Cincinnati rises from the Ohio River through downtown, Over-the-Rhine and a series of steep hills. Stay near the river for ballgames and waterfront walks, along the streetcar for Findlay Market and Music Hall, or in Uptown for the zoo and university.
The Banks runs along the river between Great American Ball Park and Paycor Stadium. Downtown rises behind it around Fountain Square, museums and theater blocks. The free streetcar circles through downtown and Over-the-Rhine, so from a central hotel you can make most short trips without a car.
Over-the-Rhine has nineteenth-century buildings, Washington Park, Music Hall and Findlay Market. You can walk to dinner and a bar, but a room on a busy block can be noisy. The streetcar runs down to the riverfront. It does not go up to Clifton or Mount Adams.
Mount Adams sits on a hill east of downtown, near Eden Park and the Cincinnati Art Museum. Clifton and Corryville are north of Over-the-Rhine around the University of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Zoo. Stay in one of them if you are visiting the museum, the university or the zoo. From either, the stadiums are a bus or car ride away.
The Ohio River separates Cincinnati from Covington and Newport in Northern Kentucky. CVG airport is also in Kentucky, south of the city. The TANK 2X bus links the airport and downtown. For hotels off the central loop, use a taxi or a rideshare. Summer afternoons can be hot and humid, so save the hill walks for spring or fall.