Columbus, the largest city in Ohio, is home to the Children’s Museum, the excellent Ohio Historical Center (exploring the history of the Ohio region along with exhibitions of decorative arts); Ohio Village (a recreated pre-Civil War town); the Wexner Center for the Arts; the Columbus Museum of Art (European Impressionist, post-Impressionist and German Expressionist masterpieces); Ohio’s Center of Science and Industry; and the restored boyhood home of the writer/cartoonist James Thurber. Two of the most interesting neighborhoods are the lavishly restored German Village, with superb architecture, fine restaurants and taverns, and the 27-acre Brewery District, the vintage beer-making factories of which now contain restaurants, specialty shops and taverns. The Columbus Zoo & Aquarium also contains The Roadhouse, featuring Australian, Indonesian and Southeast Asian Island wildlife.
Other attractions include Wyandot Lake Amusement and Water Park, with 13 water slides and a wave pool; a replica of the Santa Maria, moored on the Scioto River; Franklin Park Conservatory, a crystal palace with tropical plants and recreations of seven ecosystems; and the Short North Gallery District, with contemporary galleries and shops selling everything from glass sculpture to secondhand clothing.