Introduction

      Cincinnati and the places that surround it are best explored on foot. Your senses are sharpened. You are free and mostly anonymous. When walking Cincinnati’s neighborhoods and historic suburbs, and Northern Kentucky’s old towns, you realize you’re in a special place. Cincinnati started as a small river town in the late 1700s and rapidly grew to become a thriving cultural and economic center in the mid-1800s. It earned the nickname “Paris of America” due to its impressive architecture, and it became a city of firsts: Cincinnati was home to the first professional baseball team (1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings) and the first women-run, large-scale manufacturing operation with Rookwood Pottery.

      Cincinnati and its surroundings are in a constant state of change. Some of these changes feel good, while others are hard to swallow. It’s all here for you to experience and make you feel something about your environment. Throughout this book, we will draw your attention to these places and what makes them special. This book’s 35 walks span the Queen City, from the river towns of Northern Kentucky to the northern historic railroad suburbs of Glendale and Wyoming, and from Cincinnati’s westernmost neighborhood of Sayler Park to the planned community of Mariemont 10 miles east of downtown.

      With the second edition, we have dropped a few walks, updated the rest, and added seven new ones:

      • Mount Auburn (Walk 4)

      • Walnut Hills (Walk 6)

      • Clifton Heights, University Heights, and Fairview (Walk 7)

      • Old Milford and Terrace Park (Walk 20)

      • Reading (Walk 22)

      • Ludlow (Walk 31)

      • Covington: Latonia (Walk 32)

      While we recommend our own routes, feel free to take detours and just keep walking. Put away your phone and headphones. Walk with someone else or alone. Walk with intention. Maybe we’ll bump into each other as we scout this intriguing part of the country.