Destination Toledo: Don't Drive By, Stop and Visit

I'll admit I've never thought of Toledo as a place to visit. It's always been somewhere driven by on I-75 or the place to visit the Toledo Zoo. For the past two days however I have gotten to explore the area a bit as we were invited by the Greater Toledo Convention & Vistors Bureau to "Do Toledo". The media tour highlighted many great places for families, couples and general tourists; I'm now thinking that Toledo is less of a drive through and more of a travel destination that I can't wait to bring my family back to!

Gotta see the famous
buns at Tony Packo's!

Since Toledo is less than an hour south of Ann Arbor, it makes a perfect get-away for the day, a weekend or an entire week. So I'll be creating a series of posts about the places we visited, the family friendly aspects and budget-wise options, even outlining a suggested itinerary or two for a three-day stop over. I did want to quickly mention and thank the many great places visited though.

The dining options in Toledo are varied and many. While there we ate dinner at the famous Tony Packo's, had another very filling dinner at The Real Seafood Company and also an amazing New Orleans style breakfast at the Holiday Inn French Quarter in Perrysburg. It's a good thing we spent most of our time walking between destinations because Toledo kept us well-fed!



It was a perfect night spent with the Mudhen's, we even
got to see a Detroit favorite win the game!



I wish I had my pedometer on me, because we hoofed it a lot, hitting a winning game at the Toledo Mudhen's, a fun morning at the Imagination Station, and the Toledo Museum of Art followed by a brief visit and lunch at the Toledo Zoo where we saw baby Lucas the elephant. The running didn't stop there though, as we were treated to a private tour of the beautiful Toledo Botanical Gardens and a favorite of mine the Glass Pavillion. We also got to visit the Holy Rosary Cathedral for a private tour. The beauty and splendor of the cathedral were breathtaking - Who knew that there is a designed Toledo church tour of the cities many beautiful churches!

Glassblowing at the Glass Pavillion is perfect for the entire family,
they even have teen events so that everyone in the family
can find something to do!

And of course what's a visit without shopping? It's easy to do a little gift-shopping when visiting the Libbey Glass Factory and various souvenir shops along the way. In my case I suppose it was a lot of shopping.

I can't wait to share more details on why Toledo is perfect for Ann Arbor families, so stay tuned Ann Arbor Mom readers for some great ideas. THANK YOU Toledo for sharing the beauty, history and splendor of your magnificent river city, and thank you to the Park Inn at the Radisson for the beautiful view of the river and the comfy bed!