When I told people I was going to Cleveland, nobody bothered to hide their reaction.
My wife said she wasn't interested, so I booked without her. Friends asked why I was going, then answered for me: there was nothing there. Hard to argue when you haven't been, though.
I was going for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which I've been hoping to visit for years. I almost booked a single night, but what a mistake that would've been.
That’s because discovering Cleveland has been a true travel highlight. Over 3 days, I found free Van Gogh and Picasso exhibits, a fishmonger who decided I needed a beer at 10 a.m., the largest theater district outside New York, and a hotel inside an 1890 shopping arcade.
Even after a few days, I still left with a list of what I'd missed. Here are the five places and reasons that prove why skipping Cleveland would have been a colossal mistake.
In this article
The Rock Hall Commands More Time Than You Think
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was the reason I came to Cleveland in the first place, and it was bigger and better than I ever expected.
The building itself, designed by I.M. Pei, rises seven glass levels straight off Lake Erie's shore. I'd planned for just an afternoon but needed most of the day, working my way through all the exhibits and still rushing to see the last one before closing.
As a writer, I loved seeing Bruce Springsteen's handwritten "Born to Run" lyrics, covered in crossings-out and rewrites. Seeing the song take shape on the page reminded me of my own writing, although my rewrites have produced considerably fewer hits.
As a comedy fan, I lost another half hour in the Saturday Night Live exhibit, watching sketches I'd seen a dozen times and musical performances I hadn't. Learn from me and buy your ticket for opening time rather than after lunch.
You Can See Picasso and Van Gogh for Free
My strategy at an art gallery is to look for names I recognize, rush to see them and then leave. This usually gets me out in 20 minutes. I lasted far longer at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Unlike many other large art museums, the permanent collection is free, and the walls hold iconic works from the likes of Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, and Warhol.
My mother taught art for years, so I sent her photographs with the labels cropped out and made her guess who they were. She got nearly all of them. I was out in under an hour, which would have horrified her, but was still significantly longer than I typically stay in a gallery.
Afterward, I walked 10 minutes into Little Italy, where murals along Mayfield Road cover entire building walls with scenes from the neighborhood's past, and had pizza and pasta at Mama Santa's. More free art, and an equally impressive lunch.
Locals Know the Best Places to Eat
Food is another major highlight of Cleveland, especially inside the West Side Market, which opened in 1912 under a 137-foot clock tower and still trades as a working market rather than a food hall.
Tom McIntyre has run the Kate's Fish stall at the market for 25 years, and he wasn't going to let me leave without trying his oysters. We ate them at the counter, followed by a Polish sausage that had no business working that well alongside seafood.
Tom then walked me across the road to Market Garden Brewery for a 10 a.m. beer. That's the earliest I've ever agreed to a beer (and I don't regret it).
He also told me where to eat dinner, which is how I ended up at Larder, a 2019 James Beard semifinalist for Best New Restaurant. A board of cured meats, cheeses, and pickles tasted like my Polish grandmother's cooking rebuilt by someone who understood it. Chef-owner Jeremy Umansky ages the meat with koji, the mold behind miso and soy sauce. The board is the thing to order, and it's enough for two if you've already eaten oysters at breakfast.
You Can Explore 12 Theaters Without Seeing a Show
Even though I did not have a ticket to a show, I spent an evening exploring several theater lobbies, all inside Playhouse Square in Cleveland.
In 1972, these theaters were headed for demolition to make way for parking, and a local campaign stopped it. Today it's the largest performing arts center in the U.S. outside New York, with 12 venues.
I walked through at night beneath the GE Chandelier, a 20-foot installation of 4,200 crystals hanging 44 feet above the intersection.
Then I stepped into a couple of lobbies to look at the beautiful ceilings. Next time, if I'm not seeing a show, I’d register to join a free 90-minute tour of the five restored theaters.
Sleep Inside an 1890 Shopping Arcade and Go Deep on History
I've stayed in a converted asylum and a few hotels with a bit of history, but I'd never checked into a shopping mall before my trip to Cleveland.
The Arcade was America’s first indoor shopping center when it opened in 1890 with a five-story glass-and-iron atrium modeled on Milan's, earning the nickname, “Cleveland’s Crystal Palace.”
It’s also the city’s first building to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and now, many of its upper floors are occupied by the Hyatt Regency.
Outside of the hotel, I linked up with a local guide who spent an hour walking me around downtown. She pointed out Terminal Tower, which I'd assumed was just a handsome regional skyscraper, but it turned out to have been the second-tallest building in the world when it opened in 1930.
She also stopped on East 4th Street to tell me what was underneath it. The tunnels there were dug so vaudeville performers could reach the restaurants across the road without meeting a crowd, and later proved useful for moving liquor smuggled across Lake Erie from Canada. Book an hour with a local guide before you set out on your own. You'll learn even more.
The Shortcut
The Rock Hall is a full day, not an afternoon. Buy the opening-time ticket and plan to eat there.
The Cleveland Museum of Art doesn't charge for the permanent collection, and the permanent collection is where the Picassos are.
Book an hour with a local guide on your first morning. Downtown reads completely differently once someone explains what's under East 4th Street.
