Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Tours of Historic Cleveland

Having just returned from a week of "doing Chicago," walking, busing and boating all over the Windy City and it's fabulous architecture, I come home energized to remind myself what Cleveland has to offer. Here are several sets of tours I intend to sample with the remainder of the summer and suggest you might want to, as well.

TAKE A HIKE

Three free tours are offered on a weekly basic through September 6th.
  • The Historic Gateway Neighborhood tour starts at 6:00 p.m. every Thursday, from the Arcade.
  • The Historic Warehouse District tour starts at 10:00 a.m. every Saturday from Constantino's Market on West 9th.
  • And the Canal to Harbor tour also starts at 10:00 a.m. every Saturday, from the Settler's Landing RTA station.


CITY PROWL

Local architect Jennifer Coleman has put together a great series of walking tours that may be downloaded as free MP3 audio files and maps from her site. They include tours of Lower Prospect, the Warehouse District, Public Square, Cleveland's Bank Lobbies, Cleveland's Arcades, the Buckeye Neighborhood and some Mini-Tours.

LOLLY THE TROLLEY


Then, of course, there's always Lolly the Trolley, cruising around the city with a bus load of visitors to Cleveland, folks on group outings and individuals taking advantage of Lolly's programs. Their "City Sightseeing" narrated tours are ideal for individuals and come in 1 hour or 2 hour varieties daily. The shorter tour stays in the downtown area, while the longer tour goes out to University Circle as well. Prices for individuals range over $8-$17, depending upon age and tour length, and leave from the Powerhouse.

GOODTIME III


The Goodtime offers public and private tours of the lake and river throughout the summer. The narrated lake/river public tours run through Labor Day, Tuesdays through Saturdays, at Noon and 3:00 p.m., and Sundays, at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.. All tours are approximately 2 hours long, leave from the East Ninth Street Pier and cost $9-$15, depending upon age.

These tour options are a great way to reconnect with Cleveland, especially its historic neighborhoods and architecture, so put them in your plans for the month of August.

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posted by Bill Barrow @ 3:40:00 PM