Some ideas for visitors to Cleveland including museums, historic neighborhoods, nightlife, the West Side Market, Rock and Roll Hall of fame and Lakeview Cemetery.
Cleveland likes to call itself "˜a great city by a great lake' and indeed its location on the shores of Lake Erie is one of its best assets. The city and suburbs spreads for miles along the shore, offering water sports of all kind, candlelight lake cruises and quiet riverside parks. But Cleveland is more than just its lake - it's a diverse and cosmopolitan city with fascinating and historic neighborhoods, excellent museums and shopping ranging from malls to specialty food stores and markets.
Cleveland's most famous attraction is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. The hugely popular museum chronicles popular music from the early days of Elvis, through the Beatles to the present day. There are interactive displays, archive films, and a great collection of rock memorabilia. Even the building itself is spectacular - a huge glass and porcelain pyramid designed by the controversial architect I.M. Pei. Free concerts are regularly held on the outdoor plaza, and every year the museum hosts a ceremony honoring the latest inductees into the hall of fame.
There's no doubt that the museum has helped to revitalize much of downtown Cleveland along with other recent initiatives and renovations in the city. Cleveland's most celebrated historic neighborhood is an area along the banks of the Cuyahoga River and close to the lake, known as "˜The Flats'. At one time, this area was a run down landscape of vacant warehouses. Recently, many of the historic buildings have been transformed into loft apartments, bars and restaurants, many with outdoor dining terraces. This area is also known for its nightspots and live music venues and attracts a younger crowd at the weekend.
Cleveland has several museums that are among the best in the country, grouped together in a fashionable area of the city known as University Circle. The Museum of Art has displays on everything from Egyptian artifacts to medieval armor to Renaissance paintings. The Great Lakes Science Center has interactive exhibits on technology and the environment, as well as the only IMAX theater in the area. The African-American Museum is the oldest such museum in the country and offers exhibits featuring different African countries, and a look at the civil rights movement. For something to eat after all that culture, "˜Little Italy' Cleveland's thriving Italian community is a short walk from most of the museums.
Children are spoilt for choice in Cleveland. The Children's Museum offers exhibitions aimed at children up to the age of 10 - the most popular exhibit is a permanent water display which offers a chance to play while learning about the environment. The Cleveland zoo is considered to be one of the best in the country, with a collection of over 3,000 animals representing about 600 different species. One of the zoo's most popular attractions is the 2 acre indoor tropical rainforest.
Cleveland has always been a city of immigrants, attracted to the city's thriving steel and other labor-intensive industries in the 19th century. Several ethnic and religious groups have their own small museums scattered about the city - there are museums celebrating the Ukrainian and Hungarian communities, as well as a museum dedicated to the Shaker movement. The Shaker Historical Museum has an excellent collection of furniture and other artifacts as well as a working fruit and vegetable garden. To get a feel for the cosmopolitan side of today's Cleveland visit the historic West Side Market. This Cleveland institution has been selling exotic food and drink since 1840 - everything from Asian spices to Polish sausage. The streets around the market are occupied by many small ethnic restaurants, coffee bars and brew pubs, and the area known as "˜Ohio City' has become one of the trendiest parts of town.
For something off the beaten path, how about a visit to a cemetery? Lakeview cemetery is one of the country's most beautiful resting places, containing the graves of almost 100,000 people. The cemetery calls itself Cleveland's Outdoor Garden and it is a wonderful place to stroll and admire the architecture and the formal landscaping. Some of the graves and monuments are elaborate and over the top, some are just unusual, many are simply poignant. The most famous graves are those of the 20th president, James Garfield, and the law enforcement legend, Elliot Ness.
