City Info
Welcome to Columbus
Columbus, Ohio, is the fastest growing city in the country, according to a February study by The Bank of America Institute. This midwestern metropolitan area has all of the offerings of a major city—from cultural institutions to a thriving sports scene—while keeping the average commute time under 25 minutes. Whether you are a foodie, sports fan or creative, it won’t be hard to find your place in the 14th largest city in the U.S.
– Chealsia Smedley
Feel The Fanfare
It’s true, fans in red-and-white overtake the streets like leaves falling from trees during The Ohio State Buckeyes’ football season. But it’s not just Buckeye fanfare in this city, it’s easy to get swept up by the sportsfan spirit year-round. The Columbus Crew, the city’s Major League Soccer team, won three championship cups in a row and went to finals for the Concacaf cup that features the top clubs in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Downtown’s Arena District is also home to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the city’s professional hockey team and the Minor League Baseball team, the Columbus Clippers. This spring, an inaugural season welcomed a new Columbus sports team to cheer on: the Columbus Fury, a women’s indoor volleyball team.
Destination Stations
From the bars and restaurants that line the streets of the Short North Arts District to Columbus Commons, a green space where live music and food trucks meet, downtown is a great place to start exploring the city.
The Columbus Book Festival offers a chance to explore the Columbus Metropolitan Library every July to meet local authors and to traipse around Topiary Park, a park of garden sculptures depicting scenes from Georges Seurat’s famous painting, “A Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte.”
A trip to COSI (which stands for the Center of Science and Industry), a nationally renowned science and industry center with exhibits such as a dinosaur gallery and planetarium, is also a must.
Foodie Finds
Ambiance and variety meet at Columbus’ many food halls, scattered throughout the city and offering visitors a taste of Columbus’ diverse food scene.
Start with the 148-year-old North Market, which hosts more than 30 independent vendors and has two locations: the original location is downtown and the other is at Bridge Park in the suburb of Dublin. Vendors includes Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and Stauf’s Coffee.
Other must-visits are Budd Dairy Food Hall, which has 10 kitchens, three bars and rooftop seating in Italian Village, and the former trolley barn that was renovated to house East Market, fully equipped with a speakeasy bar, plant shop and a gamut of food and drinks spanning Creole to Greek and Korean to Middle Eastern.