Things To Do In Newport Kentucky

some of newport’s top attractions

Newport Aquarium

Discover the wonder of the underwater world at the Newport Aquarium.  Pet a stingray, waddle with penguins, and walk across the first-in-the-world shark bridge, where you can walk across a rope bridge only inches above a tank full of sharks.

Newport On The Levee & Bridgeview Box Park

Originally opened in 2001, Newport on the Levee has recently undergone a full renovation and welcomes nearly 4.5 million guests each year to the multi-level retail entertainment destination.  Featuring a variety of retail, dining, lodging, and entertainment options, the Levee is home to a 20-screen AMC Theaters, the award-winning Newport Aquarium, Rotolo Bowling, GameWorks, and several national restaurants and retailers.  Also new at the Levee is Bridgeview Box Park, an open-air shipping container park with either local concepts serving food and drink overlooking picturesque views of the Cincinnati skyline.

Hofbräuhaus Newport

As the first Hofbräuhaus outside of Munich, Germany, Hofbräuhaus Newport is proud to continue the German brewing tradition and experience.  With a full menu featuring pretzels and bier cheese, homemade soups, salads, traditional German plates and sides, sandwiches, burgers, vegetarian options, and incredible desserts, Hofbräuhaus is sure to please even the pickiest eater. Come thirsty and ready to do your best chicken dance!

BB Riverboats

In 1979, BB Riverboats began booking cruises from the Mike Fink Restaurant.  After the first cruising season, it was clear that the business was going to be a success, so a long-term home was purchased for BB Riverboats and it was moved further down the river, below the Roebling Suspension Bridge.  In 2005, it moved to its current location on Riverboat Row in Newport. Nowadays, BB Riverboats features dining cruises, sightseeing cruises, kids themed cruises, holiday cruises, and specialty cruises aboard the Belle of Cincinnati or River Queen. The mighty Ohio River is a sight to behold, and many say there’s no better way to see it than aboard a BB Riverboats cruise.

MegaCorp Pavilion 

MegaCorp Pavilion is the third indoor/outdoor concert venue in America and features state-of-the-art lighting, acoustical systems, and an innovative reversible, movable stage. Structurally, it's divided into three independent concert spaces: indoor music hall, indoor club, and an outdoor amphitheater. MegaCorp averages more than 110 events every year and will offer a variety of music from some of the biggest names in rock, folk, blues, jazz, metal, classical, country, classic rock, alternative rock, and everything in between. 

world peace bell

The World Peace Bell is the world's largest free swinging bell, weighing 66,000 pounds and measuring 12 feet in diameter and 12 feet high.  Its clapper weighs 6,878 pounds and the yoke in which it swings weighs an additional 16,512 pounds.  The bell is one of twenty peace bells around the world and was designed and cast by Cincinnati's own Verdin Bell Company, one of the largest bell-making companies in the world.  The magnificent bell rings with a powerful, awe-inspiring, deep resonant tone that is truly a majestic symbol of freedom and peace.

purple people bridge

Of the nine bridges crossing the Ohio River in the Cincinnati area, only one is purple and just for people.  After a $4 million restoration, the former L&N Railroad Bridge between Newport and Cincinnati became a pedestrian walkway in 2006. Officially named the Newport Southbank Bridge, the “Purple People Bridge” is the longest connector of its kind (2,670 feet, or just over a half a mile long) in the country that links two states.  The bridge links the riverfronts of Ohio and Kentucky in a seamless collection of entertainment, dining, nightlife, festivals, parks, attractions and more that brings hundreds of thousands of people to the river’s edge.

new riff distilling

Often called “a new riff on an old tradition,” that tradition being Kentucky Bourbon, New Riff Distilling brought bourbon distillation back to Northern Kentucky.  Founded in 2014 by Ken Lewis, a visionary Kentucky liquor retailer and entrepreneur, New Riff is led by a team of corporate refugees ranging from craft beer to politics and more. New Riff crafts a range of whiskeys—Bourbon, Rye, and eventually Malted Rye, Kentucky Wild Gin, and a host of specialty recipes—and was an original member of Northern Kentucky’s bourbon tour, The B-Line.  Schedule a tour to learn, and sample, more.

american legacy tours

Before there was Las Vegas, there was Newport, Ky.--and that’s a history you want to learn more about.  Featuring the Newport Gangster Tour and Newport is Haunted Tour, American Legacy Tours is a great way to explore the city and its sometimes secret decorated past.