Things to Do in Columbus, United States: Walking Guide

Looking for things to do in Columbus? Ohio’s capital combines historic churches, university landmarks, museums, sports venues, distinctive neighborhoods, and riverfront attractions. From German Village and Downtown Columbus to Ohio State University and Franklinton, the city offers plenty to explore on foot.

Neywo has a free audio guide for Columbus with 97 narrated places, so you can discover the city while walking at your own pace.

What to See in Columbus

Capitol Square and Downtown Columbus

Capitol Square is one of the best places to begin exploring Columbus. The area includes the Ohio Statehouse, the William McKinley Monument, the Ohio Holocaust and Liberators Memorial, and the Rhodes State Office Tower. Nearby, the Ohio Theatre, Palace Theatre, Great Southern Hotel & Theatre, and Columbus Commons add architectural and cultural landmarks to the city centre.

The Schlee-Kemmler Building is another notable downtown survivor. Built in 1895 for a brewer’s office and an insurance agency, it is distinguished by its ornamental stone façade. After periods of renovation and vacancy, work on the building was completed in 2024.

St. Joseph Cathedral

On Broad Street, St. Joseph Cathedral serves as the seat of the Diocese of Columbus. Construction began in 1866, and the building was completed in 1878. Its history is closely connected to the creation of the Diocese of Columbus: Pope Pius IX established the diocese in 1868 and appointed Sylvester H. Rosecrans as its first bishop.

East Broad Street and Kelton House Museum and Garden

The East Broad Street area brings together religious buildings, cultural institutions, and historic homes. The Kelton House Museum and Garden is a Greek Revival and Italianate mansion built in 1852 by Fernando and Sophia Kelton. More than 80 percent of its original furnishings remain, including letters, china, textiles, business records, and other family belongings.

The house also has a documented connection with the Underground Railroad. Fernando Kelton was a committed abolitionist, and the family later took in and raised Martha Hartway, a young woman who had escaped slavery.

Nearby, Topiary Park offers a distinctive garden setting, while the Columbus Museum of Art and Columbus Metropolitan Library add to the area’s cultural appeal.

German Village

German Village is one of the most rewarding neighborhoods to explore in Columbus. Its brick streets, historic buildings, gardens, churches, independent shops, cafés, and restaurants reflect the area’s German heritage.

Saint Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church—also known as Saint Mary’s Catholic Church or Grand Old St. Mary’s—is one of the neighborhood’s defining landmarks. Construction began in 1866, and its spire was completed in 1893. Rising 197 feet, the spire remains the tallest structure in German Village.

Inside, the restored church features painted ceiling panels, a large oil fresco, a twelve-foot crucifix, stained-glass windows, and a white walnut reredos decorated with statues. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places with the rest of German Village in 1974. After restoration following a lightning strike in 2016, it reopened in 2019.

Other stops in German Village include Trinity German Evangelical Lutheran Church, Schwartz Castle, The Book Loft of German Village, Schmidt’s Sausage Haus Columbus Ohio, Pistacia Vera, Umbrella Girl, and Schiller Park.

Ohio State University and Ohio Stadium

Ohio State University is one of Columbus’s most significant institutions. Founded in 1870, it is a public research university and the flagship institution of the University System of Ohio. More than 50,000 undergraduate students and 15,000 graduate students study across sixteen colleges, including Arts and Sciences, Business, Dentistry, Engineering, Public Affairs, and Law.

Ohio Stadium is one of the university campus’s best-known landmarks. Known as The Horseshoe or The Shoe, it has been home to the Ohio State Buckeyes football team since opening in 1922. The stadium also hosts the university’s Spring Commencement ceremonies and has welcomed concerts by artists including U2, Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones, Genesis, Pink Floyd, and Metallica.

Ohio Stadium reached an official capacity of 104,944 by 2014, making it the largest stadium by capacity in Ohio. It has no permanent field lights, so temporary lighting is installed for events held at night.

Arena District and Short North

The Arena District connects sports, events, museums, and entertainment. Nationwide Arena opened in 2000 and is home to the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League. It also hosts other sporting and entertainment events, with a hockey capacity of 18,144.

The Central Ohio Fire Museum occupies a former historic firehouse completed in 1908 as Engine House Number 16. It was the last fire station built in Columbus to accommodate horse-drawn engines, just before the transition to motorized equipment began. The station closed in 1982, and the museum opened to the public in 2002 after restoration.

Further along, North Market, the Pizzuti Collection, and the Short North Historic District reflect Columbus’s contemporary side. The Short North is also connected with the Statue of Arnold Schwarzenegger, One Nationwide Plaza, and Lifestyle Communities Pavilion.

Scioto Riverfront and Franklinton

The Scioto Riverfront is home to the Scioto Mile Promenade and the National Veterans Memorial and Museum. Opened on October 27, 2018, the museum is the United States’ national museum dedicated to veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. It reimagined the Franklin County Veterans Memorial, established in 1955 to honor veterans from the surrounding county.

COSI Columbus, the Center of Science and Industry, makes science a hands-on experience. The museum has more than 300 interactive exhibits across themed areas such as Ocean, Space, Life, and Gadgets. It also includes a 220-seat planetarium. COSI moved to its current 320,000-square-foot facility along the Scioto River in 1999. The building incorporates the former Central High School and was designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki.

More museums and cultural stops

Columbus has several museums beyond the city centre. The Ohio History Center is Ohio’s primary history museum and a research centre. Its Brutalist building opened in 1970 at the Ohio State Fairgrounds, and the building and Ohio Village were listed together on the National Register of Historic Places in 2023.

The Museum of Classical Archaeology at Ohio State University focuses on classical archaeology, while the Ohio Craft Museum offers another local cultural stop. In Olde Towne East, the William H. Thomas Gallery—known as “The Gallery in the Hood”—has supported Black artists in Columbus and beyond since opening in 1989. It is one of the oldest continuously operated Black-owned independent art galleries in the United States.

The Ohio Railway Museum in Worthington, near Columbus, explores the history of rail travel in Ohio. Founded in 1948, it has the railway reporting mark ORMX.

Explore Columbus with a self-guided audio tour

Neywo’s Columbus audio guide includes five walking tours and one bus route, with 97 narrated places in total. The walks range from 2.33 to 3.47 kilometres and from 75 to 102 minutes:

• Capitol Square: Statehouse, Theatres and Ohio’s Tallest Tower — 2.48 km, 93 minutes, 12 stops
• East Broad Street: Churches, Art and a Garden Painted in Hedges — 3.47 km, 102 minutes, 11 stops
• German Village: Brick Streets, Spires and a Castle with Secrets — 2.33 km, 76 minutes, 9 stops
• Arena District to Short North: Markets, Muscle and Modern Art — 3.05 km, 81 minutes, 8 stops
• Scioto Riverfront and Franklinton: Science, Veterans and a Log Post Office — 2.65 km, 75 minutes, 7 stops

There is also one bus route:

• COTA Line 2: High Street from German Village to the Short North — 5.2 km, 22 minutes, 6 stops

The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. Narration is available in 11 languages.

Download Neywo and explore Columbus

Download Neywo for a free self-guided way to discover Columbus. Choose a walk through German Village, Downtown, the Arena District, Short North, or the Scioto Riverfront—or follow the COTA Line 2 route between German Village and Short North. The stories play as you arrive at each stop, helping you explore independently while connecting the city’s churches, museums, historic buildings, neighbourhoods, and public spaces.

Columbus is part of Ohio in the United States. If you are continuing through the region, you can also compare it with Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo, or Akron.