Columbus City Guide

The city of Columbus, which is located at the banks of the Scioto River in Buckeye Country, is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. This capital of the state of Ohio is also one of its largest cities, which plays host to several high-tech companies and prominent educational institutions alike the Ohio State University and the Columbus College of Art & Design.

Further Columbus hosts the Ohio State Fair every year in August. This event is known to be a showcase Ohio's products, its people and their accomplishments and is one of the largest state fairs in the country. In recent years, the Ohio State fair has attracted more than 800,000 visitors. Aside from the Ohio State Fair, Columbus has much to offer for the tourists on vacation for it has offers a thriving downtown art and culture scene, many sizzling nightlife options in its areas like the German Village, Short North and the Brewery district and a wide array of attractions that aim to cater to every age group and taste.

Most visitors who visit Columbus on business or on a vacation like to stay in the skyscraper laden downtown area city. This downtown area of Columbus offers a wide range of hotels and hosts the Ohio Statehouse and the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Downtown Columbus is home to numerous bars, restaurants and entertainment venues and hence holds immense appeal for visitors to the city.

This is an old historic neighborhood of Columbus which feature cobble stoned streets, small homes and verdant community gardens. The area until today displays its German antecedents and hosts German bakeries and sausage houses amongst hotels and new contemporary restaurants and nightlife haunts.

Short North is the arts district of Columbus which is adorned with fine, steel arches at intervals. This area hosts the Ohio State Fairgrounds and Expo Center and offers several mid-range hotels along with pubs, bistros and galleries.

This award-winning Columbus attraction is a definite must-do especially if you are on vacation in Columbus with your children. The Columbus Zoo extends over 100 acres along the Scioto River and hosts 600 species of animals. The zoo is especially renowned for its successful gorilla breeding program and its huge collection of reptiles.

This stately, Greek revival-style building that stands on Capitol Square was constructed in 1861. The building is the most prominent architectural landmark in Columbus and is adorned with marble floors, murals, a skylight statues and paintings.

The riverfront Santa Maria attraction in Columbus was constructed in 1992 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the New World. The authentic, replica of the 77-foot ship was built using historical archives. Today this museum-quality reproduction hosts numerous tours to give visitors an insight to the lives of the sailors who sailed on the original Santa Maria in the 15th Century.

This gorgeous Victorian house dates back to the mid-19th century and offers displays of 19th century Columbus. Kelton House has much historical significance as it was an important stop on the Underground Railroad and served as a safehouse for black slaves who would stay here and then cross the Erie lake and go on to Canada and freedom. Kelton House is surrounded by landscaped, manicured gardens and offers informative tours of its premises all week long.

The Columbus Museum of Art is yet another prominent attraction in Columbus, which should be considered as a must-do attraction for any art enthusiast on a vacation to Columbus. The extensive permanent collection of artworks at the Columbus Museum of Art hails from all corners of the globe and encompasses all styles, genres and time periods. Artists like Matisse, Monet, Picasso, Renoir, Hopper, O’keefe are well represented at the museum which also offers exhibits of photography, textiles, sculpture, folk art and more.

The Franklin Park Conservatory is located three miles outside the city and was inaugurated in 1895 and today extends over 90 verdant acres. The conservatory offers displays of 400 plant species, 100 butterfly species and various individual gardens. A visit to Franklin Park Conservatory should be a must-do for any gardening enthusiast on a visit to Columbus.

The weather in Columbus is characterized by hot, muggy summers and cold, dry winters. Winter snowfall is relatively light and the city is situated too far south to be in the part of strong, winter storms which usually batter the northeast parts of the country. The hottest month in Columbus is usually July, which experiences average daytime highs of approximately 85.3F (29.61C) while January is usually the coldest month in Columbus during which average daytime highs of 36.2F (2.33C) are quite common. The best times to visit Columbus for a vacation is during Spring or Fall when the temperatures in the city register a pleasant 65.4F(18.56C).

Columbus is served by its Port Columbus International Airport that is located ten minutes east of the downtown area of the city. The Columbus International Airport welcomes all the major full service and domestic carriers in the country. This makes getting to Columbus a breeze. In fact Fare Buzz often announces attractive flight deals to Columbus and if you are in the market for cheap air flights to Columbus, you should check back with Fare Buzz often to snag a good flight deal. These cheap air tickets even include last minute flights so if you need to visit Columbus on the spur of the moment you should definitely contact Fare Buzz at 1.888.808.4123 for your requirements.

The public transport network in Columbus is not very extensive and consists of a public bus network and taxis. It is for this reason that the Columbus airport is equipped with outlets of eight major car rental agencies for most visitors to Columbus elect to rent a car for the duration of their stay in Columbus as soon as they land in the cit. If you too are desirous of renting a car for your Columbus vacation and need good car rental rates, you would do well as to contact Fare Buzz before you embark on your journey. Fare Buzz offers a good selection of affordable car rentals for Columbus which can be booked via its normal booking platforms.

Expansive malls, department stores and quaint specialty shops all populate the varied shopping landscape in Columbus. One of the city’s most prominent shopping locales is Polaris Fashion Place, reputed to be the largest shopping destination in Ohio. This mall which hosts more than 150 retailers, including anchors like Macy’s, J C Penney, Sears and Sak’s Fifth Avenue also hosts numerous eateries, several full-service restaurants and an 18 screen movie theater.

Other highly-trafficked shopping spots in Columbus include the Easton Town Center; a distinctive shopping mall situated near the airport, which offers a village-type setting with its large open spaces, plazas and much free parking. This uniquely designed mall hosts outposts of various upscale and mid-market retail names like banana republic, Aldo, Abercrombie and Fitch, Burberry, Coach, Jos.A.Banks, Kate Spade New York and many more. Also onsite at the mall are restaurants, entertainment venues and a 30 screen movie theater.

Other shopping districts in Columbus include its downtown city center area which hosts a plethora of specialty shops and restaurants and the city’s German Village neighborhood, a district littered with 19-century buildings and exceptional stores like gigantic, thirty-two room shop, the Book Loft, one of the country’s largest independent book stores.

Another Columbus shopping locale worth perusing is the city’s charming North Market which is hosted daily and features various events like cooking demonstrations and cooking, classes conducted alongside more than 35 inimitable merchants, who offer wares like fresh produce and flowers along with artisan baked goods, breads, specialty foods, cookware, tableware, gifts and more.

Retro eateries, fine dining restaurants, farm to plate eateries, sushi bars, the diverse dining scene in Columbus offers them all and more. Moreover, these dining spots offer a whole host of international cuisines along with much traditional fare. Well-liked and highly-ranked restaurants in Columbus change frequently, but the list of the ‘best’ dining spots in Columbus currently includes eateries like Drelyse African Restaurant, Aab India (Indian), Yanni’s Greek Grill, El Arepazo (Latin American), Case Hacienda Grill (Mexican), Kihachi Japanese Restaurant, Da Levee (Cajun/Creole), the Angry Baker, Fusion (sushi), IndoChine Café (Vietnamese), Alana’s Food and Wine (New American) and Restaurant Silla and Karaoke bar (Korean).

The nightlife scene in Columbus is quite vibrant and the city is equipped with a multitude of bars, brew pubs, wine bars, dance clubs and live-music venues that offer wide-ranging entertainment options. The buzziest nightspots in Columbus according to recent surveys include joints like Short North Tavern, the Tavern, Club Diversity, Cavan Irish Pub, Village Idiot, Char Bar, Dick’s Den, World of Beer, Skully’s Music Diner, Mickey’s and the Blue Danube.