Incoming Cardinals fan for this weekend's series. First time in Cincy. Suggestions?

[CARDINALred]

I am a St. Louis native who this weekend will, for the first time, be gracing America's illustrious Queen City with my presence. I will be attending parts I and II of the three-game set at Great American Ballpark, and I am anxiously looking forward to continuing the National League's most stellar rivalry of the past three years in person. As it is my first time in the Tri-State area, I am eager to enjoy all that Cincinnati is able to offer over the course of a weekend.

I am something of a an urban enthusiast; I am very involved in St. Louis's neighborhood associations and civic activism scene, and I have a deep appreciation for experiencing the urban fabric of American cities, especially in the midwest. I am therefore curious about which districts my friends and I should explore, and I don't mind being directed to the less touristy, more off-the-beaten-path areas that are perhaps more up-and-coming; I would like to see the places that residents of the city of Cincinnati are most proud of these days.

I would appreciate not being sent to the projects, although as a Cardinals fan I'll take what I have coming to me on this form!

Thanks in advance, all. :beerme:

[Kcbuckeye22]

Welcome.

I always go to Kings Island amusement park and the Newport Aquarium. Cincinnati Zoo isn't bad either. I'm a thrill seeker and love wildlife so that what I do.

Thanks for helping increase our payroll.

[CARDINALred]

Thank you for the suggestions.

[nmculbreth]

Are you looking more for daytime attractions or going out at night?

Given your interest in urban renewal I'd suggest looking into the Over-the-Rhine area or Northside if you're looking for something a little further off of the beaten path. If you're looking for something to do during the day I'd suggest checking out Findlay Market or one of the Cincinnati underground tours. For night time activity there are a ton of bars / restaurants in the OTR, my favorites being Neon's and Bakersfield OTR. For Northside I've always loved the Northside Tavern and The Comet.

Hope you enjoy your stay.

[BungleBengals]

If want to brave it, you could always visits the banks before the game. This area is across the street from the Reds stadium and it is always packed with Reds fans. There are a lot of restruants and bars you could check out like Holy Grail, Crave, Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grille, Morelein House, The Yardhouse, and there is even an Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt place on the other side. Again, this is where a lot of Reds fans go, but it is also a good example of an up and coming project that has changed the landscape of the Riverfront.

Furthermore, you could also visit the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum if are inclined to learn more about our team and its past. It is really neat to see all of the history and the greats of past teams and players.

[justincredible]

Head up to OTR, for sure.

[MillerTime58]

OTR sounds exactly like your scene. Or go to my personal favorite place in Cincy, Mt Adams.

[marcshoe]

Welcome.

I always go to Kings Island amusement park and the Newport Aquarium. Cincinnati Zoo isn't bad either. I'm a thrill seeker and love wildlife so that what I do.

Thanks for helping increase our payroll.

Did I hear that The Cincinnati Zoo has improved some of its animal habitats? The last time I was there was '98, and at the time I was disturbed at the size of some of the enclosures for big cats and, iirc, elephants. It seems like I heard that improvements have been made. Anyway, 15 years is a long time. One thing I loved when I was there was the red pandas. Sorry; really bad subject-verb agreement there.

I've been to the St. Louis Zoo a couple of times since then, and its one of my favorites, with big, roomy, naturalistic habitats and really fun penguin and bird exhibits. I need to go back to the Cincy Zoo and check out the improvements.

[marcshoe]

OTR sounds exactly like your scene. Or go to my personal favorite place in Cincy, Mt Adams.

My sister raved about Mt. Adams when she visited a few years back.

[SunDeck]

Over the Rhine/Findley Market
There are several great urban parks: I'd go to Eden and/or Ault
Eat/Drink at Arnold's Bar and Grill. It's the cultural center of the revitalization of Cincinnati's urban core.
Cincinnati Art Museum or the Krohn Conservatory (could easily be combined with a trip to Eden Park)
The Zoo is great, with one the country's most mature urban botanical collections.

[LexRedsFan]

Reading the OP I immediately thought of "Over The Rhine"

[RedsfaninMO]

Don't wear a Molina jersey. If you do, don't act like you don't know why people give you a hard time. Enjoy the best food in any ballpark in baseball.

[bellhead]

Also check out Covington's german area a good area.. Clifton and the UC campus is a big Urban reneweal slowly going on. Clifton is a fantastic area with a lot of pre and post ww1/2 houses.

[MillerTime58]

My sister raved about Mt. Adams when she visited a few years back.I went to Miami, and Mt Adams reminds me of a grown-up version of Oxford.

