The Best Cleveland Tourist Sites You Can See in One Downtown Walk

Cleveland tourist sites tend to cluster downtown, which means you can cover an impressive amount of the city's history without ever needing a car.

In about a mile and a half of walking, you'll pass Civil War monuments, Gilded Age mansions turned office towers, and a theater district that nearly got torn down before Clevelanders fought to save it.

Whether you've got a free afternoon or a full day to explore, these Cleveland tourist sites tell the story of a city that reinvented itself more than once. Here's what to see and the order that makes the most sense on foot.

TAKE A SELF-GUIDED TOUR OF DOWNTOWN CLEVELAND

Want the stories playing automatically as you walk past each one?

Take our Cleveland Downtown Self-Guided Walking Tour. It's a self-guided, location-aware audio tour that starts at the Abraham Lincoln Monument and winds through downtown's Civil War history, Gilded Age landmarks, and theater district.

Along the way you'll discover:

• Why a Confederate cannon sits on a Cleveland sidewalk

• The mansion-lined street that once rivaled Fifth Avenue

• How Playhouse Square nearly got demolished before its dramatic comeback

Stories play automatically as you walk, so there's no group and no schedule to worry about, all the way to the GE Chandelier and Playhouse Square.

Check out our Cleveland Downtown Self-Guided Walking Tour here.

CIVIL WAR HISTORY HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT

Downtown Cleveland holds more Civil War history than most visitors expect.

The Abraham Lincoln Monument marks the spot where the president-elect addressed huge crowds in 1861, and later, where his funeral train drew thousands of mourners after his assassination.

Nearby, the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument honors Ohio's Civil War veterans, and a captured Confederate cannon, nicknamed the "Secesh Cannon," still sits on the sidewalk where it's stood for over a century.

FROM GILDED AGE FORTUNES TO SKYSCRAPER FEVER

Euclid Avenue was once known as "Millionaires' Row," lined with over 260 mansions belonging to industrialists like John D. Rockefeller.

Most of those mansions are long gone, replaced by the department stores and office towers that came with downtown's early 1900s boom, including the Cleveland Trust Company Building, now home to a Heinen's grocery store beneath its original stained-glass dome.

A few blocks away, the Terminal Tower rose in 1927 as the second-tallest building in the world at the time, and its 42nd-floor observation deck still offers one of the best views in the city.

SHOPPING ARCADES FROM ANOTHER ERA

Cleveland's historic arcades are some of its most underrated tourist sites.

The Arcade, completed in 1890, is often called "Cleveland's Crystal Palace" for its soaring glass skylight and five-story atrium, and it remains one of the earliest indoor shopping arcades in the country.

A few blocks over, the 5th Street Arcades combine the Colonial and Euclid Arcades into one skylit shopping stretch, restored and reopened in the early 2000s after decades of quieter days.

THE COMEBACK STORY OF PLAYHOUSE SQUARE

Playhouse Square is Cleveland's theater district and one of the city's great comeback stories.

Five grand theaters opened here in the early 1920s, only to face demolition by the 1970s as audiences dwindled. A group of determined locals fought to save them instead, and today Playhouse Square is the second-largest performing arts center in the country, marked by a 4,200-crystal outdoor chandelier that lights up Euclid Avenue every night.

WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

• The full downtown route covers about a mile and a half, all on sidewalks

• Most stops are free, with only the Terminal Tower Observation Deck and Museum of Illusions charging admission

• Parking garages and lots are plentiful near Public Square

• The Cleveland Visitors Center inside The Arcade has free maps and local tips

PLAN YOUR TRIP

Ready to see these Cleveland tourist sites for yourself?

Check out our Cleveland travel guide for tips on where to eat, where to stay, and how to plan the perfect day downtown.