery offers regular tours of its facility, but you’re just as welcome to enjoy a pint without knowing everything there is to know about Cleveland’s oldest operating brewery. The fact that Clevelanders love a good beer is nothing new. Their thirst for beer infused with some local flavor is apparent with a wide array of microbreweries and brewpubs throughout the city.
The West Side of Cleveland also offers interesting options for dinner time. Across the street from Great Lakes is Chef Karen Small’s Flying Fig restaurant. Small was one of the city’s first chefs to fully embrace farm-to-table ideas, creating seasonal menus that focus on what is locally available. The cuisine, however, is global, and the bar is a favorite among some of Cleveland’s locales. Closer to the Glendennis is Momocho, an exciting Ohio City restaurant offering modern Mexican cuisine with dishes that incorporate a modern flair with unique twists.
Other dining options can be found in the Tremont area and include Lolita. On the site of Chef Michael Symon’s original Lola and still owned by the famed chef, Lolita is one of the city’s most consistently booked restaurants even before he was crowned an Iron Chef. The menu shares its sensibilities with the downtown Lola, though the atmosphere is more casual. Check out the Sage and Bleu Cheese Guacamole!
Among local media’s picks for best seafood restaurants in this part of town is Parallax. Chef Zack Bruell has been a figure of the Cleveland dining scene for nearly 20 years. His culinary skills have earned him accolades from peers and diners for its inventiveness and approachability. Fahrenheit is another Tremont hot spot, led by chef Rocco Whalen, who honed his skills under the direction of Wolfgang Puck. The boisterous restaurant is a favorite among Clevelanders and those from the outlying suburbs, offering a menu with consistently well-conceived dishes that reflect Whalen’s love affair with Asian cuisine and appreciation of contemporary American bistro fare.
For an all inclusive dinner and night out, it’s hard to beat Bar Cetro. Located directly across the street from the West Side Market, it serves an Italian menu 365 days a year until 2 a.m., as well as 99 Belgian beers and 100 wines from around the world. Chefs Michael Nowak and Adam Lambert use local and organic ingredients to craft this laid-back haunt’s seasonal menu with love. Right next door to Bar Cento is McNulty’s Bier Market, which specializes in Belgian beer, putting dinner and a pleasant late-night evening all in one.
For a unique dining experience in Cleveland, and those fans of the Food Network, there have been 29 restaurants in Cleveland highlighted over the years on various shows on the Food Network. Here are their locations, and what they’re known for:
ABC the Tavern 1872 W 25th St
Big Al’s Diner 12600 Larchmere Blvd Corned Beef Hash
Czuchraj Meats 1979 W 25th St Some say this is the best Meat Market in the County
Danny’s Deli 1658 Saint Clair Ave NE
Dim and Dem Sum Locations around Cleveland Comfort Food Asia Style
Fire Food & Drink 13220 Shaker Square Fresh made bread in tandoori oven, with an herb oil.
Geraci’s Restaurant 2266 Warrensville Ctr Rd Italian Pizza
Happy Dog 5801 Detroit Ave Vegetarian Hot Dogs
Hot Sauce Williams 7815 Carnegie Ave Legendary barbecue joint on Cleveland’s east side
Lola 2058 E 4th St French Eclectic & International
Lolita 820 W Superior Ave Ste 920 Vegetarian Mediterranean
Lopez Southwestern Kitchen 2196 Lee Rd Check out the Sage and Bleu Cheese Guacamole
Lucky’s Cafe 777 Starkweather Ave Vegetarian Sandwiches and Biscuits and Gravy
Melt Bar and Grill 14718 Detroit Ave Old-fashioned gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches
Momocho 1835 Fulton Rd Known for 12 different types of taquitos.
Nosh Box Locations around Cleveland Grilled Mac & Cheese / Portobello Mushroom Burger
Palookaville Chili 3900 Lorain Ave
Parkview Niteclub 1261 W 58TH St
Sausage Shoppe 4501 Memphis Ave Old fashion sausage shop.
Seti’s Truck 17319 Talford Ave Per Chef Michael Symon try the Polish Boy
Slyman’s Restaurant 3106 Saint Clair Ave NE Vegetarian Sandwiches
Sokolowski’s 1201 University Rd German Eastern European, try the Pierogies
Sterle’s Slovenian Country House 1401 E 55TH St Californian Eastern European
Steves Gyro 1979 W. 25th St. A huge pita stuffed with lamb and beef, and sauce
The Greenhouse Tavern 2038 E 4th St New American and order the Gravy Frites
Tommy’s 3513 Stanford Ave
Trattoria Roman Gardens 12207 Mayfield Rd Italian
Velvet Tango Room 2095 Columbus Rd American Food and taste the Lime Fizz
Washington Place Bistro Inn 2203 Cornell Rd. Known for their mac and cheese with chorizo
Westside Market 1995 W 25TH St Get a gyro at Steve’s Gyro’s.
Fairs and Festivals in Cleveland – From mid-May until mid-September, Cleveland and the surrounding area comes alive with dozens of festivals, many of which celebrate Northeast Ohio’s rich ethnic heritage. Below are our picks for the top festivals in the area. Make sure that your summer plans include a few of these favorites (in date order).
