Cleveland OH (Ohio, Lake Erie)

Cleveland OH is a Lake Erie / Ohio River cruise port and a major city in the USA's Ohio State, with population around 390,000 (urban around 1,8 million, metro around 2,06 million). The city is along Lake Erie's southern shore and close to the USA-Canada maritime border. Detroit MI is approx 170 mi (270 km) to the northwest (via highways I90W and I75N).

The city is the largest on Lake Erie and also the core city of the Greater Cleveland Metropolis (Cleveland-Akron-Canton), which by population (over 3,6 million) is ranked the USA's 18th-largest. The city covers total area approx 83 mi2 (214 km2), including land (78 mi2 / 201 km2) and water (5 mi2 / 12 km2).

The St Lawrence Seaway directly links Port Cleveland with the Atlantic Ocean (approx 410 mi / 660 km to the east).

Dock 28th (west of FirstEnergy Stadium) serves ferries and river cruise ships passing through Cleavland from Ohio River to the Great Lakes.

The Port (at Cuyahoga River's mouth) has a separate cargo terminal (on Lake Erie) where are served bulk carriers and container ships. Most of the import is raw materials for the local manufacturing industries.

Port Cleveland is the Great Lakes' only port with a direct regular/twice-monthly container shipping service linking to Antwerpen Belgium (Cleveland-Europe Express Line).

Lake Erie cruises are offered by numerous local tour agencies, with cruising season running between mid-May and mid-October.

In 2018, VCL-Victory Cruise Lines (fleet/brand owned by AQSC-American Queen Voyages/Steamboat Company) introduced Great Lakes cruises with the 200-passenger ship Victory 2. The Maiden Voyage started from Montreal on July 27, 2018. VCL's 9-night "St Lawrence River and Great Lakes" itinerary (between Montreal and Detroit) visits Quebec City, St Lawrence Seaway (cruising), Canada's Thousand Islands (cruising), Toronto (Niagara Falls), Kingston NY, Cleveland OH.

In May 2019, Port Cleveland announced plans (investment of USD 0,6 million) to develop a permanent US Customs and Border Protection facility for processing cruise ship tourists. There are also plans for a new cruise dock (at a more tourist-friendly lakefront location) north of FirstEnergy Stadium. The area (behind the stadium) could be eventually developed by building a cruise dock, a hotel, retail shops, residential buildings.

The post-COVID 2022 was the most successful year ever for cruises on the Great Lakes. The season featured ~150,000 cruise ship tourists (+25% over 2019) served by 9x boats. Currently, the largest by capacity Great Lakes cruise companies are Viking Cruises USA (Viking Octantis), AQV-American Queen Voyages (ships Ocean Navigator, Ocean Voyager), Pearl Seas Cruises (Pearl Mist), and the Canadian company St Lawrence Cruise Lines (Canadian Empress). Other travel brands that offer Great Lakes voyages are PONANT and Tauck (fleet).

Due to the increased Great Lakes cruise passenger traffic, in 2022 were opened two new US Customs and Border Protection facilities - in Duluth MI and Cleveland OH, in addition to the existing in Detroit MI and Sault Ste Marie MI.

Cleveland Hopkins Airport serves regular flights to both domestic (Florida, New York, California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Texas, Arizona, Missouri, Virginia, Massachusetts, Colorado, Tennessee, Utah) and international destinations (Toronto Canada, Nassau Bahamas, Cancun Mexico).

The town is named after its founder (General Moses Cleaveland/1754-1806) who established the settlement (near Cuyahoga River's mouth) in 1796 while surveying the Connecticut Western Reserve (Connecticut Colony).

Cleaveland developed as a major manufacturing center, benefiting from its river-lake location and the numerous canals and railways. The Ohio-Erie Canal (early-19th-century built) and the rail links made Cleveland a major trade and business center. The current city's economy is relatively diversified, with major industries being manufacturing (steel, merchant goods), finances, healthcare (Cleveland Clinic is the largest private employer), pharmaceuticals, technologies, higher education (colleges and universities). Greater Cleveland's economy contributes 1/4 of Ohio state's GDP.

The city is also popular as a tourism destination, with major attractions like Art Museum, Natural History Museum, Playhouse Square (downtown's theater district), RRHOF-Rock Hall (Rock & Roll museum and hall of fame), professional sports teams (Cleveland Browns/football, Cleveland Cavaliers/basketball, Cleveland Indians/baseball), annual festivals, neoclassical architecture, museums and galleries, gardens and nature parks. Cleveland Zoo Park (183 acres / 74 hectares, part of Cleveland Metroparks) is divided into several areas themed Australian, African, Northern Wilderness, The Primate, Cats and Aquatics, Waterfowl Lake, RainForest, Asian Highlands.

The two nature reserves (Brookside and Lakefront) provide public access to Lake Erie and include the parks Edgewater, Gordon, Whiskey Island, and East 55th Street Marina. Cuyahoga Valley NP has an extensive trail system offering access to Summit Metro Parks (Summit County). Also included in the system is the renowned Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, established in 1882. Located in Big Creek Valley, the zoo has one of the largest collections of primates in North America.[101]