8 min by walk. The Banks isn't a parking lot district, it's the part of town that fixed up Cincinnati's riverfront. It was built on the old Riverfront Stadium site and sits between Paycor Stadium and downtown, so you can walk to both. The AC Hotel at The Banks is 0.4 miles from the stadium. The Bengals run their own pregame party, called Pregame at The Banks, on Freedom Way between Race Street and Joe Nuxhall Way. Yard House, Moerlein Lager House, Ruth's Chris, and Taste of Belgium are all right there.
edwin perez, Google Maps
Downtown CincinnatiVisiting fans pick this
12 min. walk, or free Connector streetcar to the Second and Main stop. This area has more hotels than The Banks, with the Hyatt Regency 0.3 miles out and the Hilton Netherland Plaza 0.4 miles out, and the Connector streetcar links it to both The Banks and Over-the-Rhine for free every day. It's a five-block walk to the stadium.
Bericbogan, Google Maps
Over-the-Rhine
free Connector streetcar to Second and Main, then a four-block walk. This is the best bar and restaurant district in the city, and it's the reason to spend a Saturday night in Cincinnati instead of just flying in and out. It sits on the free Connector streetcar loop that runs down to The Banks, so getting in and out costs nothing.
DeWayne Beach, Google Maps
Covington, Kentucky
TANK Southbank Shuttle ($1) or walk the Roebling Suspension Bridge. This one saves most visiting fans real money and they skip it. Covington sits directly across the Ohio River from the stadium, hotel rates run lower than on the Ohio side, and the TANK Southbank Shuttle connects it to Cincinnati for $1 a ride. You can also walk across the Roebling Suspension Bridge, but the guidance warns the lone sidewalk is pretty narrow and can get crowded with fans.
Around the stadium
From a specialist guide
The Banks is a purpose-built district you can walk through, packed with bars, restaurants, and hotels, sitting right between Paycor Stadium and Great American Ball Park. This is what makes Cincinnati a place where staying near the stadium also means staying in the city, not a compromise.
Map of the area
Tap a pin to see the place.
Getting to Paycor Stadium
From Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky
From a specialist guide
From CVG, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, it's a 26 minute ride on the TANK 2X Airporter bus to Government Square at 5th and Elm in downtown Cincinnati.
On game day
Checked at the source
Walk from downtown or The Banks, about 12 min. The stadium sits on the riverfront at the western end of The Banks. Downtown hotels are a five-block walk away. Cincinnati Connector (Cincinnati Bell Connector). The nearest stop is Second and Main, about a four-block walk to the stadium. Cincinnati Metro. The Bengals point fans to the Metro drop-off under Second Street in the Transit Center, right by the stadium. TANK 2X Airporter, about 26 min. It drops you at 5th at Elm and Government Square in the middle of downtown. From there you can walk or take the free streetcar the rest of the way.
Parking and tailgating at Paycor Stadium
Tailgating
Checked at the source
Cincinnati is a strong city for tailgating without a car. The club runs Pregame at The Banks on Freedom Way between Race Street and Joe Nuxhall Way, with the Bengals Jungle Zone and the Bud Light Tailgate Zone, live music, food, drinks and giveaways, all in a public street area you can just walk into. It runs from 10 a.m. for most 1 p.m. kickoffs, 4 p.m. for the November 15 Steelers and December 31 Ravens games, and 12 p.m. for the December 13 Chiefs game. Separately, regular car tailgating is allowed in all Bengals parking areas around Paycor Stadium. Pregame at The Banks, the Bengals Jungle Zone and the Bud Light Tailgate Zone run along Freedom Way between Race Street and Joe Nuxhall Way. The official page doesn't say whether entry is free, so check before you go. It opens at 10 a.m. for most games, 4 p.m. for the November 15 Steelers and December 31 Ravens games, and 12 p.m. for the December 13 Chiefs game. The Bengals fan guide separately says the combined zone starts 3 hours before kickoff.
Game day at Paycor Stadium
Getting in
Checked at the source
Bag policy: You can bring one bag per person, including kids, as long as it's clear plastic, vinyl, or PVC and no bigger than 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 inches, or a one-gallon clear freezer bag, plus a clutch purse no bigger than 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches. One exception runs the other way from most venues: diapers and wipes can be carried in a clear bag, but diaper bags themselves are not allowed. Medical bags are allowed for the patron who needs them after they're inspected.
Re-entry: If you leave before or during the event, you give up your re-entry, except for a medical emergency.
Prohibited items: You can't bring outside food, except for documented medical or dietary needs, or alcohol, bottles or cans besides sealed water, umbrellas, strollers, chairs, coolers, camera lenses over 6 inches, video cameras, tripods, noisemakers, e-cigarettes, lighters, aerosol cans, or drones.
Touring the stadium
Checked at the source
Paycor Stadium tours are suspended right now because of the ongoing renovation. When they're running, tours cost $20 for adults and $18 for kids and seniors, last about an hour, and cap at 20 guests per slot. You have to book online, but there's nothing to book at the moment.
After the final whistle
From a specialist guide
Bengals parking closes two hours after the event, and evening tailgating has to end by midnight. If you don't have a car, getting away is easy, you just walk back into The Banks, which is where the post-game bars are anyway. No official clearance time is published.
