What to See in Ohio, United States

Ohio is a Midwestern state shaped by the Ohio River, Lake Erie, industrial cities, agricultural land and the rugged hills of the Allegheny Plateau. The best things to do in Ohio range from exploring Cleveland’s music and art heritage to discovering historic Cincinnati, cultural Columbus and the museums of Toledo. Neywo offers free audio guides for 7 cities in Ohio, with 472 narrated places in total and 25 walking tours.

What to see and do in Ohio

Ohio is large enough to offer very different landscapes and city experiences. These are some of the places and themes that help explain the state.

Follow the story of the Ohio River

The Ohio River forms the state’s southern border and gave Ohio its name. The word comes from a Seneca term translated as “good river”, “great river” or “large creek”. The river valley was home to nomadic peoples before the settled Adena culture developed there, and later became a contested region for Native American nations, Britain and France.

French trading posts appeared during the fur trade, followed by conflict between France and Britain in the French and Indian War. After American independence, the land became part of the Northwest Territory. The Northwest Ordinance barred slavery there, and Ohio achieved statehood in 1803 as the first state admitted under that ordinance and the first post-colonial free state admitted to the union.

Explore Cleveland’s music and art

Cleveland is one of the most important cultural stops on an Ohio trip. The city is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed was credited with coining the term “rock and roll” in the early 1950s and promoting the music. In 1952, he hosted the Moondog Coronation Ball, described as the first live rock and roll concert in Cleveland.

The Cleveland audio guide also covers the Cleveland Museum of Art, whose collections include Asian, European, Egyptian and American works. The city’s narrated places include the USS Cod and the Superior Viaduct, adding maritime and architectural history to its cultural landmarks.

Discover Cincinnati’s historic character

Cincinnati brings together religious buildings, observatories and the history of the Ohio River. Its narrated places include the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains, the Cincinnati Observatory, Old Saint Paul Church and St. Aloysius on the Ohio.

With 136 narrated places, Cincinnati has the largest selection of Neywo locations among Ohio’s cities. Its heritage reflects the state’s position between the Midwest and the Northeast, as well as its long relationship with river transport and urban development.

Visit Columbus, the state capital

Columbus offers a different side of Ohio, combining civic institutions, university life and major cultural sites. The city’s narrated places include Saint Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, Ohio Stadium and Ohio State University.

The city is also one of the main centres of Ohio’s modern service and information economy. Its university and public institutions add a contemporary layer to a state whose identity was also built in factories, workshops and transport routes.

See Ohio’s industrial legacy in Dayton and Akron

Manufacturing remains central to Ohio’s identity, even as the state has shifted toward information and service work in the 21st century. Automobile production is another major force, and deindustrialisation has affected Ohio and other parts of the Rust Belt.

In Dayton, the audio guide includes Sacred Heart Church, Deeds Carillon, the Dayton Art Institute and America’s Packard Museum. The city’s sites connect cultural history with the manufacturing traditions that helped shape Ohio.

Akron has 25 narrated places, including St. Bernard’s Church, the Matthews Hotel Monument, Summit County and the Akron Art Museum. Together, these places offer a compact introduction to the city’s religious, civic and artistic heritage.

Explore Toledo’s glass and Great Lakes heritage

Northern Ohio reaches Lake Erie, with the Canadian province of Ontario beyond the lake. Toledo’s cultural identity is closely connected with glass: its museum is known for glass, while the city also looks toward the wider history of the Great Lakes.

The Toledo audio guide includes the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Yacht Club, Imagination Station and the National Museum of the Great Lakes. These sites bring together art, science, recreation and the maritime history of the region.

Experience Ohio’s varied landscapes

Ohio’s scenery changes considerably across the state. Much of the land consists of rolling plains shaped by glaciers. In the southeast, the terrain becomes the rugged, unglaciated hills of the Allegheny Plateau, while the north opens onto the Lake Erie coastline.

The state generally has a humid continental climate, with hot, humid summers and cool to cold winters. The far southern counties reach the northern edge of a humid subtropical zone. Ohio’s streams and rivers also support unusual wildlife, including the Eastern Hellbender in the southeastern Appalachian region. This state-endangered amphibian depends on pristine, cool, clear, fast-flowing water and can grow to 27 inches long.

Try a buckeye

Ohio’s signature sweet is the buckeye: peanut butter fudge coated in chocolate, with part of the centre left exposed to resemble the nut of the Ohio buckeye tree. It is a small but distinctive expression of the state’s identity—and an example of the combination of chocolate and peanut butter found in Ohio’s food culture.

Sports, music and art complete that cultural mix. Major professional teams are based in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus. Cincinnati has one of the Midwest’s oldest art museums, while Toledo is known for glass and Cleveland for its music institutions.

Travel across Ohio with Neywo

Neywo has free audio guides for 7 cities in Ohio, with 472 narrated places in total and 25 walking tours. Narration is available in 11 languages. The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule.

Choose a city and explore its churches, museums, monuments, sports venues and historic streets while the stories play around you. Start with United States for the wider destination, then discover Ohio through Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Akron, Toledo or Mason.