According to acronymmonster, Cleveland beckons with its beautiful parks and offers hikers and nature lovers great potential. But there are also numerous opportunities to go shopping, feast or plunge into the nightlife.
- Shopping: There are various options for extensive shopping in Cleveland. This is the largest shopping mall in the city Tower City Center with almost 90 shops, service providers and restaurants. It is much more historical Old Arcade which was built in 1890 in the Victorian style. Unfortunately, it has a rather historical character as most of the shops are currently empty. The is also worthwhile West Side Market near downtown. The traditional market hall has existed since 1840 and with over 100 market stalls offers fantastic shopping opportunities for all kinds of groceries and more.
- Enjoyment: There are numerous restaurants in Cleveland, ranging from fast food to fine dining. There are dishes of various ethnicities on offer, with Polish cuisine often being mentioned as particularly recommendable. But almost everything else is represented, from Indian to Hungarian, Vietnamese, Greek and even Bavarian restaurants.
- Exercise: With the many parks in and around Cleveland, there are many opportunities to exercise outdoors. If you want, you can go cycling, horse riding, boat tours or fishing.
- Partying: Cleveland ranks fifth among the best places to party when it comes to nightlife. At least if you believe the apartment guide. 219 bars, 13 breweries and a total of 57 clubs invite you to party here. The best locations are Tremont, Cleveland Heights, Ohio City, Shaker Square, Little Italy, Collinwood and Detroit-Shoreway.
Events throughout the year
The city in the American Midwest has a lot to offer year after year and due to the numerous population groups that can be found in the city, the events on offer are also very diverse and often unique in North America. Festivals are very important here.
- February: As mentioned earlier, Cleveland gets cold in winter. Despite or precisely because of this, a popular music festival in the open air is taking place this month with the Briton Winter. According to the motto “fire and ice”, party-goers get their money’s worth here.
- March: Three events attract people to Cleveland in March. Here is once the Slovenian festival Kurentovanje with which traditionally the winter is said goodbye. St. Patrick’s Day is also celebrated this month.
- March / April: Every spring the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) takes place in Cleveland, which does not offer the usual blockbusters, but instead documentaries on humanitarian issues, short films and foreign films. The spectacle is held every spring over a period of around two weeks in central Cleveland in the Tower City Cinemas. The Tower City Center is connected to the JACK Cleveland Casino and hotels such as THE RITZ-CARLTON. There is also a direct connection to the airport by public transport.
- April: Cleveland has a lot more to offer than just rock and classical music. Every year in April that will Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival held the largest Indian music festival outside of India. On Easter Monday, the city also celebrates Polish Dyngus Day, with lots of Polish food, polka music and beer.
- May: grill masters help Berea’s National Rib Cook-Off in the center of the action. Because on the weekend of Memorial Day, the best of them come together at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds. Of course there is also music, shopping and not forgetting beer for the visitors. Another festival is held in Cleveland’s AsiaTown. The Cleveland Asian Festival is always celebrated in May. This month also hosts the Hessler Street Fair, a two-day festival that has a reputation for being a little like Woodstock.
- June: Duct tape is the stuff that everything at the Duck Tape Festival in June is about. But it is far from the only event this month. A lot of music is also offered at the Larchmere Porchfest. Here you have the opportunity to experience over thirty bands and musicians from the region, while colorful days can also be expected at the LGBTQ + event Celebrating LGBTQ +. And another music festival awaits with the Burning River Fest in June, which promises at least as much entertainment as the Parade the Circle organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art. Summer Solstice and the Tri-C JazzFest are further musical events in June.
- July: Good food awaits visitors during the Taste of Tremont in July. Tip: In addition to the festival, make a detour to the restaurants.
- August: If you don’t like garlic, you should get away from the Cleveland Garlic Festival keep away as possible. Because everything there revolves around the bulb, which is even supposed to ward off vampires. The Feast of the Assumption, on the other hand, is Italian, an El Dorado for all those who love Italian food. Football fans also come to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival fully at their expense while on Twins Day Festival the twins are the focus of interest. Wine lovers will also be the Vintage Ohio love.
- September: If you’re in Cleveland for Labor Day weekend, the awaits you Cleveland National Air Show an event that will not only make the hearts of airplane enthusiasts beat faster. It’s also more or less Bavarian in September on Cleveland Oktoberfest to, while the Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival is another film festival on the agenda this month. The Ingenuityfest, where art meets technology, the SPARX City Hop and that Tremont Greek Fest round off the event offers in September.
- October: A wonderful festival for families is the Woollybear Festival with its beautiful parade, which is very reminiscent of Mardi Gras. Against this is Cleveland Beer Week an event in October that quickly made it clear why Cleveland is often referred to as the City of Beer.
- November: On the first Saturday after Thanksgiving, Christmas is slowly approaching in Cleveland as well. This is heralded by the winter festival, which culminates in the traditional lighting of the city’s Christmas tree.
Worthwhile trips from Cleveland
The big city in the American Midwest offers all kinds of opportunities to spend entertaining days. But there are also various worthwhile excursion destinations in the vicinity. Especially Lake Erie and the numerous parks in the immediate vicinity of the city are considered a paradise for nature lovers and active vacationers.
- Cleveland Metroparks: More than 23,000 hectares in 18 areas make up the Cleveland Metroparks, which extend over the entire Cuyahoga County and Hinckley Township. It doesn’t matter whether it’s breathtaking sunrises on Lake Erie, beautiful hikes through forested landscapes, wildlife viewing and more. There are numerous leisure opportunities here all year round. Euclic Beach Park and Rocky River Reservation Park are particularly beautiful. The city of Rocky River is located about thirteen kilometers from Cleveland on the left bank of the Rocky River and has another attraction for nature lovers with the Rocky River Park.
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Cuyahoga Valley National Park is the first national park in the state in the northeastern United States. The 132 square kilometer park has been a National Recreation Area since 1974 and was only named a national park in 2000. The 30-kilometer Towpath Trail is particularly popular and is ideal for hiking and cycling.
- Cedar Point Amusement Park: About an hour’s drive from Cleveland, you can reach the Cedar Point Amusement Park. It’s an amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio that’s best known for its roller coasters. Not only was a record track built here with Millennium Force, but the world’s second highest and third fastest roller coaster is also located in this amusement park, which was one of the twenty most-visited amusement parks in North America in 2016 with 3.604 million visitors.
A trip into the history of Cleveland
Cleveland was once the first settlement established by the Connecticut Land Company in the Western Reserve and named after General Moses Cleaveland. The “a” in the name got lost over time. However, it took time for people to agree to settle in Cleveland. In 1800 only three men lived there, ten years later it had 57 residents. But only after the war, when you no longer had to fear attacks from Indians and investments were made in streets and ports, did the city in the American Midwest slowly continue to grow.
Cleveland did not become an important industrial city until the late 19th century, when the city flourished thanks to numerous traffic routes in the vicinity of considerable coal and iron ore deposits. A time when many social and cultural attractions also emerged.
Difficult times followed during the Great Depression. In 1933, around a third of Cleveland workers were unemployed for three years. Even after the Second World War, times remained difficult. While Cleveland had nearly a million people in 1950, that number has fallen over the years to where it is today.
Nonetheless, there have been many positive things for Cleveland residents in recent years. Three major sports teams are based in the city, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is located there, and the city has not just been named an All-American City once in the past twenty years. Today Cleveland is once again an important economic and cultural center in the American Midwest.