Cleveland Travel Guide Winter 2021

As you may know from reading my blog, I go to school at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. I’m about 45 minutes outside of Cleveland and it’s been on my senior year bucket list to take a day trip to the city. On Wednesday I gave myself a break from the finals craziness and spent the day exploring the city.

Although it was a short and sweet visit, I figured I’d share how to spend 24 hours in Cleveland! Because I only had a couple of outfits, I included those looks in this post rather than sharing a separate outfit guide for this city. Of course, the weather isn’t too different from Kent so if you are staying in the Cleveland area for an extended amount of time, feel free to check out my “Fashion” tab for more weather-appropriate looks!

In the meantime, enjoy today’s travel guide + feel free to let me know what city you’re traveling to next in the comments below.

What To Do

I left home around eleven Wednesday morning and headed straight for the Beachwood Mall. Although this mall is in Cleveland, it’s about twenty minutes from downtown. It’s by far the best mall in the area, with all kinds of good stores: Zara, Nordstrom, Forever 21, and more. I haven’t been in-person shopping in forever but needed to pick up a few things so this was our first stop of the day. It was all decorated for Christmas too which was so sweet!

Then we were off to the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit. Over 40 cities around the United States are sharing this Digital art show with spectators. Essentially this is a 35-minute showing of some of Van Gogh’s best works. The art is accompanied by cool transitions, digital pixelations, and moody music. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. It was so cool.

Outside of the “showing room” are a few cool photo ops and a gift shop where you can shop cool Van Gogh souvenirs. We had the VIP tickets so we got a complimentary poster from this area. This was such a fun afternoon activity and so different from my usual itinerary. I highly recommend stopping in—tickets can be purchased here.

By the time we finished with our exhibit we only had a little time to kill before our hotel check-in. We spent some time getting our bearings, appreciating the city views across from our hotel. I snapped some outfit photos too which you’ll see later in this post.

from a September Indians game

Our hotel happened to be just steps away from Progressive Field. Although this is a winter travel guide, I do want to mention if you’re in Cleveland during baseball season you have to go to an Indians game. We went in September and it was one of my favorite memories of the semester.

Where To Stay 

For my solo night in the city, I stayed at the Kimpton Schofield, an adorable boutique hotel in the heart of downtown Cleveland. Not only is the hotel surrounded by beautiful buildings but it’s just a block away from dozens of restaurants, dive bars, and the Cleveland Indians stadium. It’s in a fantastic location and the staff were incredibly friendly + accommodating.

They surprised me with a stay in the Van Gogh Suite and my gosh was it incredible! The Kimpton is working in partnership with the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit we visited earlier in the day, meaning anyone can book this suite for a one-of-a-kind hotel experience surrounded by Van Gogh’s best work. You can book this suite here.

When you walk into this room you are first greeted by a living area. This area had tons of space, an incredible skyline view, a couch, chair, and tv. It also had a large closet where I was able to store all of my belongings for the night.

A sliding door takes you into the most incredible bedroom. It truly was a night of “sleeping under the stars” with Van Gogh’s Starry Night plastered across the walls. I’ve never seen anything quite like it but with the rounded shape of this room, it was the coolest experience.

This was an incredibly comfortable King bed with the softest white sheets I’ve ever slept on. On the bedside table was the sweetest note accompanied by a bottle of wine and a few treats from local vendors. Of course, there were floor-to-ceiling windows on the other wall which let in the most beautiful natural light the next morning.

One more sliding door gave way to the bathroom. This was a huge area with lots of counter space for getting ready and a double sink. However, the honorable mention goes to the gigantic bathtub in front of Van Gogh’s famous Almond Blossoms work.

the cutest lobby

Although I’m usually not a bath girl, I felt obligated to take one and it was fantastic. Don’t worry, there is still a showerhead as well if baths aren’t your thing. Overall it was easily one of the nicest hotel rooms I’ve ever stayed in. Not only do I recommend a night at the Kimpton Schofield, but if you can, try to stay in the Van Gogh suite… it was such a unique experience!