Great American Rib Fest – The Great American Rib Cook-off and Music Festival, held each year on Memorial Day weekend, is the unofficial start of the Cleveland summer festival season. This popular four-day event, held downtown at the Tower City Amphitheater, features name entertainers, rib outlets from around the world, kid’s activities, and lots of fun. It’s a Cleveland summer must-do event.
Greek Heritage Festival – This three-day festival, held over Memorial Day weekend each year, is a treat for Greeks and non-Greeks alike. Tremont’s Church of the Annunciation hosts this event, which includes a variety of wonderful food, cooked by the women of the church, Greek music and dance, a Greek marketplace, and a lively beer tent in the church’s parking lot. Admission to the event is FREE (food and beer are extra.)
Parade the Circle – This University Circle annual event is as unique as the neighborhood that sponsors it. There’s nothing commercial about “Parade the Circle,” held each year in early June. All exhibits, floats, and marchers are individually-designed and supported. The event is FREE and the parade starts at 1pm. Food, music, and fun continue until 4pm.
Tall Ship Festival – 10 – 12 replica historic vessels in honor of their long-time commitment to the people of the City of Cleveland. On Wednesday, July 3, 2013 a fleet of magnificent Tall Ships will sail into Cleveland’s harbor to participate in a 4-day, fun-filled family-friendly festival – July 4-7. The Festival will showcase the diverse Great Lakes maritime history and spotlight environmental themes while promoting youth leadership through sail training. Visitors can board vessels, meet crew, and experience the heritage these ships symbolize. Cleveland welcomes the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE®, a series of port-to-port international sailing races, cruises and maritime festivals starting in Toronto, ON and ending in Erie, PA.
185th Street Festival – This spirited festival, held the first weekend in August, celebrates the Slavic roots of the Collinwood neighborhood…and so much more. There’s polka music and dancing, potato pancakes and pierogi, crafts, and kid’s activities at this popular street festival.
Vintage Ohio – Held annually during the first week of August, this year it will held Aug. 2 & 3, 2013, Vintage Ohio, celebrates the ever-growing number of quality wines produced in Ohio, particularly in the NE and North Central Ohio wine-growing regions. This two-day festival, held at Lake Farm Park in Kirtland features samples of Ohio wines, regional foods, live music, and cooking demonstrations.
Twins Day Festival – No you’re not seeing double. Twins Days, in Twinsburg, has drawn twins from all over the world since 1976…but you don’t have to be a twin to enjoy this three-day festival. This event, held in early August, showcases twins and features food, live entertainment, activities, and lots of fun.
Feast of the Assumption – Held in mid-August each year, this Little Italy festival is one of the city’s most popular. Centered at Mayfield and Murray Hill Roads, the Feast of the Assumption features a parade, lots of Italian food, carnival rides in the parking lot of Holy Rosary Church, and live music.
Burning River Festival – Cleveland Ohio’s Burning River Fest, begun in 2002, showcases environmental issues while creating an enjoyable day of food, music, and outdoor fun. The event is the brainchild of the Great Lakes Brewing Company, who crafts a Burning River Ale, a name that evokes the sad chapter in the city’s history when in the 1970s the Cuyahoga River caught fire several times.
Ingenuity Festival – Cleveland’s Ingenuity Fest, founded in 2004, is a celebration of the marriage of arts and technology. Held in downtown’s Playhouse Square the activities, many of them free, include concerts, dance, exhibits, music, and fun.
Pro Football Hall of Fame – The Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival at Hall of Fame in Canton Ohio, held for ten days each July and August, features 15 events, including the induction ceremonies for the new class of Hall of Famers and the annual Hall of Fame football game, the traditional start to the NFL season.
Taste of Cleveland – Cleveland Ohio’s “Taste of Cleveland” festival is a Northeast Ohio Labor Day tradition. Begun in 1996, the downtown event features food samples from 30 area restaurants, diners, cafes, and bistros as well as Ohio wine and beer tastes. There’s also live music, kid’s activities, and lots of fun.
Cleveland’s Irish Cultural Festival – Cleveland’s Irish Cultural Festival has been highlighting Irish music, food, art, and dance for more than 25 years. Held each July at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds in Berea, Ohio, the event is one of the area’s most popular summer festivals.
LGBT – With a mayor who created a domestic partner registry to a city that illuminated its most iconic building with the rainbow colors of pride, Cleveland welcomes each and every visitor regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
Gaze at artifacts from Madonna or Elton John at the Rock Hall, get your Broadway show tune fix at PlayhouseSquare, dine at the restaurants of celeb chefs or take in the boisterous harmonies, glittering sequins and fabulous choreography of a performance by the North Coast Men’s Chorus. Or, head over to the trendy neighborhoods of Lakewood, Ohio City, Tremont, Coventry and the Detroit-Shoreway that serve as areas for gay nightlife and culture. The International Gay Games (GG9), a unique, weeklong festival of sports and culture, is expected to draw more than 11,000 participants from around the world, along with an estimated 30,000 additional visitors, performers, spectators and volunteers.