Free & Cheap Vacation Ideas in Cincinnati

Best Free Thing to Do in Cincinnati: Stroll along the Smale Riverfront Park which has been widely praised as one of the most beautiful additions to Cincinnati's landscape, opened to the public in its first phase in 2012, with additional features added through 2015. The 45-acre park, which was designed by Sasaki Associates and KZF, is operated by the Cincinnati Park Board and connects the city's downtown riverfront with existing riverfront parks along its east end, with floodplain terraces developed to accommodate seasonal flooding in the region.

Eye-catching landscape features abound, including the lighted water jets of Fath and Main Street Fountains, the oversized swings and shade pergolas of the Duke Energy Garden, and the unique P&G Vibrantscape playspace, which features talking tubes, a giant foot piano, and other interactive activities for visitors of all ages. Public special events are held at Anderson Pavilion and the Schmidlapp Event Lawn, with gardens, children's playgrounds, and environmentally-friendly features scattered throughout the park.

Find it at this Address: 166 W Mehring Way, Cincinnati, OH 45202, Phone: 513-352-6180

Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is the United States' second-largest cemetery, established in 1845 on a 200-acre plot of farmland. Today, the cemetery and arboretum is a designated National Historic Landmark and spans more than 730 acres, combining burial, arboretum, and outdoor museum elements to create a truly unique civic and botanical facility.

44 miles of picturesque roads are offered throughout Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum for vehicle exploration, showcasing more than 1,200 species of native and exotic trees, shrubs, and plants that are used for study by nearby universities and nurseries. A 10-acre woodland preserve is located on site at the cemetery, along with more than 15 beautiful lakes and streams. Tours of the cemetery are offered between April and October by the Spring Grove Heritage Foundation. Free visitor parking is offered throughout the cemetery at a number of visitor parking lots, with street parking also permitted on many roads.

Find it at this Address: 4521 Spring Grove Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45232, Phone: 513-681-7526

The Taft Museum of Art is an historic living history and art museum housed within the former residence of Charles Phelps and Anna Taft, the half-brother and half-sister-in-law of United States President William Howard Taft, who resided in the house between 1873 and 1929. The Greek Revival-style home is best known as the site where Taft accepted his presidential nomination in 1908 and has been a designated National Historic Landmark since 1976.

Since 1952, it has been open to the public as a living history museum, showcasing the fine art collections of the Tafts, including European master works and 19th-century American paintings by artists such as Thomas Gainsborough, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, and Adriaen van Ostade. Significant collections of Chinese ceramics, European decorative arts, and historic watches are also on display and may be viewed. It offers free-admission self-guided tours on the third Sunday of each month. Children under 18 are also admitted free daily with paying adult admission. Public special events hosted at the facility throughout the year include lectures, gallery talks, and live music performances.

Find it at this Address: 316 Pike St, Cincinnati, OH 45202, Phone: 513-241-0343

The William Howard Taft National Historic Site preserves the childhood home of 27th United States President William Howard Taft, located approximately one mile north of Cincinnati's downtown district within the Mount Auburn Historic District. The Greek Revival-style home was originally constructed in 1835 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. Three years later, it was transferred to the care of the National Park Service following substantial renovations allowing the home to be operated as a living history museum.

Explore Taft's childhood home and the adjacent Taft Educational Center for free, with exhibits on display at the The William Howard Taft National Historic Site detailing the president's life and career. Guided tours of Taft's childhood home are offered, showcasing restored furnishings and original artifacts belonging to the Taft family.

Find it at this Address: 2038 Auburn Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45219, Phone: 513-684-3262

21c Museum Hotel is a unique hotel concept overseen by French hotelier AccorHotels, offering eight boutique hotel locations throughout the United States that feature free-admission contemporary art museums. Cincinnati's 21c Hotel was named the top hotel in the world by a 2013 Conde Nast Traveler survey and is located within the renovated century-old Metropole Building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The art museum at 21c Museum Hotel is open to the public 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, showcasing more than 8,000 square feet of exhibition space featuring site-specific installations and rotating temporary exhibits by top international contemporary artists. Docent-led tours are available for free on certain days, with free cultural event programming offered periodically.

Find it at this Address: 609 Walnut St, Cincinnati, OH 45202, Phone: 513-578-6600

The Cincinnati Art Museum was America's first dedicated art museum constructed west of the Allegheny Mountains at its 1881 founding and is one of the oldest extant art museums in the nation today. The museum is housed within an 1886 Romanesque Revival building designed by architect James W. McLaughlin and offers free admission daily, showcasing a collection of more than 67,000 fine artworks created over more than 6,000 years of human history. The museum's 18,000-square-foot Cincinnati Wing, opened in 2003, showcases a permanent collection of works by Cincinnati regional artists or produced for Cincinnati locales, including the Odoardo Fantacchiotti angels, created for the city's St. Peter in Chains Cathedral.

Free parking is offered at The Cincinnati Art Museum daily, with free tours available for individuals and small groups at select times throughout the day.

Find it at this Address: 953 Eden Park Dr, Cincinnati, OH 45202, Phone: 513-639-2995

Enjoy a picnic in Eden Park, a 186-acre urban park spanning areas of Cincinnati's Mt. Adams and Walnut Hills neighborhoods, known for its spectacular overlook views of the Ohio River Valley.

It was originally developed as a vineyard in 1869 by Cincinnati horticulturist Nicholas Longworth, named "The Garden of Eden" for its beautiful, luxurious landscape. Following the city's acquisition of Longworth's lands, the Eden name was retained as the area was developed into a public park by landscape architect Adolph Strauch. Today, it is home to many of the city's top cultural attractions, including the Cincinnati Art Museum and the famed seasonal Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park theatrical company and venue. Other prominent landmarks within the park include the Hinkle Magnolia Garden, the 1883 Elsinore Arch, and the Bettman Fountain.

Find it at this Address: 950 Eden Park Dr, Cincinnati, OH 45202, Phone: 513-352-4080

Findlay Market is the oldest continually-operating public market in Ohio, welcoming over a million annual visitors. The famed market is located in the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1972. More than 40 traditional vendors and merchants sell meats, dairy products, produce, and local foods Tuesdays through Sundays year-round, with a seasonal outdoor farmer's market held each year on weekends between April and November.

Free 30-minute public tours of Findlay Market are offered on select days every other month, with a variety of public special events hosted at the market throughout the year, including live music performances and festivals.

Find it at this Address: 1801 Race St, Cincinnati, OH 45202, Phone: 513-665-4839

Fleischmann Gardens is a four-acre public park located on the former homestead of Fleischmann Yeast Company founder Charles Fleischmann, the father of Cincinnati Mayor Julius Fleischmann. The park's lands were donated to the City of Cincinnati in 1925 and was significantly expanded in 1976 with the purchase of adjacent lands owned by the Salvation Army. Today, they showcase botanical attractions such as the state's largest gingko tree, accessible via a stone path leading down into an evergreen maze area.

Check out Fleischmann Garden, accessible from an entrance on Washington Avenue that is flanked by ornate iron gates topped by a traditional gaslight fixture. Visit the children's playground and walk your dog through the park on a leash.

Find it at this Address: 524 Forest Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45229, Phone: 513-352-4080