Cleveland

There's more to Cleveland than corned beef and rock 'n' roll. This ruggedly handsome city on a "crooked river" and a Great Lake boasts a thriving arts scene, buoyed by mainstays like PlayhouseSquare, Severance Hall and the Cleveland Museum of Art. It isn't a fluke that the Rock Hall landed in C-Town – this town is jammed tighter than a minivan with killer live-music venues. Cleveland is ground zero for northeastern Ohio's colleges and universities -- Case Western Reserve, Cleveland State University and Baldwin Wallace College, to name but three. Home to Iron Chefs and "slow food" gurus, the North Coast's dining scene is one of the best between Chicago and New York. And when it's time to play, locals enjoy sandy beaches, bountiful parkland, and three pro sports teams. But perhaps the best assets of this old Midwestern burg are its captivating neighborhoods and the people who call them home.