You've made it to our fine city and you've filled your belly with our great food, but there's still time to kill before and after the game. What is there to do in Cincinnati, you say? Well, I'm glad you asked. There are plenty of good times to be had by people of all ages and interests, hopefully you'll find something below that will blow your hair back, like this maybe?
Even the Boys In Red love the Diamondback!
This is probably the most challenging installment of all, since there's no way for me to know what you enjoy doing in your free time. I'll do my best to cover everything I can think of and hopefully you'll have a good time while you're here.
You're coming here because you want to watch baseball, so let's start there. Besides the Reds, other baseball options include our independent minor league team The Florence Freedom, who play about 12 miles south of the river in Florence, KY. Minor league baseball at its roots, Freedom games offer a family friendly environment, cheap tickets and concessions (beer garden, w00t!), and ample free parking. If you'd like to see some future Reds you could make a day trip to Louisville to see the AAA affiliate Bats (1.5 hrs Southeast by car) or our high A affiliate Dayton Dragons (1 hr North by car, good luck finding tickets). If you're going to a Bats game you might check out Kentucky Kingdom or the Louisville Slugger Museum while you're there. The Astro's low A team, The Lexington Legends, are 1.5 hrs South of us as well.
Locally, opportunity for fun and games abound. King's Island boasts some of the world's best roller coasters (The Beast, Son of Beast, Diamondback) along with a slew of other stuff to entertain you. The Beach Waterpark is right around the corner from King's Island if you're interested but for my money I'd go to KI since it has a water park built in. Coney Island (we have one too!) is an older, more demure, cheaper version of King's Island that's a little more pleasant to navigate if you have little ones. If you're here when it's cold but still want to get wet, Cocoa Key Water Resort and Great Wolf Lodge are viable options.
Sticking with the outdoors theme, I think one of the most underrated qualities of this area is its abundance of great parks. The Hamilton County Park District does a great job, with my favorites being Miami Whitewater Forest and Winton Woods. Other outdoorsy stuff would include Ozone Zipline Adventures and a TON of festivals (that list should be updated by the time it matters).
If you're into educational activities, The Cincinnati Museum Center, Krohn Conservatory, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Cincinnati Art Museum, and Cincinnati Zoo are good places to start, and the ever-controversial Creation Museum is right next door to our airport. On a side note, The Indianapolis Children's Museum is the best I've ever seen if you're willing to drive 2 hrs but I'm willing to bet most of you won't. Speaking of which.....
If gambling is your thing, the area boasts three "riverboat" casinos for your gaming pleasure. Hollywood Casino, Grand Victoria Casino, and Belterra Casino (in order of proximity) are all a quick drive away from downtown.
If you'd like to take in some music while you're here, Annie's, Bogart's, Madison Theater, Mad Hatter, The Blue Wisp(jazz), & Southgate House are the live music venues of choice, If your tastes are a big more refined, check out the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra or see what shows are at the Cincinnati Music Hall(I saw B.B. King there, WOW), The Aronoff, or Taft Theater.
If bars and the nightlife are your thing, check out Mainstrasse in Covington(a lot of places and variety to choose from), The Comet in Northside(also music), or if you're young and looking for a meat market, hit up Metropolis. Newport On The Levee also offers several entertainment options, including bars (Bar Louie has good pregame specials), Gameworks(who have good after game beer specials, IIRC), food, live music, standup comedy, movies, and a bunch of other stuff. And if you're looking for the best gay bar in town, Adonis is where you want to go.
I'm spent, can you guys think of anything else that's a must see?