Here at OnlyInYourState, we’re equal opportunity adventurers. While we are certainly all for big, bucket-list-worthy adventures, oftentimes, it’s the smallest, little-known places that offer the most wondrous experiences. For example, there is a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, that will transport you to Germany. German Village is a picture-perfect slice of the Old World — and it’s hiding in plain sight in Columbus, Ohio.

When you picture an authentic German village, what comes to mind?
Schmidt’s Sausage Haus Restaurant, 240 E Kossuth St, Columbus, OH 43206, USA
Schmidt's Sausage Haus/Facebook
Charming, locally-owned shops, housed in historic brick and Tudor-style buildings, in a walkable downtown?
The Book Loft of German Village, 631 S 3rd St, Columbus, OH 43206, USA
The Book Loft of German Village/Facebook
(The Book Loft of German Village is petty much our all-time favorite Ohio bookstore, by the way.)
Restaurants serving the best, most amazing German cuisine: sausage and sauerkraut, schnitzel and dumplings...
Steven Miller/Flickr
...and cream puffs and stollen, of course!
Steven Miller/Flickr
(There's no restaurant in Ohio more authentically German than Schmidt's.)
When conjuring up Germany, we bet small specialty stores like butcher shops, delis, and produce markets come to mind...
Katzinger's Delicatessen, 475 S 3rd St, Columbus, OH 43215, USA
Katzinger's Delicatessen/Facebook
The sandwiches from Katzinger's are worth the trip to German Village alone!

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...as do rows of homes that are modest yet irresistibly charming...
German Village Society/Facebook
...along with beautiful green spaces and public parks, all within walking distance to a core downtown district?
Schiller Park, 1069 Jaeger St, Columbus, OH 43206, USA
Faina Gurevich/iStock via Getty Images Plus
(Name a more beautiful city park than German Village's Schiller Park. Impossible!)
Well, you might not know it, but this place we just described? It's German Village -- and it's right here in Columbus, Ohio. German Village is steeped in history -- the houses, parks, and public spaces harken back well over 150 years to the area's original (and yes, German) settlers.
Postdlf/Wikipedia
German descendants at one time comprised as much as a third of the population of the entire city of Columbus -- and they made this village their own.
Jsjessee/Wikipedia
In the 1850s, many spoke German in the village's stores, schools, and churches; after work, bakers, storekeepers, carpenters, and bricklayers relaxed in nearby biergartens.
Saint Mary Farmers Market GV/Facebook
Today, German Village celebrates this culture; it's an inextricable part of the town's very identity. From the cobblestone streets and historic storefronts to the Old World-inspired architecture and intentional city layout, there's no place in Ohio that's as authentically deutsch, as German Village.
Schmidt's Sausage Haus/Facebook
Willkommen in Deutschland... in Ohio!

Did you know about this impossibly charming Buckeye State locale? German Village truly is the most delightful, European-inspired day trip — or weekend getaway — in Ohio!

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German Village, Columbus, OH, USA