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Nearby big cities offer a boatload of possibilities

The best shopping, dining and free events in Cincinnati, Columbus and Indianapolis

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By Jill Kelley, Staff Writer Updated 1:27 PM Friday, November 6, 2009

The Miami Valley has thousands of enticing shopping and entertainment options, but another benefit of living here is the easy access to larger metro hubs that are brimming with additional things to do.

To find out about what our three nearest, biggest cities have to offer Dayton-area residents this fall and winter, we contacted tourism experts in Cincinnati, Columbus and Indianapolis and asked them to share their best insider tips.

Here are the shopping sites, restaurants and events they suggested.

Not all addresses and contact information are listed for locations due to space, but the contact information at the end of each city’s list of options will get you all you need to know.

Cincinnati

Nori Muro, assistant marketing manager of the CincinnatiUSA Regional Tourism Network, highlighted the city’s top three shopping destinations — one of which is just down the road from Dayton.

She cited Kenwood Towne Centre, the new Cincinnati Premium Outlets mall in Monroe and downtown Cincinnati in general as shopping hot spots.

“Kenwood Towne Centre (7875 Montgomery Road) is Cincinnati’s premier destination for the most unique shopping experience,” Muro said.

For bargain shoppers, Muro said, the Premium Outlets mall at 400 Premium Outlets Drive in Monroe and the Prime Outlets mall at 8000 Factory Shops Blvd. in Jeffersonville both offer substantial savings. Muro noted that the Jeffersonville mall has 100 stores offering everyday savings of up to 65 percent.

As for dining, Muro points out that Orchids at Palm Court at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel on West 5th Street was recently named the city’s No. 1 restaurant by “Cincinnati” magazine.

Other great restaurants she suggested are The Precinct on Delta Avenue, which Muro called Cincinnati’s best steakhouse, and Carlo & Johnny on Montgomery Road, another steakhouse rated highly by Zagat.

If you are looking for hip night spots, Muro suggested Bootsy’s Produced by Jeff Ruby, which is a Spanish-influenced tapas and sushi restaurant; NADA, a modern Mexican restaurant and bar and The Righteous Room.

“The Righteous Room is a new bar offering a great list of wines, located across from the Aronoff Center for the Performing Arts,” Muro said.

This fall there also are stellar exhibits and events to see, including “Secrets of Egypt,” running through Jan. 3 at the Cincinnati Museum Center; “Roaring Tigers, Leaping Carp: Decoding the Symbolic Language of Chinese Animal Painting,” which also continues through Jan. 3, at the Cincinnati Art Museum; and the Cincinnati Zoo’s Festival of Lights, which starts Nov. 27 and goes throughout the holiday season.

And, speaking of the holiday season, Muro said there are three dozen free holiday events taking place this year in Cincinnati.

The free events are headlined by the Extreme Santa: Rappelling Santa in Fountain Square, Scuba Santa at the Newport Aquarium, and Segway Santa at the Segway Store in the Gateway Quarter.

Segway Tours also will be held downtown year-round, weather permitting. And another attraction to see at Newport Aquarium will be the Boutique Bowling Lanes, which is opening this winter.

For more information on any of these sites or events, visit www.cincinnatiusa.com or call (859) 581-2260.

Columbus

For places to see and things to do in our state capital, we turned to Scott Peacock, media relations manager at Experience Columbus.

Peacock said the best places to shop in Columbus are:

■ The Easton Town Center, at 160 Easton Town Center in Easton, which features entertainment, dining and retail shopping in an indoor/outdoor setting.

■ Polaris Fashion Place, at 1500 Polaris Parkway, which has six anchor stores and 150 other specialty shops and restaurants.

■ The Short North Arts District, along North High Street in Short North, which is home to eclectic galleries and shops, all within walking distance of the convention center.

Peacock added that there were bargains to be found at each of these sites, but gave a nod to the Short North Arts District’s boutique and consignment shops for where to find the biggest savings.

Peacock said the Short North and the Arena District on Front Street are Columbus’ entertainment hot spots.

“With Nationwide Arena, the Blue Jackets, Huntington Park and the Columbus Clippers, the Arena Grand Movie Theatre and plenty of restaurants to satisfy your appetite, these two districts are adjacent to each other, and there are plenty of affordable hotel options within each district,” he said.

If you are looking for a great meal, The Refectory on Bethel Road, Cap City Fine Diner & Bar - Grandview on Olentangy River Road, and North Market on Spruce Street make the short list.

“(The Refectory) is Columbus’ most award-winning restaurant,” Peacock said.

“It features contemporary American cuisine and classic French cuisine is complemented by a world-class wine cellar encompassing over 700 selections.”

As for the city’s top free events, Peacock cited the Gallery Hop, which is held at the Short North Arts District from 4 to 10 p.m. on the first Saturday of every month; the “Chihuly XIV” exhibit going on now at the Hawk Gallery on East Main Street; Village Lights on Dec. 6 in German Village; and First Night Columbus, which is being held throughout downtown on Dec. 31.

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You can request a FREE Holiday Pocket Brochure at www.CincinnatiUSA.com and discover over 100 events and 0ver 30 FREE activities in CincinnatiUSA over the Holiday Season. Holiday Market Nov 13-15, Light-Up Fountain Square is Nov 27, Redsfest is Dec 4-5 and the Repelling Santa starts the first and every Saturday in December - come have some CincinnatiUSA FUN!

Ed
8:23 AM, 11/11/2009

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Love Columbus and miss it so much. Love Ohio in fall. Love The Refectory Restaurant - wow. Easily the best Columbus has to offer, which means it's one of the best in the Ohio Valley and would do fine in any big city. Unpretentious fine dining done right.

James S
11:45 AM, 11/6/2009

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