[JB12]

Mt. Adams, Over the Rhine, and the Banks are great suggestions. Great restaurants, bars, pubs, and tons of stuff to do and see. Enjoy your stay in Cincinnati USA!!!! .com

[Beer&Bourbon]

I agree with the OTR suggestion. You'll want to stay south of Liberty on Vine street for the night scene - Quan Hapa, Kaze, The Lackman (no food), Bakersfield all have great drinks and most have great food. Fun night scene. Main street has a lot of bars, but they've been overrun with college kids of late. It might be different since classes just go out for the summer. If that's the case, Neon's has a great outdoor space and Japp's has great cocktails. Covington's Old KY bourbon bar has a great bourbon selection and cocktails, but is a bit pricey (if you're looking for a KY option). Northside and OTR are the heart of the current urban renewal. Check out Shake It Records in Northside if you're looking for vinyl.

The Comet in Northside has good burritos and no cover shows and is filled with colorful locals. The Banks is pretty and nice for walking around. The Moerlein Lager house has good food and a great view of the city and is directly adjacent to the stadium. It's a bit pricey, but is certainly the most interesting option.

Tucker's in OTR offers a great diner breakfast; you might see me there on Sunday if you stop by. There's a place called Virgil's Cafe in Covington that was recently featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. I've not been, but I've heard good things from people I trust. Enjoy your visit!

Roger

[SunDeck]

Don't forget to top off your night/morning at the Anchor (http://www.yelp.com/biz/anchor-grill-covington). I put away many a 4am eggs and goetta there.

[Eric from NC]

I'm not a local, but have liked the banks area near the river. The Freedom Center really is agreat museum on the underground railroad. It closes around 5:00 pm but with all night games, it may be worth some time in the afternoon. Using the ipod touch is really slow; you can definitely speed things up to just look at the exhibits without the guide.

The area around fountain square is nice for an out of towner because so much stuff is right off the square. I really like the menu and microbrews at the Rockbottom. I have been to them in several cities. Several other good places also as well as Graters Ice Cream are right around the square.

[Australian Red]

Where exactly is the German area? Do they have German pubs/beer halls?

[RBA]

I highly recommend the Newport Travelodge for Cards Fans.

[cooperlamar]

Like others I highly recommend OTR. You could go to Washington Park and Findlay Market as well as the primary area on Vine with all of the bars and restaurants. These are all walkable during the day. Focus on the architecture and keep in mind that 3 years ago you couldn't walk in any of these areas. The progress made there is astounding. There are also walking tours of the area that you may want to investigate including a "Brewery District Tour" which focuses on old breweries in the area (primarily pre prohibition). Pretty neat and worth it if it fits your schedule.

[SporkLover]

I highly recommend the Newport Travelodge for Cards Fans.

LOL... some visiting Reds fans love that location because of it's convenience. Me personally... there are nicer places that offer decent value.

[remdog]

OK! That was one nice post by a Cards fan that I don't mind! Even though I don't live there anymore, I often suggest people stop in Cincinnati! It's such an in interesting city!

I lived in Mount Adams when I was there. Loved it, I wish I could get that on the West Coast. Fun, entertaining, good restaurants, good bars, all walkable once you get there. Arnolds, DT, is one of my favorite restaurants in Cincinnati. Knew Jim Tarbell when he was just starting to run the restaurant and hadn't become the Mayor of Cincinnati yet.

Also, DT, in case you are interested, is the Contemporary Art Center which is very good.

Sorry this series wasn't scheduled a little earlier in the season---apparently the 'Taste of Cincinnati' was going on Memeorial Day Weekend. Lot's of good food and a lot of fun for everyone.

I hope you enjoy your visit.

Rem

[remdog]

I highly recommend the Newport Travelodge for Cards Fans.

RBA: I know that you have a devilish sense of humor but somehow I doubt that you really mean that. :lol:

Rem

[remdog]

Cardinal Red: I'm sorry I didn't see this post earlier! I, too, am interested in the urban makeup. While I lived in both Cleveland and Cincinnati I worked for 'UP Downtown' which is an organization that promotes interest in the Downtown area as far as restaurants, entertainment and other activity goes.

