I’ll admit it: Columbus, Ohio, wasn’t a city I had shortlisted for a visit. Sure, it’s the state capital, home to Ohio State University, and a place fanatical about college football. But with a Labor Day trip to Columbus planned for the Gay Softball World Series (in San Francisco in 2027), I discovered there’s more to the city than I expected.
For starters, Columbus is surprisingly easy to explore, and like my hometown of Portland, each of its neighborhoods has a distinct feeling. Like Portland, Columbus doesn’t necessarily wow you with one iconic attraction, it’s a collection of enjoyable spots and interesting finds.
From the colorful streets and restaurants of the Short North to the brick-lined charm of German Village, there’s something quaint around the corner. There’s a relaxed energy to the city, along with a surprisingly good food and cocktail scene, plenty of independent shops, interesting museums and galleries, and a lively LGBTQ community that makes Columbus worth a visit. Read on for more ideas and tips of my own and ones I collected from local friends…
Getting There
For most travelers, the easiest way to get to Columbus is by air. John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH) is just a few miles east of downtown, making it one of those airports where you can go from the terminal to the heart of the city in a matter of minutes. The airport is on the smaller side—that means is generally compact and easy to navigate. On the other hand, if you’re not coming from an airline’s hub city, you may need to make a connection to get here. For folks looking for a lounge to relax in, there is an Escape Lounge in Concourse B—but that’s only helpful if you’re flying from that concourse. The three concourses all have separate TSA screening and you’ll have to re-screen if you want to go from one concourse to another.
Once you land, getting from the airport to downtown Columbus and the surrounding neighborhoods is easy. Rental cars, taxis, rideshares, and hotel shuttles are all available. You’ll likely need a car if you’re venturing outside of central Columbus, though my adventures were central so I made do with ride shares. The Short North, downtown, German Village, and several other popular areas are relatively close together, are a short ride share from one to the other, and are walkable once you’re there. If you’re flying into Columbus for a weekend getaway, I’d recommend thinking about where you plan to stay before deciding whether you need a rental car—the answer may be no.
Know Before You Go
Columbus is a relatively easy city to navigate, but it helps to understand the layout before you arrive. Columbus is a big city geographically, and its neighborhoods each have their own personality, so where you stay can make a real difference in how you experience the city. The Short North is a great choice if you want restaurants, bars, shops, and nightlife right outside your door, while German Village has a more historic, residential feel. Downtown is convenient for attractions and events, although I found myself spending more time in the surrounding neighborhoods than I did downtown. Hotel rates and parking costs can vary a lot based on location too (more on that below).
Columbus is also a city where having a loose plan works better than trying to cram everything into a tight itinerary. Give yourself time to wander, especially if you’re exploring neighborhoods like the Short North, German Village, or the nearby Brewery District.
I mentioned above that the city is pretty walkable, but remember: summers can be hot and humid with occasional thunderstorms, while winters are cold and can bring snow, so check the forecast when planning your visit and keep in mind that walking may not always be ideal if you want to arrive fresh and dry.
And even if you’re not a football fan, if you’re visiting around the time of an Ohio State football game or another major event (the Softball World Series and Ohio State season opener both happened during my visit), book your hotel and rental car well in advance.
A special note about the Gay Softball World Series: Columbus is rightfully many players favorite city for the series. Lou Berliner Park has nearly 40 fields, so it is in a league of its own (pun intended) in terms of the number of fields that are all in one place.
Sightseeing Highlights
I suppose the benefit of not having an iconic attraction is that there’s a lot to see and do without feeling like you’re racing from one attraction to another. The city’s neighborhoods are really the star of the show.
- The Short North Arts District features murals, boutiques and is especially lively in the evening with its restaurants and bars primarily focused along High Street. Short North is also the LGBTQ center of Columbus where most of the gay bars and clubs are concentrated.
- German Village is super cute too. Its brick sidewalks, historic homes, independent shops, and neighborhood restaurants and bars makes the neighborhood distinct feel and makes it enjoyable to simply wander.
