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Columbus Itineraries
- Celebrate the Arts in Columbus
- Columbus Hotspots
- Columbus in Bloom
Take the time to smell the flowers (in many cases, roses) in Columbus — Ohio’s largest city and the 15th largest city in the nation. Renowned gardens include a one-of-a-kind re-creation of a painting in topiary.
Day 1
See and smell thousands of varieties of roses at the Park of Roses, called one of the Top 10 gardens in the world by USA Today. One of the country’s largest metropolitan rose gardens, it’s filled with more than 11,000 rose bushes including many miniature and heritage varieties.
Step inside a painting at the Topiary Park, the world’s only painting re-created in topiary. Georges Seurat’s “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” is brought to life with 54 topiary people, eight boats, three dogs, a monkey and a cat.
Experience one of Columbus’ restored Underground Railroad stops, the Kelton House, located a short walk from the Topiary Garden. Hear the stories of slaves who found shelter at the Kelton House, once home to abolitionists Fernando and Sophia Kelton. Take time to explore the garden, filled with flowers and sculptures collected by the Kelton’s granddaughter, Grace.
Learn about some of Columbus’ earliest residents in historic German Village, a charming restored village with brick streets leading to unique shops, bakeries and several of Columbus’ top restaurants. Explore the village’s two public gardens, Huntington Gardens in 23-acre Schiller Park and the tranquil Frank Fetch garden. Get inside private gardens during the annual German Village Haus und Garten Tour every June.
Explore the Ohio Governor’s Residence and Heritage Garden. Built in 1925, this Jacobean Revival style home is surrounded with well-manicured gardens of plants native to Ohio’s diverse ecosystems including a cranberry bog and Lake Erie sand dunes. Tours, available by appointment on Tuesdays, include the gardens and public rooms of the residence.
Day 2
Enjoy breakfast at the North Market, a historic public market filled with fresh food, ethnic eateries and flowers. Meet Ohio farmers and browse just-picked produce at the weekly farmers’ market—one of many held spring through fall in Central Ohio.
Surround yourself with lush plants from around the world year-round and walk amid hundreds of butterflies during Blooms & Butterflies every March through September at Franklin Park Conservatory. Be sure to stroll the surrounding 90-acre Franklin Park, where you’ll find a Japanese garden, waterfalls and formal gardens.
Admire the work of Russell Page, one of the 20th century’s best-known garden designers, at the Columbus Museum of Art. The museum’s sculpture garden is one of just 12 gardens Page designed in the United States during his 50-year career.
Meander well-manicured gardens at the 121-acre Inniswood Metro Gardens. Once the 37-acre estate of sisters Grace and Mary Innis, the park now contains miles of walking paths, streams and woodlands filled with wildflowers and wildlife, and the Sisters’ Garden, dedicated to the child in everyone.
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