One thing to avoid
From a specialist guide
Skip booking near CVG airport. It's in Kentucky, 26 minutes out, and that's the last place you want to be after a night game. Also, the lots right around the stadium are permit-only, so a hotel advertising stadium parking is solving a problem you don't actually have.
Food and drink at Paycor Stadium
What to eat
The local food this city is known for: cincinnati chili.
Inside the stadium, 2026 season
Skyline Chili cheese coneys at stands throughout the stadium. Skyline is the official chili, on a deal that began in 2023. Source
Stand line-ups change every season.
Bars near the stadium
Checked at the source
Kitty's Sports Grill, Google Maps
Kitty's Sports Grill
218 W 3rd St, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Kitty's is the closest true sports bar to Paycor's gates and it plays the part well. It's closed Mondays, but on Bengals home Sundays it opens at 9 a.m., four hours before a 1 p.m.
Away fans: mostly home fans.
Denise Williams, Google Maps
Holy Grail Tavern & Grille
161 Joe Nuxhall Way, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Holy Grail opened around 2011 under owner Jim Moehring and has anchored The Banks for the entire life of that district. It's an official Bengals Bar and a playoff game-ball recipient, and its single biggest trading day ever was the Home Run Derby at the 2015 MLB All-Star Game.
Away fans: mixed crowd, takes all comers, not a partisan room.
O'Malleys In the Alley, Google Maps
O'Malley's In The Alley
25 W Ogden Place, Cincinnati, OH 45202
O'Malley's dates back to 1892 and is Cincinnati's second-oldest bar, having traded under earlier names like Ogden's Place and The Hideaway. It really is down an alley, the kind of address you'd walk past twice, and it still has its antique pressed-tin ceiling overhead.
Away fans: mixed crowd, a downtown local's bar.
Shashi S., Google Maps
Rhinehaus
119 E 12th St, Cincinnati, OH 45202 (Over-the-Rhine)
Rhinehaus is Over-the-Rhine's original sports bar, a narrow shotgun-shaped room run by co-owner Aaron Kohlhepp with 14 TVs and a projector. Its place on the fan map is backed up by something real: after the Bengals beat Buffalo in the January 2022 divisional round, head coach Zac Taylor drove over around midnight and handed the bar a signed game ball in person, and it's still displayed behind the counter.
Away fans: mostly home fans, the room for real Bengals fan culture.
Things to do around Paycor Stadium
Listed in the order they happen on game day. Each one earns points.
Eat65 points
Camp Washington Chili
Chili parlor since 1940 and a James Beard American Regional Classic. Open around the clock from Monday 8am to Saturday 4pm, closed Sunday. Menu lists 3-, 4- and 5-ways, coneys, goetta and breakfast.
$. The day before
Landmark65 points
Findlay Market
Ohio's oldest continuously operated public market, in Over-the-Rhine, with more than 50 full-time merchants. Saturday 8am to 6pm, Sunday 10am to 4pm, farmers market both mornings; closed Monday.
Free. The day before
Landmark65 points
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
Museum on the riverfront at The Banks, between the two stadiums, open Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm with last entry 4:30pm. Adults $21.50, children 3 to 12 $18.50.
$$. The day before
Eat65 points
Skyline Chili 3-way
Cincinnati chili chain founded in 1949: spaghetti under secret-recipe chili and shredded cheddar, or a cheese coney on a steamed bun. The 4th Street parlor is a short walk uphill from the stadium.
$. The day before
Tailgate65 points
Pregame at The Banks
Free street party on Freedom Way between Race Street and Joe Nuxhall Way before every Bengals home game, from 10am for most 1pm kickoffs. Jungle Zone, Bud Light Tailgate Zone, live music, food, drink.
Free. 3 hours before kickoff
Drink25 points
The Holy Grail Tavern and Grille
Sports tavern at The Banks between Paycor Stadium and Great American Ball Park, with multiple TVs. Sunday 11am to 11pm; closed Mondays except on Reds or Bengals game days.
$$. 2 hours 30 minutes before kickoff
Drink25 points
Tin Roof at The Banks
Bar next to Great American Ball Park and steps from Paycor Stadium. On Bengals Sundays the game audio plays through the bar, with NFL Sunday Ticket, smash burgers and live music after the final whistle.
$$. 2 hours before kickoff
Ritual25 points
Walk in over the Roebling Suspension Bridge
John A. Roebling's 1867 bridge, 1,057-foot main span, links Covington, Kentucky to the Cincinnati riverfront and has carried pedestrians since it opened. Stay in Covington and walk across to the stadium.
Free. 2 hours before kickoff
Outing40 points
Carol Ann's Carousel
Glass-enclosed carousel in Smale Riverfront Park with 44 Cincinnati-themed creatures by artist Jonathan Queen. Rides from $2; September to March it runs Friday to Sunday 11am to 4pm, open before a 1pm kickoff.
$. 2 hours before kickoff
Photo25 points
Porch swings at Smale Riverfront Park
The 40-acre park along the Ohio River between Paycor Stadium and Great American Ball Park has oversized porch swings on the promenade, fountains, and a clear view of the Roebling Bridge for photos.
Free. 1 hour 40 minutes before kickoff
Seats and views at Paycor Stadium
Where each part of the stadium sits, and what you see from it.
100 level200 level300 levelTap any part of the stadium to see its view.