- Along the river, the Scioto Mile is a good place to get outside and take in the downtown skyline as well as greenways and river views, whether for a walk, a bike ride, or just to take a moment to sit and relax.
- And don’t miss North Market (because you know I love food halls), a historic public market that’s an easy stop for lunch or a snack while exploring downtown or heading to an event in the stadium district.
A couple things I had on my list that I didn’t make it to:
- The Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is supposed to be especially beautiful. Given that I’ve enjoyed Botanical Gardens a lot in a number of other cities (Seattle, Denver, and Rio come to mind as ones I’ve enjoyed), this was something I’d hoped to make it to. In Columbus, the combination of tropical gardens, outdoor spaces, art, and glasswork are said make it one of the more memorable attractions in Columbus.
- The Columbus Museum of Art is another worthwhile stop with a collection that ranges from highly-recognized artists (Picasso, Matisse, and Rockwell, for example) and a ton of other work.
If you have a car and an interest in aviation, I’d make one more addition to your Columbus itinerary: Dayton’s National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, the world’s largest and oldest military aviation museum—but also includes presidential aircraft and a NASA crew compartment trainer. It’s roughly an hour from Columbus and is absolutely worth the drive for aviation enthusiasts (my friend Ryan repeatedly makes mention of it). But allow most of a day for it rather than trying to squeeze it into a few hours. The museum gives you another perspective on Ohio’s surprisingly important role in aviation and aerospace history, making it an especially good day trip if you’ve already explored the main Columbus attractions. Oh, and admission and parking are free (but you’ll need that rental car, which probably isn’t)!
Eating and Drinking
My trip to Columbus was centered around a softball tournament, so fine dining wasn’t really on our menu. But we still ate well! Some of my favorites from our long weekend stay included:
- Wario’s Beef and Pork (plus more that’s not explicitly called out in their name) has a reputation for outstanding cheesesteak, and they didn’t disappoint. Purists may nitpick that it’s not Philly, but it’s a pretty close second. They also had an excellent fried chicken sandwich on special when we were there (plus several other options we didn’t try). Their sandwiches aren’t cheap, but both sandwiches were huge so sharing is a great option.
- Eight & Sand Tavern & Refuge might not be on a list of obvious spots to grab great food, but it should be. Their self-proclaimed chef-led scratch kitchen cranks out excellent burgers (patties are 75% beef, 25% bacon), outstanding bar snacks like fried pickles, and wings that my brother voted as some of the best he’s had. It’s definitely a dive bar atmosphere in Columbus’ Hungarian Village neighborhood, but the staff and food were both top notch.
- Alberta’s Pizza Kitchen in the Merion Village neighborhood was another unassuming, off-the-beaten-path joint. We arrived for their weekly Thursday trivia night and ordered up pizzas, garlic knots, kraut dip and beer and all of it was great (except our trivia skills).
- Planks Bier Garten—in German Village, if you didn’t guess from the name—had solid German favorites like bratwurst and sauerkraut (and fried sauerkraut balls, which are surprisingly good), plus a wide variety of other foods. Their covered outdoor Biergarten was a great spot to watch the Ohio State game on TV before exploring the rest of the neighborhood.
- For something totally different, we also took the elevator up from High Street in Short North to admire the views from Lincoln Social Rooftop. They do have a Tuesday-Friday happy hour which will save you some valuable coin, but the good food (those sliders…), great drinks, and panoramic view help make up for the prices at other times. Our server (hey, Jen!) was outstanding and attentive too.
Once you’re done with your main course, Columbus also has a bit of an ice cream rivalry going on. My family was divided about whether Jeni’s was the best or whether it was Graeter’s, but with this type of rivalry, everyone’s a winner! Jeni’s does have locations that are more central to the downtown core (including one in Short North) which is nice, but on warm evenings, you can be sure to find a line there…
Finally, being a fan of food halls, North Market was another highlight. Inside, you’ll find just about every type of food you can think of: pizza, pasta, pretzels, ramen, polish, Greek … and the list goes on. Jeni’s Ice Cream also has a location here, and the cheesesteak from Marlowe’s was pretty good too (I liked the bread better than Wario’s, but the extra cheese at Wario’s made their sandwich my favorite of the two).
