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    Cincinnati's Best Walking Tours

    5.0 (1 review)
    Closed 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

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    9 years ago

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    The Betts House - The Betts House in the 1980s

    The Betts House

    3.6(5 reviews)
    1.4 kmDowntown

    We arrived on Wed 5/19/21 during regular business hours and no one was…read more there to help us. We struggled to finally find a parking space around the block.We also tried calling the phone number listed on the board at the entrance to no avail ,window shades were drawn. If they were possibly closed due to Covid there was no indication of notice. It was a great disappointment ,especially with the hassel of finally parking. Hopefully not to many people have to go thru what we did!!

    The Betts House is a small museum tucked away in the West End, just off of Central Avenue. Clark…read moreStreet looks like it is miles away from Downtown Cincinnati, with its Italianate houses and gigantic canopy of oak trees. This part of town looks like it's straight out of a New England movie, with historic houses to boot. The Betts House is the oldest house in Cincinnati and Ohio, erected in 1804, just one year after Ohio became a state. The Betts family originally owned several blocks of land on the West End, but as generations passed, Cincinnati expanded and plots of land were split. Surprisingly, when the Betts lived here, the West End was considered rural. Just two stories tall and consisting of eight rooms, the house chronicles the history of the Betts family and the evolution of the West End in the permanent upstairs exhibit. Downstairs features a rotating exhibit, currently which is about the New Madrid Earthquake in 1811. The earthquake was felt here in Cincinnati and caused extensive damage to the Betts' kitchen. Sounds pretty cool, so why only three stars? During my visit, a mother brought her toddler to visit one of the docents. Their conversation could be heard loudly throughout the house, even when I was on the second floor and they were downstairs. The toddler was screaming and crawling all over the place. The docent didn't seem to mind that she was getting weird looks from myself and a few of the other guests. That being said, please do not bring children to the Betts House. It's a museum for adults or mature youth. Most of the exhibit features text and diagrams which are much too complex for anyone under age 10. Also, since there is a lot of reading, excessive noise and talking disturbs other patrons. Lastly, when I went upstairs to view the Betts Family exhibit, the room featured a few posterboards propped up on the floor. They weren't on stands or affixed to the wall like a normal museum. I actually had to kneel to read the end of the paragraphs. As a historical landmark, the Betts House is worth a look. The presentation at the museum, on the other hand, I could go either way. Cost per person: $2.00 Viewing Time: 1 hour Tips: - Ample, free street parking - Not handicapped accessible, as it is preserved as a historic house. - Check out the neighboring house with a placard, where the Gamble Family once resided.

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    The Betts House
    The Betts House - The Red Room, the largest room of the rotating exhibit

    The Red Room, the largest room of the rotating exhibit

    The Betts House

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    B B Riverboats - The bridges as we make our way down the river

    B B Riverboats

    3.3(220 reviews)
    1.2 km

    We went on the Captain's Lunch Cruise on a sunny but chilly day in late April. It was really…read moreenjoyable and worth the price for sure. We sailed on the River Queen which is the smaller boat. The food buffet was very good and there was something for every taste. Very fresh salad with two dressing options, rolls, meltingly tender beef in a rich brown gravy, baked chicken, mashed potatoes, farfalle pasta in red sauce, scrumptious grilled vegetables. And decadent creamy cheesecake for dessert. Free coffee and tea, and reasonably priced bar drinks for purchase. Our server, Anna (Onna?) was most attentive and usually within sight if you wanted something. The whole crew were very professional, very polite and respectful and eager to please. Our entertainer was engaging with his ongoing narration of the sights and historical facts along the river interspersed with banjo music. The two hours went by quickly. I put on my hoodie and spent some time out on deck, where you can smoke 'em if you got 'em. I decided it was time for a cocktail so I ordered an Anchors Away which was delicious, nautically blue, and had a definite kick. I was really looking forward to getting the pictured souvenir glass, but the first of two wrinkles took place as I was advised they were out of them due to some recent large parties on the bigger boat. Boo. If you're going to advertise souvenir glasses, order more than enough to keep them in stock. Anna arranged to give me the drink in the larger souvenir vessel, which is pretty, but heavy ceramic and I don't see myself using it at home other than for a decoration. The second wrinkle was our bar tab printed out as though I ordered multiple drinks. My husband didn't look at it and just handed over the debit card...then I saw it and went up to tell them not to run it but it was too late. Somehow they had already realized it was wrong but it took such a long time for them to figure out how to void the transaction, which bothered me. The cruise director had to get involved to fix it. Her name was Tasha and she was very nice and so apologetic about the situation, she comped our drinks for the trouble and boxed up some cheesecake for us to take home. She seemed to agree with me that if the owners had not decided to "go cashless" last year this would never have happened. I asked her to pass on my comment that it is not good to refuse to accept payment in legal tender American money and I feel it was a bad move. For this reason I will never give five stars even if the cruise is flawless. Nonetheless I hope to have the chance to take a cruise on the River Queen later this year.

    My spouse and I attended the holiday cruise during extremely poor weather. While the weather itself…read moreisn't controllable, the lack of preparation was concerning. The storm had been widely forecast, yet the parking lot and walkways were slick and hazardous. We were nearly struck twice by other vehicles while trying to park, and the walk onto the boat was treacherous. I had emailed in advance asking about inclement weather plans and received only a response confirming the scheduled departure time, which was not reassuring given the known severity of the storm. Once onboard, the experience continued to disappoint. The buffet setup was confusing, with food split between two lines without access to all food selections, and the quality was noticeably below what I've experienced in the past. The turkey tasted more like a reheated frozen entrée than a freshly prepared dish. Beverage service was also lacking--iced tea was served in very small glasses, requiring repeated requests for refills. The entertainment was excessively loud, making conversation impossible. I've been a loyal BB Riverboats customer for over 30 years and have always recommended them, but this cruise fell far short of expectations and left me genuinely disappointed.

    Photos
    B B Riverboats - Love the views

    Love the views

    B B Riverboats
    B B Riverboats - View of the Bengals' and Reds' stadiums

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    View of the Bengals' and Reds' stadiums

    Cincinnati's Best Walking Tours - walkingtours - Updated May 2026

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