We had a blast on our recent Stay-cation to Columbus, OH! The city is a melting pot of activities, food and sight seeing. Whether you are a foodie, into art, a huge shopper or someone who just loves exploring new areas Columbus is definitely for you. I was amazed at how much there was to do and how beautiful the city was!
Columbus, OH is just 500 miles from nearly half of the US population, this means so many of us could easily make a day trip out to the area to explore. Our time there was jammed packed and yet there is still more we wish to do and see. I can’t wait to plan our next trip!
As far as safety goes regarding Covid-19, The City of Columbus recommends following the CDC's guidelines including social distancing, hand washing and participating in the mask mandate for ages 6 and up in all indoor facilities in the city. I felt very safe the entire trip, it was never overly crowded and all the restaurants/shops complied with these recommendations as well. Hand sanitizer was also readily available which I loved!
I’m going to be rounding up the activities/ places we visited while on our trip below! If you want to learn more about the area or to plan your next trip to Columbus I highly suggest checking out the Experience Columbus page, linked here: Experience Columbus
Here you will find additional suggestions, events, hotel recommendations, dining options as well as gift guides that were put together by locals themselves. These gift guides are perfect to help you shop local while in the area.
Our trip started with a fun activity at Penn and Beech Candle Co. (https://www.pennandbeech.com/) Here we had the opportunity to create our own soy wax candles from scratch. This would make for a great date night, GNO, or an event for a birthday or bachelor party! I loved exploring all the scents they had to offer and learning about which pairs well with each other. The staff is very informative and is there to help along the way!
The whole creating process takes about 30-45 minutes and once your candle is poured, it takes about 2 hrs to firm up. You can come back to pick your candles up same day or the next day if you choose. We decided to explore around the neighboring area and get some shopping in while we waited!
At lunchtime, we paid a visit to Cap City Diner (https://capcityfinediner.com/). The atmosphere here was amazing. They combined the comfort diner food that we all know and love with a fine dining flair and it made for such a treat.
To start they brought us out complimentary Cinnamon sugar rolls. My husband thought it was the coolest thing and added a uniqueness to the restaurant. For an appetizer we got the soft pretzel. It was so delicious and comes with two dipping sauces. This restaurant is also kid friendly if you are looking for that.
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They have a full bar and I highly recommend the Blood Orange bellini it was to die for! Overall our experience couldn't have been better. The staff were so friendly and our meals came out perfectly! This is a must stop!
We chose to explore the Short North Arts District in Columbus next. In this area you will find a surplus of boutiques and bars and restaurants. This is a great place to head to if you’re looking to get some Holiday shopping done or grab a drink with friends!
Fashionista Therapy is a new boutique in the area that is black-owned and operated. (https://fashionistatherapy.com/) They also carry a wide range of sizes and brands such as BOOHOO and Pretty Little Thing. I loved how trendy their pieces are and the store was so cute!
Red Giraffe Designs (https://www.redgiraffedesigns.com/) is another boutique in the Short North Arts District that houses beautiful handmade jewelry pieces. I grabbed a pair of gold moon earrings for myself and picked up another piece for a gift. Their prices are great and I love shopping small! They also have locations all around central Ohio, if you're ever near one, definitely stop by!
While wandering around we stumbled upon this old school candy shop called Rocket Fizz and had to pop in! (https://rocketfizz.com/locations/rocket-fizz-columbus-oh/) Here you’ll find hundreds of fun flavors of sodas and all the nostalgic candies like Pez, candy buttons, Razzles and so much more. This is a great family friendly place and would be a great stop to pick up some unique stocking stuffers.
Next up, we headed to the Not Your Mama’s Craft Market. This market houses handmade goods and small shops from vendors all over the midwest! It was also voted as one of the top 10 shopping events of the year in Columbus. This year there are 4 markets going on at varying locations. You definitely don’t want to miss this one. Everywhere we looked there was something new and exciting to look at and I could have spent all day shopping there! So many amazing and unique gifts were being offered by the vendors and I will definitely come to an event again if I have the chance! I will leave the market linked here for you in case you want to check out the upcoming dates! https://notyourmamascraftmarket.com/
The next morning, we went to the cutest coffee shop called Crimson at Easton. The location was bright, airy and the perfect place to have a slow start to your morning. I enjoyed sitting in the shop, watching the baristas craft their coffees and soaking up the quiet before heading out to do some shopping. At Crimson their award winning coffee and teas are sourced from small farms around the world. I had the Peppermint Mocha and tried out some of their homemade pastries and enjoyed every bite! If you're visiting for work this would also be a great place to get some work done or studying! https://crimsoncoffee.com/pages/crimson-coffee-locations
