Columbus is the capital of the American state of Ohio and is located centrally within the state as the core of the Greater Columbus area. Sited in an area where the Rust Belt, Bible Belt, Appalachia, and the Farm Belt meet, Columbus is a fusion of many different parts of America. It is the home of the Ohio State University. The combination of Ohio Government and the Ohio State University has fueled amazing growth both financially and physically in Columbus.
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Named after the Italian explorer who sailed under the Spanish flag, this city is the largest in Ohio in terms of population with 906,000 in 2021, and the 14th largest city in the United States—though with only 2.1 million people, the metropolitan statistical area is relatively small (the 32nd largest in the nation and the 3rd of 4th largest in Ohio). Major area employers are state government (as the state capital), Ohio State University (the largest student population in the nation) and numerous Fortune 500 companies headquartered here (Cardinal Health, Nationwide Insurance, Limited Brands, etc.) It is a day's drive from one half of the U.S.
The COTA bus service can take you to most important places in the city, which should be about 5 blocks away from any conceivable location you need to go to. This service costs $2.75 for an Express bus and $2.00 for a Local/Crosstown bus. Transfers for a Local/Crosstown bus are free, but transfers between bus types, such as from a Local to an Express route, are subject to an upcharge. Ask the bus driver for a transfer when you pay your fare, and you'll be given a transfer pass that you use when boarding the next bus. You cannot use a transfer pass to board a bus on the same line that travels in the opposite direction (i.e.
Columbus has over 170 notable buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and four historic districts on the outskirts of Downtown: German Village, Italian Village, Victorian Village, and the Brewery District. The Ohio Statehouse and other buildings in the downtown core serve as distinct architectural landmarks. The city's primary art museum is the Columbus Museum of Art, which focuses on European and American art up to early modernism. Another prominent art museum in the city is the Wexner Center for the Arts, a contemporary art gallery and research facility operated by the Ohio State University.
There are many events and festivals held in Columbus such as the Ohio State Fair, one of the largest state fairs in the country, the Columbus Arts Festival, and the Jazz & Rib Fest, both of which occur on the Downtown riverfront. During the last weekend of June, Goodale Park hosts ComFest, an immense three-day music festival marketed as the largest non-commercial festival in the U.S. Around the Fourth of July, Columbus hosts Red, White & Boom! on the Scioto riverfront downtown, featuring the largest fireworks display in Ohio.
The City of Columbus issues approximately 6,000 licenses for a variety of types of food vendors, Franklin County issues about 3,000 for the remainder of the county and the suburban area. A major test market for most major chain restaurants (though this is not as true as it once was), Columbus has a large density of national chain restaurants, some even having multiple venues in a single neighborhood. That being said, Columbus has a growing ethnic and upper class dining scene thanks in part to continued immigration (from Africa, especially Somalia and Ghana, Southeast Asia, and Latin America) and the continued gentrification of the downtown area.
Dial 911 to get emergency (police/medical/fire) help. Natural hazards include tornadoes in the warm months and snowy or icy roads in the cold months. Flooding can occur after extended periods of rain. Broadly speaking, the northwest quadrant of the city (north of I-670 and west of I-71, including Clintonville, Grandview, Upper Arlington, Worthington, Dublin, and Hilliard) is the safe zone from a crime perspective. The other three quadrants, especially along Broad Street (US-40) and Cleveland Avenue (OH-3), are overall less so, although German Village and Bexley are notable oases in the southeast.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Jul, Columbus typically sees ~34°C daytime highs and 9 rainy days.
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