Ohio · United States
Where to stay in Columbus
Columbus is a city in Ohio, United States, home to about 906,000 people.
- Best months
- October
- Nearest airport
- CMH10 km · John Glenn Columbus International Airport
- Currency
- USDUnited States dollar
- Time zone
- America/New York
- Language
- Carolinian, Chamorro, Hawaiian
About
About Columbus
Columbus ( kə-LUM-bəs) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a population of 905,748 at the 2020 census, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., second-most populous city in the Midwest (after Chicago), and third-most populous U.S. state capital (after Phoenix, Arizona, and Austin, Texas).
Named after the Italian explorer who sailed under the Spanish flag, this city is the largest in Ohio in terms of population with 906,000 in 2021, and the 14th largest city in the United States—though with only 2.1 million people, the metropolitan statistical area is relatively small (the 32nd largest in the nation and the 3rd of 4th largest in Ohio).
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Columbus
See
Columbus has over 170 notable buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and four historic districts on the outskirts of Downtown: German Village, Italian Village, Victorian Village, and the Brewery District. The Ohio Statehouse and other buildings in the downtown core serve as distinct architectural landmarks. The city's primary art museum is the Columbus Museum of Art, which focuses on European and American art up to early modernism. Another prominent art museum in the city is the Wexner Center for the Arts, a contemporary art gallery and research facility operated by the Ohio State University.
Do
There are many events and festivals held in Columbus such as the Ohio State Fair, one of the largest state fairs in the country, the Columbus Arts Festival, and the Jazz & Rib Fest, both of which occur on the Downtown riverfront. During the last weekend of June, Goodale Park hosts ComFest, an immense three-day music festival marketed as the largest non-commercial festival in the U.S. Around the Fourth of July, Columbus hosts Red, White & Boom! on the Scioto riverfront downtown, featuring the largest fireworks display in Ohio. Check the districts articles for more information. The Columbus Blue Jackets play in the National Hockey League at the Nationwide Areana in Downtown Columbus.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Columbus to stay in
Columbus is a convention city, with a large well established business and manufacturing base, as well as an education foundation that attracts many visitors. Downtown accommodations tend to be a little more expensive than those scattered near the interstate exits. But, there usually is lodging available in most price ranges.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Columbus
21 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Christopher Inn | 1963 | 0.7 km |
| Blackwell Inn | 4.9 km | |
| Chittenden Hotel | 1895 | 0.5 km |
| Great Southern Hotel & Theatre Columbus Association for the Performing Arts, Westin Hotels & Resorts | 0.7 km | |
| Park Hotel (Columbus, Ohio) | 1879 | 1.3 km |
| Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel | 0.3 km | |
| Sheraton Columbus Hotel at Capitol Square | 0.3 km | |
| The Seneca Hotel | 0.9 km | |
| AC Hotel Columbus Dublin | 18.1 km | |
| Embassy Suites Columbus - Airport | 7.0 km | |
| Four Points by Sheraton Columbus Ohio Airport | 7.7 km | |
| Graduate Columbus Graduate by Hilton | 1.7 km | |
| Hilton Columbus at Easton | 12.2 km | |
| Hilton Columbus Downtown | 1.0 km | |
| Hilton Columbus/Polaris | 20.1 km | |
| Hotel LeVeque, Autograph Collection | 0.2 km | |
| Le Méridien Columbus, The Joseph | 1.5 km | |
| Marriott Columbus OSU | 7.1 km | |
| Norwood Inn and Suites Columbus | 13.9 km | |
| Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel | 0.3 km | |
| The Blackwell Inn and Pfahl Conference Center | 5.0 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Columbus
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Columbus are October. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 29 °C; May is the wettest, with about 117 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Columbus: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH), about 10 km from the city centre in a straight line; Rickenbacker International Airport (LCK, 18 km) and James M. Cox Dayton International Airport (DAY, 104 km) are also within reach.
Getting around
The COTA bus service can take you to most important places in the city, which should be about 5 blocks away from any conceivable location you need to go to. This service costs $2.75 for an Express bus and $2.00 for a Local/Crosstown bus. Transfers for a Local/Crosstown bus are free, but transfers between bus types, such as from a Local to an Express route, are subject to an upcharge. Ask the bus driver for a transfer when you pay your fare, and you'll be given a transfer pass that you use when boarding the next bus.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
CMH · John Glenn Columbus International Airport
LCK · Rickenbacker International Airport
DAY · James M. Cox Dayton International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Columbus
Eat
The City of Columbus issues approximately 6,000 licenses for a variety of types of food vendors, Franklin County issues about 3,000 for the remainder of the county and the suburban area. A major test market for most major chain restaurants (though this is not as true as it once was), Columbus has a large density of national chain restaurants, some even having multiple venues in a single neighborhood. That being said, Columbus has a growing ethnic and upper class dining scene thanks in part to continued immigration (from Africa, especially Somalia and Ghana, Southeast Asia, and Latin America) and the continued gentrification of the downtown area.
Stay safe
Dial 911 to get emergency (police/medical/fire) help. Natural hazards include tornadoes in the warm months and snowy or icy roads in the cold months. Flooding can occur after extended periods of rain. Broadly speaking, the northwest quadrant of the city (north of I-670 and west of I-71, including Clintonville, Grandview, Upper Arlington, Worthington, Dublin, and Hilliard) is the safe zone from a crime perspective. The other three quadrants, especially along Broad Street (US-40) and Cleveland Avenue (OH-3), are overall less so, although German Village and Bexley are notable oases in the southeast. Outside the I-270 outer belt, the risk of crime diminishes greatly.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Columbus: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Columbus?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Columbus are October. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 29 °C; May is the wettest, with about 117 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Columbus?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH), about 10 km from the city centre in a straight line; Rickenbacker International Airport (LCK, 18 km) and James M. Cox Dayton International Airport (DAY, 104 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Columbus?
United States dollar (USD).
Nearby
Destinations near Columbus
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.