Holiday Inn Express Columbus-West Broad Street

Day's trip to Great Seal Park

by abi_maha

we saw the semblance of hills here in Ohio about 60 miles from where we live and quite naturally feeling nostalgic about our western ghats in Karnataka we headed off there for a hike. The terrain was truly like being in one of the smaller hill station's in K'taka however be warned that the hiking trails take you nowhere close to any scenic vistas so in effect whether you have trekked 1 mile or 16 miles you see the same sights. However it is a nice picnic area and some nice vistas at the picnic area itself. Disc golf is another reason why you could head here on a nice sunny day, don't worry too much about the sun though, the woods hardly allow the sun to get to you.

Lemongrass Asian Bistro

by 1sassyfemme about Lemongrass Asian Bistro

Lemongrass atmosphere is very trendy. The restaurant itself looks like a piece of modern art. Yet you still have the feeling of being comfortable.
The prices aren't the lowest(average cost of a meal is about $18.00 USD); but the food and service and experience is worth it! I was really enjoyed the Pad Thai noodles in lime sauce. The meal was great...not too heavy. If you're in the Columbus area, I highly recommend it.

COSI - The Center of Science and Industry

by little_liebchen

It has relocated since I've been there. But it's a fantastic activity for families. It's very kid-oriented, but adults will enjoy and learn from it too.

You can do stuff here like watch rats play basketball, learn about animation, study the ocean, and travel back in time (well...kind of). But come on, I had you interested at the mention of basketball-playing rats, didn't I? Admit it!

Anyway, since I have no kids of my own, I haven't been there in ages, but I really loved going there when I was a kid.

The oval at OSU

by lashr1999

Even if you are not an OSU student you can go in and sit on the grass of the oval relax, read and people watch. There is a lake in the middle of the campus with a fountain. There are also a couple of free museums that you can see on campus when they are open.

New to the City? Need a tour guide for the day?

by wheretonow

"Choose an Objective: Filter Choices: Have a Plan B"

Columbus, Ohio has recently been added as a synonym for the word 'transient'. You may just be coming through for the weekend, but chances are, the variety will be enough to interest you when your next job change occurs. The comfort of the small town with choices pulls international characters in for just long enough to make some great connections, have some packed summer parties, and get em tired enough to move on. I don't run into too many 20 somethings or 30 somethings that have been here more than 5 years unless they were doing college and continuing a local internship afterwards or a Masters program.

The city's broken down into a few areas, of which you can do a quick recon of easily, depending on your version of prime time. I'd break it down to the following: Dublin, Grandview, Campus, German Village or the Short North. Aside from that, you've bought tickets to a destination event or are dining with friends that live somewhere else. Each of these areas have enough flavor to give a few moment's of consideration, but if you're going for crab-cakes... I really couldn't honestly send you to any place that's still in existance. Good lump crab shouldn't be your goal here in cow town anyway, you should lean towards Easton's selection like Bon Vie, Brio or Smith & Wolensky's. If you're 20 something, you probably would rather catch dinner in the Short North at Rigsby's for upscale dining or grab some micro brews at Barley's and drink your dinner. Don't rule out the coolest ambience for dinner at The Elevator though. No promotion here, just straight up, honest, boiled down to the best overall experiences that are easy to find from anyone on the street. Oh, and people on the street WILL talk to you ... unless they're a transient... then you might catch that anomaly.

If you want to 'drink' in a movie, ask around for the Nationwide Drexel where you can take drinks and interesting food into a movie.

Bands play at Little Bros, Skully's (punk rock/80's and other theme nights) or the bigger Venue's like OSU's High Street music venue just south of 15th a few blocks. PromoWest has some headliner's but it's cold and calculated.. .not like campus where you can actually feel like you're really at a show and not worry about stupid drama from the help.

If you want to get down, don't look for too much from these DJ's, due the the lack of demand for good music, they're forced to play a lot of cheese around here. Tuesday at Spice might have a little drum n' bass, but I've never gone, so you're on your own. Also, a little secret is that Tuesday night is 'locals' night there. If you buddy up with a local at the bar they may let you in on 1/2 priced items they get with their card. Martini's, on High St. has a club underneath it called Carlisle Club, who gets the 'pretty' crowd. That hits on Fri/Sat around 10 or 11. Well, the rest of it is in the area, but for me personally, I'd go to 501 Front St. to hear the great selection of Live Funk and/or Jazz they get in there on the weekends. That's usually where I'll start off. You'll meet some wanderers and end up walking to any of the 20 bars in the area, but they get the core group of characters if you're looking for quality.

Good luck kids. Peeeeeace.

"Rain Forests with Giant Hand Blown Glass Monoliths"

For a visually stunning little photo opp with your baby, take her to the Franklin Park Conservatory (head east from the city on Broad, on right) Here are some stereoscopic shots I took there. You can do the same, just take a right eye photo and a left eye photo!... Get the prints back, lay them on the table, cross your eyes til they overlap, and overlap the pics!