Cincinnati is Ohio's third largest city and lies on the North bank of the Ohio River in Southwest Ohio in the United States of America. Across the river in Kentucky are the cities of Covington and Newport. Downtown Cincinnati is surrounded by picturesque foothills on all sides, creating many beautiful views of the Queen City and its legendary skyline, made famous both by the television show "WKRP", which showed the city in the opening credits of every episode, and the Skyline Chili company which was founded here.

Get Around

To see Greater Cincinnati you should travel by car, as bus service outside the city is limited. Inside the city and immediate surrounding areas, the local transit company, Metro offers great bus service.

Government Square
Government Square is located on Walnut Street and receives its name from the fact that its bordered by the Federal Office Building, a Federal Courthouse, and a Federal Reserve Bank branch. SORTA (The organization in charge of the Metro busses) with the City of Cincinnati (The City owns the bus hub) is revamping the bus hub located at Government Square thus closing Government Square. This will take effect on July 22, 2005 and the hub will remain closed until Spring 2006. Check with your hotel, the visitors center, and SORTA to find out where to catch a bus.

Taxis
Several taxi companies in Cincinnati include:
 • Towne Taxi, (513) 761-7700
 • Yellow Cab, (513) 742-3075
 • United Cab Company, (513) 251-1155

Lodging

Budget
 • Comfort Inn & Suites Cincinnati 4421 Aicholtz Rd. Tel: (513) 947-0100. Fax: (513) 943-2991.
 • Comfort Inn Cincinnati Hotel 11440 Chester Rd. Tel: (513) 771-3400. Fax: (513) 771-3114. A newly renovated hotel, located in Northern Cincinnati, Ohio just off I-75 at Sharon Road - convenient to corporate offices and major attractions and only minutes from Paramounts Kings Island and 15 minutes from downtown Cincinnati.
 • Quality Hotel & Suites Central Cincinnati Hotel 4747 Montgomery Rd. Tel: (513) 351-6000. Fax: (513) 351-0215. Centrally located only seven miles from downtown Cincinnati, 1.5 miles from Xavier University, 20 miles from the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, and two miles from excellent shopping. Offers 148 guestrooms and suites.

Medium Range
 • Radisson Hotels. Both Radisson hotels are located on the Kentucky side of the Ohio river with one at the airport and the other in Covington. Rooms are around $100 - $150.

Splurge
 • Cincinnatian Hotel,  . Rated four stars by Mobil Travel Guide and four diamonds by AAA. Sets the bar for luxury in downtown Cincinnati. Located near Fountain Square and is within walking distance of the convention center and the major businesses in the city.
 • Hilton Netherland Plaza. Originally the NETHERLAND PLAZA HOTEL, a favorite of Bing Crosby and many other celebrities who frequented Cincinnati during it's golden age of WLW radio. Hilton's historic luxury hotel in Cincinnati is the located inside of historic Carew Tower Complex in the heart of Cincinnati (Fourth and Vine Streets). The Carew Tower is the tallest building in Downtown Cincinnati, and an Art Deco architectural landmark.
 • Hyatt Regency is located only a few blocks from Fountain Square.

Television Stations

 • WLWT. Channel 5. Local NBC affiliate, located on Young Street in Mt. Auburn.
 • WCPO. Channel 9. Local ABC affiliate, located on Gilbert Avenue, just outside of Eden Park in Historic Pendleton.
 • WKRC. Channel 12. Local CBS affiliate, located on Highland Avenue in Mt. Auburn.
 • WXIX. Channel 19. Local FOX affiliate, located on West 7th Street in Queensgate, just west of Downtown.
 • WOTH. Channel 25. Independent station, located on Losantiville Avenue in Golf Manor. Run by same company as WBQC.
 • WBQC. Channel 38. Local UPN affiliate, located on Losantiville Avenue in Golf Manor. Run by same company as WOTH.
 • WCET. Channel 48. Local PBS affiliate, located on Central Parkway, directly across the street from Cincinnati Music Hall. Recently changed name to simply CET, which stands for Cincinnati's Educational Television. CET was the first licensed public television station in the country.

Get out

Cincinnati is centrally located to other interesting Midwest cities. Some day trips include:
 • Lexington, KY. Lexington is Kentucky's beautiful college town. It's home to the University of Kentucky and the top ranked Wildcats, and is generally acknowledged as the Thoroughbred racehorse capital of the world, with many famous horse farms located nearby. Lexington is a 1-hour drive south on Interstate 75.
 • Columbus. Ohio's capital and largest city is a 1 hour drive from Cincinnati.
 • Mammoth Cave National Park. The world's largest cave system, located in Kentucky. About three hours southwest, via Interstates 71 and 65.
 • Cleveland. The Rock and Roll city is located in northern Ohio and is about a four hour drive from Cincinnati.
 • Chicago. The largest city in the Midwest is a little over a four hour drive from Cincinnati via Interstates 74 and 65.
 • Indianapolis. Home of the Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400 automobile races. A two-hour drive from Cincinnati via Interstate 74.
 • Louisville. Home of the Kentucky Derby, the world's most famous horse race. A 1-hour drive southwest on Interstate 71.
 • The largest effigy of a serpent in North America. The park is dated to belong to the Fort Ancient era. The mound apparently represents an uncoiling serpent eating an egg. It's believed that the head of the serpent is aligned with the summer solstice sunset and the coiled tail is pointed toward the winter solstice sunrise and the equinox sunrise. Located at 3850 State Route 73 in Peebles Ohio.