Anyway, I know I said I'd like to find an area on the West Coast like Mt. Adams and there is something like it and I wanted to pass it along to you for future reference: It's the 'Gasslamp Quarter' in San Diego. Years ago it was the area where the 'Dockside Dollies' would hang out , waiting for the sailors to come back from the sea (if ya'get my drift). These days , it's high rises and hotels, restaurant and bars and, maybe the best of all, the home of Petco Park! In case you ever get out there, a big bonus is: Go to the Marriott Gaslamp Hotel (right across the street from Petco and take the elevator to the top floor, go to the 'Altitude' bar (about 20+ floors up) There, you will find, fire pits, closed circut TV and a most terrific view down into the stadium from over the leftfield stands, down into the stadium AND you can actually follow the ball in play from there! All this for free except for a few snacks and a drink of two! If ya' get to San Diego, keep it in mind! SD is a great city and the beaches are fab!

Just an idea.

Rem

[LexRedsFan]

Drove by Horseshoe headed out of town last night.

Very, very nice. Didn't realize it was that close to downtown -- was thinking it was farther north for some reason.

[oregonred]

Where exactly is the German area? Do they have German pubs/beer halls?

Cincinnati is synonymous with German heritage. OTR was a huge German settlement. Even the legendary Howard Cosell always refered to Cincinnati as the Rhineland on MNF/MNB telecasts. I think it still has the only Hofbrauhaus outside of Munich.

Can't wait to get back up the Zinzinnati later this summer. Great to see what's going on downtown and cooinciding nicely with the Reds revitalization.

Love South Florida winter weather, but really would much rather live back up in Cincinnati fulltime. SoFLa is really just a big surburb full of NY/NJ transplants once you get past the hype of South Beach.

[CARDINALred]

Thanks for the suggestions, all. We pulled into town Friday, enjoyed some beer at the Hofbrauhaus prior to the Cards' shellacking of the Reds. They have a great Hefe there. The fan experience at GABP is pretty good. Lots of food options. The park itself is nice, it reminded me of a cozier Busch Stadium. I like how each relief pitcher has his own opening video montage and music (Broxton/Iron Man, Chapman/Wake Up, etc.). The entire games were very high quality productions. I had LaRosa's pizza at the ballpark, which was tasty, even though the toppings and cheese kept wanting to slide off. The fireworks after the game Friday were top-notch, as well, and perfect for our celebratory mood after Friday's game.

Saturday was great as well; I went for a nice run with some friends we had out in Loveland on a trail in a park near some railroad tracks. The weather was great. I did get to poke around OTR for a little bit, and I was very impressed with what it looked like when I was told about what it looked like just a decade or two ago. That evening we ate dinner at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse, I had the sliced beef brisket sandwich and it was tasty; I was stuffed. The game Saturday night was fun as well, though obviously not as fun for us for obvious reasons.

The Cincinnatians were mostly very gracious and welcoming. I wore Cardinals gear around all weekend and other than a few stray "Cardinals suck" jabs from passerbys, it was all well and good. I expected worse.

All in all, it was a fun town. It reminded me a lot of St. Louis in many ways, and of a completely different place altogether in others. I'm very impressed at how well they've driven growth on both sides of the river; you all are very lucky to share the river with Kentucky, and not the worst state in existence (that would be Illinois). I'll be back again soon, no doubt.

[MattyHo4Life]

All in all, it was a fun town. It reminded me a lot of St. Louis in many ways, and of a completely different place altogether in others. I'm very impressed at how well they've driven growth on both sides of the river; you all are very lucky to share the river with Kentucky, and not the worst state in existence (that would be Illinois). I'll be back again soon, no doubt.

I agree, the two cities are a lot more alike than they are different. I grew up driving an hour and a half to Cincinnati to go to Reds games and Kings Island with my dad. I still go back for Reds games occasionally with my dad even after moving to St. Louis 17 years ago. I'm so glad to see the Reds and Cardinals both have good teams at the same time. This is a fun rivalry between two good cities and a lot of great fans.

[NCCardfan]

The Cincinnatians were mostly very gracious and welcoming. I wore Cardinals gear around all weekend and other than a few stray "Cardinals suck" jabs from passerbys, it was all well and good. I expected worse.

All in all, it was a fun town. It reminded me a lot of St. Louis in many ways, and of a completely different place altogether in others. I'm very impressed at how well they've driven growth on both sides of the river; you all are very lucky to share the river with Kentucky, and not the worst state in existence (that would be Illinois). I'll be back again soon, no doubt.

Good to know, I am thinking about going to CIN for the August 2-3-4 series and this was VERY helpful. One of the ministers where my wife works is from the CIN area and we may go up for the weekend. He told me he thinks that he can find me a place to stay with his family up there, under the front porch was mentioned:lol::laugh::lol: so we will see how that goes.

Good info from all, THANK YOU!