The Best Things To Do By Yourself In Cleveland

Get Lost at the Cleveland Museum of Art

One of the best art museums around sits on East Boulevard just waiting for you and your out of town visitors. The world-renowned collection spans continents and eras, from Italian Renaissance to modern, from ancient Greece to African, and more. Obviously, always more. Spend a day getting lost and don’t miss the Monet.

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Visit Lake View Cemetery

The final resting place of John D. Rockefeller, Eliot Ness, Revolutionary War soldiers, Ray Chapman and more famous and influential people than we have time to name, Lake View Cemetery is also, of course, home to the President Garfield memorial. The view from the second floor balcony is one of the most majestic and underrated in the whole city.

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Check Out MOCA

11400 Euclid Ave., Cleveland

MOCA is a great way to impress a date by pretending you're more cultured. The Museum of Contemporary Art has several new exhibits like local photographer and Artist-in-Residence Amber N. Ford’s photography exhibit, Jerome AB’s At Once Terrifying and Equally Freeing mixed-media installation, J.J. Adams’ Flowers in Temporary Hands exploration of privilege and race through multiple forms of artistic expression and much more. The best part: ruminating on the artist's sculptures at MOCA is free on the first Saturday of each month.

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Drinks at a Cocktail Loungel

10820 East Blvd., Cleveland

Cleveland has plenty of awesome cocktail lounges and bars to hit up. From speakeasy’s and tiki lounges to wine bars, whiskey bars and even a cider house, there are plenty of great options when it comes to getting drinks at somewhere a little more upscale than your local watering hole (not that anything is wrong with your local watering hole).

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Explore the Van Aken Market District

3401 Tuttle Rd., Shaker Heights

The Market District is one of the more exciting spots to open in the area in the last few years. There’s a food hall where you can grab food from a bunch of awesome local spots like Lox, Stock and Brisket and Banter, then grab a pastry at On The Rise bakery and a coffee at Rising Star. Then grab some cheese from Old Brooklyn Cheese Co before exploring the local shops like Whiskey Grade, Emily Roggenburk, Xhibition and Double Rainbow if you have a little one.

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Do Something in the Metroparks

The Emerald Necklace is one of Northeast Ohio's most treasured assets and the envy of tons of other big cities. There's something for everyone. Walk, hike, bike, rollerblade, skip, jump, cross-country ski, bird watch, sleep, picnic, lounge, golf -- whatever. It's nature, and it's magnificent.

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Browse the West Side Market

1979 W. 25th St., Cleveland

Want a fun day where you can walk around a local landmark while sampling delicious foods from all over the world? We think that sounds like a great idea. And that’s exactly what you’ll get at the West Side Market. And you can also buy some food to take home and cook to prepare a meal.

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See a Show at Cleveland Cinemas

Various Locations

One of the Cleveland Cinemas locations is a great place to hide for a couple hours and see the latest film that catches your eye.

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Chagrin Falls

If you’re a fan of quaint downtown areas, there’s nowhere better than Chagrin Falls. This throwback is filled with great shops and restaurants. Take a walk along the falls with some ice cream from the Popcorn Shop or Jeni’s, eat at The Paris Room, Aurelia or 17 River Grille, and do some shopping at Haven, a women’s boutique and Chestnut Hill, a furniture store. On the way home, stop in neighboring Moreland Hills to see the birthplace of President James A. Garfield.

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Hiking in Cuyahoga Valley National Park

1550 W. Boston Mills Rd., Peninsula

Unlike most other national parks, entry to Cuyahoga Valley National Park is free every day. And with more than 125 miles of hiking trails to conquer amongst these hills and woods, there’s no shortage of beauty to discover along with your date. Theodore Roosevelt would approve!

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