The Gates of Hell in north Columbus is one of those eerie local spots that sticks with you. It's an…read moreold, graffiti-covered tunnel that feels straight out of an urban legend--dark, damp, and definitely creepy once you step inside. The echo of footsteps, the dripping water, and the way the light disappears the deeper you go all add to the unsettling vibe. It's not an official attraction, more of a hidden curiosity, but if you're into spooky local history and a little adventure, it's worth checking out. Just be prepared--it definitely earns its name. I was there alone and I got a sketchy vibe from it. Nothing happened, of course, but you always want to be aware of your surroundings. Maybe pick up a rock incase someone there has ill intent.

This is smack dab in the middle of unhoused encampment. Because this is sort of a see at your own…read morerisk it is unkempt. I'm not sure if the storm over the weekend made it worse but we could figure out how to get around the water or if there was a less dangerous way of seeing it.

This beautiful labyrinth is located in a peaceful garden in the Lane Avenue section of Chadwick…read moreArboretum. If you enter through the trellis and head to the right, you'll find a cozy, shady area featuring the labyrinth and surrounded by benches. The labyrinth itself has its roots in an 800 year old French medieval one, the Chartres Cathedral Labyrinth. It's so peaceful and relaxing to walk it, and the setting really adds to it. Despite the fact that it is technically between a busy street and a parking lot, the trees and plants obscure these views and give it a great atmosphere. The arboretum designed it as a white blooming garden to minimize distractions and encourage feelings of restfulness and restoration. If you are unfamiliar with a labyrinth, it is a one way path designed for contemplation. You follow the prescribed path to the center and then follow it back out. If you often find your mind wandering during meditation when sitting still, you might find the labyrinth helpful, since you can focus on your breathing and the steps ahead of you to help you achieve the meditative state. I love a good labyrinth walk and enjoy that we have this one. There is a nearby parking lot, though it's campus parking, or you can find parking meters on Fyffe near Howlett Hall and the Learning Gardens section of the arboretum.

Why no trash cans, I bought 50 billion water bottles and I could not throw the water bottles AWAY…read more Also my 21 kids could not fit in the museum

This is a really neat garden that is located just out front of COSI. It features multiple dinosaur…read morefossil sculptures made from metal designed by Dan McCauley. Fossils include several well-known fan favorite species like a triceratops, stegosaurus, a T-rex, and more! Signage is located around the area, which has also been well decorated with plants, rocks, and the like to really feel fitting for the dinos. This is a really fun little sculpture garden!

This was such a splendid night. Calling back the days of yesteryear and the nostalgia of our…read moreyouth. Carolers, Fudge, luminaries, Ole Saint Nic and Misses Claus. It was magical. All the lights were on and excitement filled the air. The houses prepared the stores open, and a Spirit that Christmas and the greatness of Jesus coming as a babe in full celebration. Strangers were saying 'hi' to strangers, people waving and cars being polite and stopping to lets pedestrians cross. Shoppers waiting patiently in line to get the store or to buy their purchase. Stores had little gifts or snacks to say thank you for an amazing 2024. I cannot share how great this event is and I only saw a small portion of it. It was fantastic and you should make it in your calendar for 2025. Don't let parking intimidate you. Take your time enjoy your surrounding there is plenty of parking, just drive slow you'll find it. Merry Christmas!!

We've attended Village Lights multiple times and really enjoyed it each time! We really enjoy the…read moreatmosphere of the luminaries lighting up the historic area, and even just strolling around with it lit up is fun. The main action usually happens on 3rd Street, which, as a result, gets pretty busy, but several of the other nearby streets are still festive but quieter. A lot of the residents decorate their homes, and we love seeing the fun and creative displays they come up. This year, we especially enjoyed an adorable penguin dance party and another house that decorated a tiny door for their Littles - too fun! In pre-pandemic years, we've even been randomly invited into open houses by residents we've met who had fully decorated the inside too. With the warmer (comparatively speaking) weather this year, it once again had a block party type vibe as a lot of folks were out on their patios. You can get the event map in advance from the German Village website to check out what's happening. There's usually a StriezelMarkt outside of the meeting haus, where little booths are set up as well as other activities - one year we met the Nutcracker from the ballet there, another there was a really amazing ice sculpture demonstration, and there's frequently live music in the later hours of the event. This year there were free cookies to be enjoyed. A lot of businesses stay open late, offer special deals, and/or have special activities. This year, we especially enjoyed the make your own s'mores over firepits at RE/MAX, free cocoa at Katzinger's, free photos with Santa and an elf at Cutler Real Estate, Third Street Dental was distributing goodie bags for after all the tasty sweets (toothbrush, toothpaste, etc), and Book Loft is always a favorite stop! There are also usually several groups caroling, a tree lot, and a lot of little pop-ups to check out - this year, we saw several bakeries, a farm selling gorgeous wreaths and greenery decor, and the pedal wagon was buzzing around. They also made fantastic use of Schiller Park this year - in the past, it's often been pretty dark and where the event kind of just stopped. This year, they lit it up (kudos for that, I'm sure it took a lot of work!), and offered story time with Santa at the amphitheater. It was very pretty to walk around and enjoy!

What a cute area in Ohio! I stumbled upon this area when searching for things to do on Yelp. When I…read morewas planning to visit, I did not have any particular place in mind to visit; I just planning to stroll and pop into places if they looked enticing. We had our dog with us so we did not do an abundance of walking around. From what I saw, there were no places that welcomed pets in the businesses. It makes sense and it was no biggie, I just did not spend as much time as I would have if pets were welcome. I stopped into what I thought was a deli but more like a restaurant with a counter, hoping to purchase goodies for home. There are several stores for shopping, which were fun to browse. I only purchased some chocolates in a candy store, which apparently were made in house. I definitely want to visit here again with more research.

This is a lovely historic neighborhood just a couple miles south of downtown Columbus. If you have…read morea free afternoon and the weather is nice, it's well worth a visit to Schiller Park (dog-friendly with benches) which has a garden and statue dedicated to the German poet Schiller. I took COTA Bus #5 from downtown Columbus (Ohio Statehouse) and explored the area just north of the park. The brick houses and cobblestone alleyways provide a glimpse of life in the 1880s and early 1900s when this area became a central hub for the German-American community. I don't think there are too many kid-friendly activities or museums nearby - but it makes a pleasant excursion if you're stuck at the Convention Center for a conference in downtown Columbus. Street parking looked a bit challenging. If Bus #5 is running slow on your return trip from the German Village back to the downtown area (it can be up to a 30 minute wait if you just missed the last bus), consider taking an Uber/Lyft taxi instead.

Let me start by saying, I don't know whose fault this is but someone. SOMEONE needs to hear this…read more Let us begin with finding the event. Yelp told me that the Columbus Axe Throwing place, where the event was being held, was next to The Continent. What is The Continent you ask? Well it's an appropriately named apartment complex, or quite possibly a small village, the size of a medium continent. We drove around this multi-neon-colored buildings for a solid 38 minutes looking for this place. Weaving around multiple (multiple!) nightclubs, the french quarter (WTAF), and what appeared to be an abandoned theater ... I was determined to browse overpriced homemade soaps, tiny pop tart pins, sarcastic baby onesies and handmade cards. DETERMINED. Yelp failed to mention that the only way to find this place was to drive through a tunnel into the depths of The Continent where you quite possibly only have a 97% chance of returning alive. But alas we found it ...and the postcard sized sign on the door. Once inside we wandered around looking for the craft fair, passing abandoned furniture, squeezing between the nets behind the batting cages, carefully passing under falling ceiling tiles until we finally reached the Craftin Outlaws sign. It was practically glowing, we made it ! It was all worth it! Spoiler Alert: Nope. There were literally 6 tiny booths of crafts. There were no other customers. Likely because no one else was willing to risk their lives or spend 45 minutes in pursuit of crafts of the outlaw variety. I browsed the crafts for 90 seconds. I haven't been this disappointed since the 2016 World Series and the 2016 election, in that order. Everything about this event was wrong with the exception of the blue slushy I got in the way out the door. Although I'm still drinking it and wouldn't be surprised if the lid fell off, spilling electric blue sludge all over my lap. The LITERAL (blue) cherry on top of the worst 46 minutes of my life.

Leading up to the craft fair their twitter account highlights vendors ahead of time. Most of them…read morehave web sites so you can peruse what's available and make a shopping list ahead of time. This was my first time at the event and I was impressed. It wasn't so crowded that you got lost or forgot where you saw something you liked. Nice variety of items were for sale. Items included recycled/upcycled glass goods, recycled/upcycled hair clips, bead/metal/leather jewelry, clothing (cowls, t-shirts, scarfs), drawings/prints, soaps/lotions and animal/hero masks. Afterwards, Craftin' Outlaws sent out a survey via Twitter to get feedback and follow-up on the event.

Excellent, fairly small but busy festival. Parking is tight- there's a lot across the street and…read morewe lucked into a spot, but many people were parking around the corner. Food was the draw for me, and there was plenty and a good variety. I ended up with a combo: steak kebab, macaroni bechamel (a sort of lasagna made with penne, bechamel, ground meat, and no tomato sauce,) a meat pie (ground beef in phyllo dough,) tabouli, hummus, etc. I asked for cabbage rolls, and I think they were extra. They were thinner than I'm used to but pretty much the same thing, filled with meat and rice. All this and a drink was $17, and I couldn't finish it (I came close.) There were lots of kids there, and kid activities, so Baby K was happy. She started dancing as soon as we got there, to the Egyptian music playing. There was a petting zoo and horse rides. There was face painting. She loved it all. We missed out on dessert, but it looked good: baklava and other pastries. We toured the church, also small but very nice. Everyone was very friendly. For a free community festival, it was great. Mostly church members, probably, but eager to show off their culture. I'll be back.

Fast, friendly service. Reasonable prices. Great atmosphere. Lovely church. Super nice people…read more Safe environment for families. Excellent food

The title of this public art sculpture doesn't lie: It's literally giant dancing rabbits. This…read moresculpture is huge and sits on top of a hill in Ballantrae Park, a park located in a residential area of Dublin. You can spot this sculpture from the road, but if you look at it up close, it's even better. Up close, you'll see all sorts of random objects implanted on the rabbits: bicycle gears, hammers, fossils, scissors, springs, pliers, and even a Space Jam medallion (?!?!). It's sort of like a huge Seek and Find. At the bottom of the hill, there's a splash pad that's open during the warmer months. There is also a lot of parking here.

So fun and the beat part is that it's free!!! My son absolutely loves going there in the summer.read more

Bay v Turtle mural is a downtown Columbus mural that is on of several located inside the Vine…read morestreet parking garage. Each floor has murals outside the elevators and steps on each floor. The mural which is uniquely named features a stick figure man and a picture of Batman. Not sure the exact meaning of the name but it is a very fun mural and sticks out as one that easy to remember. Overall a really fun piece located in a wonderful area full of other cool public art pieces.