Cleveland rocks!

Museums, metro parks, playhouses, sporting arenas, restaurants, shops, unique places and distinguishing events make Cleveland, Ohio, the perfect place for a weekend getaway. 

Located in Northeastern Ohio on the south shore of Lake Erie, Cleveland is in the highest populated county in Ohio and features numerous activities and events for residents and tourists alike. 

Cleveland Botanical Garden is located in the heart of the cultural district. Visitors can wander around the 10-acre visitors center year-round. The center offers something new with each season, said Yvonne Fletcher, Cleveland Botanical Garden employee.

Among the 10 gardens and terraces, the Japanese Garden, Hershey Children's Garden and the Woodland Garden are favorites, Fletcher said. 

There is also the 18,000 square-foot Eleanor Armstrong Glasshouse on the grounds, featuring the Spiny Desert of Madagascar exhibit and the Lush Rainforest of Costa Rica exhibit, Fletcher said.

"The conservatory offers approximately 360 species of plants and more than 50 species of insects, birds, reptiles, butterflies and amphibians," Fletcher said. 

If touring several different destinations in the same day, Lolly the Trolley tour in Cleveland is a great way to get around town. The City Sightseeing Tour is the most popular among patrons and guests and offers a 20-mile, fully-guided trolley excursion through distinct communities of the area, such as The Flats, Downtown Cleveland, the Warehouse District and Ohio City. These neighborhoods are known for the arts, shopping and nightlife, said Heath Millander, Lolly the Trolley employee.

Lolly the Trolley also makes stops by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, The PlayhouseSquare, The West Side Market and several other destinations, Millander said.

"The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum features a 150,000 square-foot museum filled with five film theaters and seven floors of ever-changing exhibits, programs, stories, inductees and demonstrations," said Tucker Booth, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum guide.

The PlayhouseSquare is a performing arts center that boasts the title of second-largest theater complex in the U.S., said Mark Helm, PlayhouseSquare marketing manager.

The not-for-profit center hosts a wide variety of performing arts and "invests in the advancement of arts in the community," Helm said.

Kelly Crouch can be contacted at crouch16@marshall.edu.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The author of this story, Kelly Crouch, attributed quotes to Samantha Fryberger, communications director at Positively Cleveland. Fryberger never spoke to Crouch, so the quotes in the story were unfortunately made-up. A letter to the editor from Fryberger was published in Monday's edition of The Parthenon. All quotes from Fryberger have been deleted from the online version. We apologize and want our readers to understand that we strive for a reliable, credible newspaper.