Discovering Columbus

At WaterFire events each summer, more than 50 bonfires are lit on the Scioto River as performers take the stage at Riverfront Amphitheater in Genoa Park.

Sarah Gaylor Photography

Columbus is a great place to visit. It has all the energy and sophistication of a bustling city, yet stays true to its friendly Midwestern roots. Ohio’s capital city is a welcoming, easy-to-navigate place with plenty of exciting things to see and do—and there are even more events planned for 2012, when the city celebrates its bicentennial. (Visit Columbus2012.org for details.)

Two new downtown parks, Scioto Mile and Columbus Commons, invite visitors to enjoy the great outdoors. Nearby, the Arena District is one of Columbus’s most popular attractions, drawing out-of-towners and locals alike. This neighborhood on the northwestern edge of downtown is home to the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue Jackets; minor-league baseball’s Columbus Clippers, whose new stadium, Huntington Park, debuted in 2009; an indoor/outdoor concert venue; a plush movie theater, and hopping nightspots and restaurants.

Just a short stroll away, the state-of-the-art Greater Columbus Convention Center, with its colorful, sinuous architecture, plays host to millions of visitors each year. Next to the convention center, the Cap at Union Station over I-670 is lined on both sides with eateries and provides a pedestrian link between the downtown area and the Short North Arts District, a hip neighborhood filled with art galleries, boutiques and popular bars and restaurants.

Elsewhere in the city, two shopping destinations are big draws for visitors: Easton Town Center, a deluxe shopping experience that combines more than 200 shops, restaurants and entertainment venues, including a comedy club and cinema; and Polaris Fashion Place, a sprawling two-story mall on the far north side that boasts an impressive collection of upscale retailers.

Columbus has long been ranked among the major Midwestern cities, with its stable economy, expanding suburbs and large white-collar work force, as well as the presence of state government and the enormous Ohio State University campus.

With a metro population of nearly 1.8 million, Columbus has a lot to offer: established arts organizations, a lively restaurant and nightlife scene, an extensive and well-maintained parks system and a busy calendar of year-round entertainment in such performance venues as the beautifully restored Ohio, Palace, Southern and Lincoln theaters, the Schottenstein Center at OSU, Nationwide Arena downtown and the cutting-edge Wexner Center for the Arts. Also attracting visitors are the nationally known Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and its water park, Zoombezi Bay; COSI, a family-friendly, interactive science museum on the downtown riverfront across from Veterans Memorial; the Columbus Museum of Art, and Franklin Park Conservatory, with 400 species of plants and a collection of dazzling glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly. Sports fans have plenty to cheer about, too: With the Columbus Blue Jackets ruling the ice in Nationwide Arena and Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew playing for fans in one of the country’s finest soccer stadiums, sports in Columbus go well beyond the beloved Ohio State Buckeyes.

Visitors will be impressed by Columbus’s easygoing style that extends to friendly merchants, good services, affordable outings, inviting neighborhoods and easy access to the rest of the country. It’s all here, just waiting to be discovered.