By Boat, Bike or Trolley Many Ways to See CLE

Foot: Starting in May, the Historic Gateway Neighborhood Corporation (www.historicgateway.org) offers three free walking tours of downtown Cleveland and the nearby Warehouse District. You have the following options: You can meet at the Arcade and see the sites of the old department stores that used to be located downtown; you can meet at Constantino’s Market and walk through the Warehouse District and see how it’s been transformed into a dining and entertainment destination; or you can you meet at Settlers Landing and tour the harbor. You can also go it alone by visiting www.cityprowl.com and downloading an audio file and map that will take you on a narrated self-guided walking tour of the city.

Segway: Mondays through Saturdays as weather permits, Cleveland native Carl C. Johnson hosts narrated Segway tours of the city that cost $55-$60 per person. The hour-long tours all leave from Tower City Center, but the miles covered vary. Along the way, Johnson identifies major landmarks and discusses them in context of the city’s history. Go to www.clevelandsegwaytours.com for more information.

Trolley: For more than 25 years, the cheery red Lolly the Trolley (www.lollytrolley.com) has offered year-round tours of Cleveland that cover almost 20 miles and pass by nearly 100 points of interest. The information-packed one- and two- hour tours vary in cost and reservations are required.  Specialty tours of Cleveland bridges and of Lakeview Cemetery are also available.

Boat: Given that Cleveland sits on the shores of Lake Erie, seeing the city by boat is also a viable option. Goodtime III (goodtimeiii.com), a 1000-seat, quadruple deck luxury ship that leaves from the 9^th Street Pier, offers narrated tours of the city. The Nautica Queen (nauticaqueen.com), a cruise dining ship departing from the West Bank of the Flats, affords riders bridge views and a trip down the crooked Cuyahoga River. Both offer a variety of food options as well as entertainment.

Bicycle: The City of Cleveland recently built the Bike Rack, a bike station for commuters, in a parking garage located near Quicken Loans Arena. The station can accommodate up to 50 bicycles and has showers and a small bike shop. But this is just one way Cleveland caters to cyclists. The Great Lakes Touring Company (www.bikecle.com) offers guided one- and two-hour tours as well as bicycle rentals, the nonprofit group Cleveland Bikes (www.clevelandbikes.org) sponsors neighborhood rides and tours, and local cyclist Bob Polk (bobsbiketours.com) hosts two different tours of downtown and its surrounding areas.

Visit www.positivelycleveland.com for more things to see and do in Cleveland. Follow us on twitter @positivelycleve.

– Jeff Niesel 

About these ads