As my husband approached his 40th birthday, he asked that I not throw him a large surprise party and he resisted a major trip. But, encouraging him to celebrate the occasion somehow, he agreed to a weekend getaway within a few hour’s drive. I landed with a weekend getaway in Cleveland which was a great choice.

Why Cleveland?

My husband loves breweries, so I started researching some areas within about a 4-hour drive from home that offered lots of breweries.

I noticed Cleveland had several breweries and the city was a 3.5 hour drive from home. Digging a little deeper, I discovered the neighborhood of Ohio City seemed to offer not only several breweries (including one of our favorites Great Lakes Brewing Company), but coffee shops, restaurants, shops, and more all within a walkable neighborhood, which checked a lot of boxes for our interests.

We had never been to Cleveland and the couples that joined us on this trip had never been to Cleveland either. So this location worked out wonderfully for a friend meetup in a place new to all of us.

I didn’t want to schedule every minute of our trip and over-plan. I wanted to go where the wind blew us. But, I also wanted to have a few ideas ready for exploring a new place.

So here is our itinerary for a small group of casual adults who enjoy good food and breweries, while balancing sightseeing with relaxing and catching up with friends.

Day 1

We arrived shortly after noon, hungry for lunch. Our friends from Wisconsin arrived before us waiting to surprise him. I told them to pick a place and they chose Masthead Brewing Company downtown. This was a great place to surprise him, enjoy a delicious lunch, taste some craft beer, and catch up with our friends.

After lunch, we had a few hours to kill before checking into our lodging so we decided to visit the House from A Christmas Story.

House From A Christmas Story

This was such a fun stop. I’m so glad we went. We purchased tickets upon arrival and walked through the house, soaking in all the nostalgia.

There was a separate museum and gift shop across the street.

Perhaps my favorite part of our visit was our stop at the Rowley Inn neighborhood pub across the street from the house. We just stopped for a drink but in hindsight, I would have voted to eat there because the food looked delicious. I had so much fun I forgot to get a picture.

After our enjoyable visit to the House From A Christmas Story, we headed to Ohio City to check into our lodging

Lodging

Ohio City is a quaint neighborhood and there aren’t any hotels. It seemed like the lodging options were mostly independent bed and breakfasts and Airbnb’s. We opted for J Palen House and another couple in our group stayed at the Clifford House Bed & Breakfast.

At J Palen House, I booked The Cottage and we were surprisingly upgraded to the Kabat House. The bed and breakfast was spacious, charming, and cozy with delicious food provided, steps away from so much to explore in Ohio City. I would not hesitate to stay here again.

After we checked in and relaxed a bit, we headed out for dinner. I probably should have made reservations but we ended up eating at Market Garden Brewery and had nightcaps at Bright Side and Great Lakes Brewing Company.

If I could do it again, I would have booked a tour at Great Lakes Brewing Company. I didn’t realize we could do that and I know my husband would have loved it. I might also consider a City Brew Tour. Next time!

Day 2

On day two, we started our day at Koffie Cafe, a cute, walkable coffee shop.

Then we strolled over to West Side Market and…wow! A beautiful building housing fresh produce, meat, cheeses, bread, baked goods, and more… you don’t want to miss this stop.

While a few of us visited West Side Market, one of the other couples in our group opted for the Cleveland Museum of Art and shared they enjoyed their visit there.

Then we all met at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the afternoon. We only had about 2.5 hours to visit before it closed. Next time I would get there earlier because we could have spent more time there. It was a really neat and fun place. Long live rock!

On night two, we had a delicious dinner at Avo Modern Mexican (so yummy!). After dinner, the ladies opted to go back to our bed and breakfast and relax while the guys had nightcaps in other places in Ohio City, such as Hansa Brewery and Nano Brew.

Day 3

After we said goodbye to our friends, my husband and I walked to mass at the beautiful St Patrick Parish.

Then, we grabbed a coffee and scone at Phoenix Coffee Company (loved the plants and records) before hitting the road.

Here are some things on my radar that we didn’t get to in Ohio City:

I’d love to return to Cleveland with the kids and check out:

I hope this post is helpful if you are cooking up some plans for Cleveland. If you head to Cleveland tag me on Instagram (@adventureswkelly) so I can hear about your trip.

Other City Itineraries

Check out some other city itineraries I have: