Covington , directly across the Ohio River on the Kentucky side, is very much a part of the Cincinnati hinterland. It can be reached from downtown Cincinnati by walking over the bright-blue 355-yard 1867 John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge , at the bottom of Walnut Street, which served as a prototype for the Brooklyn Bridge. Once across, you're confronted by the much-hyped Covington Landing - "the largest waterfront complex on inland waters" - a collection of cafés, shops and clubs on permanently moored boats that's little more than an upmarket mall on water. The BB riverboat company (tel 859/261-8500) runs sightseeing cruises ($12.50) from the Landing - reservations are recommended.

Ten minutes' walk southwest of the bridge brings you to the attractive, narrow, tree-lined streets and nineteenth-century houses of MainStrasse Village . It's a Germanic neighborhood of antique shops, bars and restaurants that plays host to the lively Maifest on the third weekend of each May, and is the centerpiece of the citywide Oktoberfest on the weekend after Labor Day. At 6th and Philadelphia streets, 21 mechanical figures accompanied by glockenspiel music toll the hour on the German Gothic Carroll Chimes Bell Tower . Just beyond Covington at I-75 exit 186 is the Oldenberg Brewery , crammed with boozing memorabilia; tours of the microbrewery and its museum cost $3 (daily 10am-5pm).

Across the Licking River from Covington, the subdued town of Newport has gotten a lot livelier since the recent opening of the impressive Newport Aquarium , One Aquarium Way (daily 10am-6pm; tel 859/491-FINS or 1-800/406-FISH, ). Clear underwater tunnels and see-through floors allow visitors to literally be surrounded by sharks and snapping gators.

Covington and Newport, Kentucky

• Covington and Newport, Kentucky

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