What To Wear 

Need help choosing an outfit for your day in the city? I’ve got you covered with a few ideas that were perfect for the occasion.

I started my day off in something simple—just jeans and a sweater. I prefer something a little more cropped to help accentuate the waist. This chunky black sweater is from Fashion Nova and paired perfectly with my high-rise straight-leg jeans. These are from Express and make my legs look miles long.

I especially love them because they are long enough to wear with heeled boots. These shoes are from Franco Sarto and are hands down some of my most worn shoes. Plus, they are some of my most comfortable— I bring them on every city trip solely because I can walk in them for miles on end without blisters + sore feet.

Outfit Details— sweater: Fashion Nova, jeans: Express, boots: Franco Sarto, earrings: SheIn, rings: Ana Luisa, bracelets: Ana Luisa

I ended up changing for the Van Gogh exhibit because I wanted to be in something a little bit trendier. Truthfully, I thought this was going to be more like a museum and felt I should be in something other than ripped jeans. It turns out it didn’t matter—people were wearing all sorts of different things so really anything would have worked.

However, this was the perfect time to pull out my silver foil cropped flare pants. These were all over my for you page on Tik Tok last month so I finally picked them up. I figured they’d act as the perfect statement piece throughout the holiday time. Because they speak for themselves, I kept the rest of my outfit rather simple, tucking a black long sleeve bodysuit into them and layering over a camel knee-length coat.

My shoes happen to have all three colors along the sides of them, matching this outfit to a tee. I threw on a crossbody purse to keep my belongings hands-free. This bag is also from Polene and has been my go-to lately.

Outfit Details— bodysuit: Express, pants: Express, shoes: Dolce Vita, jacket: Fashion Nova, earrings: SheIn, rings: Ana Luisa, bracelets: Ana Luisa, necklaces: Gorjana

I figured I’d change into something a little more “city” for dinner. I went with the same long sleeve bodysuit but in white tucked into a pair of leather pants. Leather bottoms are truly the answer to every outfit question you may have this time of year. I popped on white booties to match my top. These have a low heel that’s super manageable for walking as we were relying on our feet to get around at night, lol.

It’s brutally cold out this time of year in Ohio so a long jacket is an absolute must regardless of how long you plan on being outside. I wanted a pop of color so I reached for this pink coat. It’s oversized so you can definitely layer up underneath it. Plus, it has a button closure along the front.

Outfit Details— bodysuit: Express, pants: Fashion Nova, shoes: Chinese Laundry, jacket: SheIn, earrings: SheIn, rings: Ana Luisa, bracelets: Ana Luisa, necklaces: Gorjana

Where To Eat 

Betts

Attached to the Kimpton Schofield is the most adorable restaurant, Betts. Betts has a cozy atmosphere with colored chairs and impeccable service. We stopped down here Wednesday night for an appetizer (you have to get the chips and queso) and then again Thursday morning for brunch.

I got the Betts Breakfast and Ally got the Avocado Toast. Don’t miss out on the breakfast potatoes—they were perfectly cooked and extra salty just the way I like them. Their fresh fruit also deserves an honorable mention because the pineapple was fantastic!

City Tap

Believe me, we planned of sitting down for a nice dinner but after shoveling our faces with chips and queso we weren’t all that hungry for a big meal. Ally and I decided to venture over to City Tap, a local dive bar so she could enjoy a drink while we watched the game. We got mini corndogs to share and although I forgot to photograph them, they were so yummy. Come here if you’re looking for cheap bar food and a cool atmosphere! It was rather quiet, although it was a Wednesday…

pin this post for later

Of course, there are all sorts of cool things to eat, see, and do in Cleveland but that’s all we managed to pack into our day trip to the city. Regardless, I had the best time and am so glad I was finally able to check this off of my bucket list. I’m hoping to rally my girls up and do it again sometime soon—perhaps we’ll come for another baseball game when the Indians are back in season.

Stay tuned! In the meantime, be sure to book the Kimpton Schofield here + let me know what other destinations you’d like me to cover next. Catch you in a few weeks for my Fort Myers guide!

With love, McKenz

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