Favorite Cleveland Attractions

At downtown Cleveland's North Coast Harbor, this interactive museum lives up to the hype. See the treasure trove of music memorabilia, discover an artist you hadn't been aware of, and listen to the music in the many headphones throughout the museum.

One of the most important museums in the country, the Cleveland Museum of Art offers free admission to its permanent collection and gives residents and visitors the opportunity to view its extensive collection of Impressionist paintings and sculpture, medieval art, and Asian art. No one in Cleveland should miss this wonderful museum. (Please note: the Cleveland Museum of Art's permanent collection is closed until mid-2008; the museum is open for special exhibitions).

See all the animals, the Australian Wilderness exhibit, and the fascinating Rain Forest. An extra bonus: the Cleveland Zoo is free to Cuyahoga County residents on Mondays (except holidays).

See how Cleveland's benefactors lived during the Gilded Age of the late 1880s and learn about Cleveland's history from Moses Cleaveland to the present day. The Chisholm Halle Costume Wing houses over 30,000 fashion items from the late 1700s to the present.

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, located in Cleveland's University Circle area, is a treasure trove of over 4 million specimens. Exhibits include Dinosaur bones, natural gemstones and fossils, and a huge section on Ohio birds, plant life, insects, and archeology. A planetarium teaches kids and adults all about the moon, the stars, and the galaxy.

The Children's Museum of Cleveland is an interesting and interactive place for kids and adults to learn and have fun together. Located in the University Circle neighborhood, the museum, established in 1981, welcomes visitors year round.

The Cleveland Botanical Garden, located in the city's University Circle neighborhood, is a combination of indoor exhibits, housed in a magnificent glasshouse and ten acres of diverse outdoor gardens, including a special children's garden, a rose garden, a woodland garden, and a formal Japanese garden.

The ten-year-old Great Lakes Science Center, at Cleveland's Northcoast Harbor, just down the road from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, invites visitors of all ages to "learn by doing" with their 400 hands-on exhibits. You'll find features on technology, the environment, the body, and the Great Lakes. There's an adjacent OMNI-MAX theater, too.

The home of the Cleveland Orchestra, Severance Hall is an architectural gem. The neo-classical façade and the fanciful Art Deco interior never fail to delight.

The William G. Mather Museum, located just north of the Great Lakes Science Center in downtown Cleveland, is a retired 1925 Great Lakes bulk freighter, permanently docked and open to visitors between early May and late October. Touring this historic ship is a wonderful way to learn more about life and commerce on the Great Lakes.