Nightlife
Short North is definitely a hotbed of nightlife in Columbus and is teeming at night with bars, restaurants, and folks taking advantage of it all. If Columbus has a LGBTQ neighborhood, Short North is probably it, though the crowds and bars are definitely a mix of everything.
- Union Cafe – Columbus’s longest-running gay restaurant-bar, open since 1996, known for drag brunch and showtune nights. They also have a large outdoor patio and if you can score a table on the street side, it’s pretty fascinating people-watching (we saw some things we can’t un-see for sure!).
- Axis Nightclub – the biggest gay club in Columbus, with a main dance floor, video bar, drag stage, and patio, all in one building. Weekly programming rotates through drag shows, themed nights, DJ sets, and a Sunday tea dance.
- Local Bar Short North – more laid-back, karaoke/DJ/trivia vibe.
If you wander outside of Short North, there are a number of other spots a short ride share away in Downtown, German Village and Merion Village:
- Slammers is Columbus’s longstanding lesbian-leaning bar, community-first and one of the most consistently queer-coded spaces in the city, with karaoke and themed nights (also was a host bar for the Gay Softball World Series closing party).
- Tremont Lounge is gay-owned and operated since 1987, so it’s been around for a bit. They have happy hour deals and a patio.
- Club Diversity, Cavan Irish Pub, Southbend Tavern offer up drag, karaoke, bingo, and pool.
For something a bit grittier, head toward Olde Towne East and the South side:
- AWOL Bar might be described as military-themed, though I didn’t get that vibe over Labor Day weekend. Walk through the front bar to get to their excellent patio. And on the far side of the patio, they have another bar and a large dance floor (with great DJs when we were there).
- Toolbox is advertised as Columbus’ leather bar and there’s Boscoe’s too, though we didn’t make it to either of those.
Lodging
Marriott’s Moxy chain has become one of the hotels I’ve gravitated to lately, and the Moxy in Short North was nothing short of central. That was great when we were headed to Union Cafe—it’s literally next door. It was slightly less ideal when we were ordering a Lyft, as the traffic on High Street slowed things down on weekend evenings (then again, ride shares were plentiful in the neighborhood, so that was a plus). Moxy’s rooms are hip and comfortable which is great for me, but their rooms smaller and more spare, so if you need a closet or dresser, this won’t be the right option for you.
Other family stayed a short jaunt away at the Residence Inn downtown (on Gay Street, FWIW). That hotel is working their way through renovations and the newly-refreshed rooms were pretty nice, though the historic bank building it’s in means you might get a pretty different experience depending on which room you land in and whether you get a refreshed room or not.
In between the two locations, there’s a Hilton and Hyatt—both nicely central and both notably more expensive during our stay. Your results may vary. Do note for any of the above options that parking will cost you a pretty penny, so if you’ve rented a car, keep that in mind for your overall cost.
Once you make it further out of downtown, prices are likely to drop quickly and parking may be complimentary, but you’re much more likely to need a car, so keep that in mind.
LGBTQ Safety
Columbus is generally regarded as Ohio’s progressive haven, likely due in large part to the presence of Ohio State University.
Statistically, the city of Bend scores a perfect 100 in HRC’s Municipal Equality Index, with strong legal protections locally. State laws, however, are much less supportive: Ohio is considered one of the worse states in terms of transgender protections and anti-trans legislation and lacks many state-level LGBTQ protections. Conversely, Safehome.org’s rating for LGBTQ safety gives Ohio a C grade, which in this case is a call to be mindful outside of city centers. For what it’s worth, the Safehome rating is a mix of legal protections and reported hate crime statistics so the quality and quantity of data, plus the statewide rating means it’s imperfect, but few other resources include hate crime statistics in their formulas.
