A pair of years in the past, I spent a weekend in Columbus, Ohio. I promise this is not the setup to a smug New Yorker’s unimaginative quip (“longest weekend of my life”). Those had been a charmed 48 hours. A number of issues had been on my facet: I used to be escaping parental accountability (our oldest was making use of to highschool, a fraught time) and the climate was unexpectedly lovely (70 levels in late October, disturbing however scrumptious). I used to be on the town for work, however my work is, if I’m sincere, not tough. Turn up on the public library and discuss? That would take however one hour out of a complete weekend. I had time to kill.
Like many Midwestern cities, downtown Columbus has grand structure relationship to a growth time lengthy handed. There had been few folks round, which felt like a disgrace on such an attractive streetscape. But the downtowns of such cities, even when seemingly vacant, stay cultural hubs; the Columbus Museum of Art was a five-minute stroll from my lodge. I’ve had the enjoyment of studying that many smaller American cities are dwelling to lovely artwork collections, and it is a explicit excessive when touring to find a masterpiece I hadn’t anticipated. That Saturday I used to be thrilled by a grisly Paul Cadmus and a monumental Helen Frankenthaler, two artists I so love. It was like operating into outdated associates.
But I used to be as fidgety as a schoolkid on a subject journey; the solar beckoned. As is widespread with American cities, Columbus is designed for vehicles, not folks, however I wished to stroll. I had suggestions from Chris, an outdated buddy who had moved dwelling to Columbus, and I had my telephone, which might present each a map and a journey, ought to I run out of sidewalk.
Chris suggested me to discover German Village, a well-to-do historic neighborhood with good-looking outdated brick buildings and stylish homes. There I discovered that sense of vitality I had been lacking downtown—it seems pedestrians and cyclists would quite congregate on small lovely streets. I’ve by no means been ready to withstand a used bookshop, which is how I discovered myself in The Book Loft. This bibliophile’s labyrinth is the type of joyfully chaotic place the place it might be straightforward to whereas away hours with out shopping for a factor. But I had extra to see. When I had walked sufficient to deserve a snack, I joined the queue of clients spilling onto the sidewalk outdoors Fox in the Snow Cafe. I purchased a cinnamon roll so massive that consuming it required privateness, so I fled to close by Schiller Park, the place there are pickleball courts and lake views and what I most wanted: a cushty bench to be alone with my large pastry.
For dinner Chris and I went to the vegetarian restaurant Comune, the place we sat on the minimalist bar and allotted with a number of scrumptious and unfussy shared plates. That night time I slept the sleep of the unworried. My brief journey would finish the next morning on the public Main Library, a chic marble edifice that was initially an Andrew Carnegie challenge. Visiting a library could be as uplifting as going to a museum. This is one of the best stuff this nation has but provide you with: locations that belong to all folks.
Everyone has their very own causes to journey; each journey has its personal explicit objectives. For apparent causes, massive cities will at all times be the draw for many vacationers. Sometimes, although, what you need is straightforward: a heat spell, an outdated buddy, an outsized cinnamon roll, a protracted stroll, some world-class artwork. As Columbus reveals, there’s multiple place to seek out these issues on this nation.
This article appeared within the November 2025 situation of Condé Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the journal here.