36 Hours in Cleveland

1. Rock the Vote, 2 p.m.

It’s not just Lady Gaga’s meat dress, John Lennon’s Mellotron synthesizer or Michael Jackson’s sparkly glove that draws devotees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (admission, $23.50). In a meandering building by the architect I.M. Pei, the comprehensive music museum traces the evolution of rock to its early roots in gospel and blues, and allows visitors to discover the influences of popular artists in interactive kiosks (who knew the Beach Boys influenced the Ramones?). A timely exhibition “Louder Than Words: Rock, Power and Politics” explores the confluence of music and politics, from campaign stump songs like “Don’t Stop” by Fleetwood Mac for Bill Clinton to antiwar protest songs by artists from Marvin Gaye to Green Day (through Nov. 27).

2. Painting, Polkas, Pinball, 4 p.m.

Head to the emerging Detroit Shoreway neighborhood where the former Baker Electric Motor Vehicle Company factory warehouse has been converted into the 170,000-square-foot 78th Street Studios, a warren of artist studios and galleries. Four to eight open every Friday afternoon, but on the third Friday of every month, over 50 stay open until 9 p.m. for a convivial gallery hop. When you’ve consumed enough culture, walk a few blocks to the Happy Dog bar, a classic neighborhood dive with a hipster following and, also on the third Friday of the month, Polka Happy Hour (6 to 9 p.m.), featuring D.J.Kishka, who sports a fake beard and spins polka records. Happy Dog is a good spot for one of the roughly 20 beers on tap (from $2), a hot dog with a few of the 50 toppings on the menu including Froot Loops and chorizo chili ($6), and a round or two on its old-fashioned pinball machines.

3. Pit Master, 8 p.m.

The chef Michael Symon is synonymous with Cleveland’s culinary prowess via his popular Lola restaurant, as well as his hosting appearances on the television show “The Chew.” His newest restaurant, Mabel’s BBQ, makes the case for Cleveland-accented barbecue, using Eastern European spices on the meats and local Bertman Ball Park Mustard in the sauce. Exposed brick walls, warehouse-height ceilings and long communal tables underscore the industrial vibe. Bring friends to indulge in the sizable dishes from piles of crispy pig ears ($7) to a half-pound of fatty brisket ($13) and a mess of kielbasa and spare ribs piled with sauerkraut called This Is Cleveland ($19). Expect to wait for a seat with a drink at the bar, which specializes in bourbon and beer.

4. Sky High, 10 p.m.

On the 32nd floor of the new Hilton Cleveland Downtown, Bar 32,just opened, will provide a skyline perch — the highest in the city, according to the hotel — for sipping liquid nitrogen-based drinks that instantly freeze, creating adult slushies such as the In Fashioned ($14) as well as its more standard counterpart, the Old Fashioned ($11). The sleek, wood-paneled lounge is wrapped with glass walls and includes a small patio from which to view Lake Erie by day and the lights of the surrounding city by night.

5. Coffee and Culture, 9 a.m.

Many grocery stores have coffee bars and cafes, but few occupy a place in Clevelanders’ hearts like the new Heinen’s Grocery Store downtown. Last year, the local chain that specializes in prepared foods moved into the 1908 Cleveland Trust Company Building, featuring an 85-foot-high leaded-glass ceiling bordered by 13 murals depicting the history of the region by the painter Francis Davis Millet who died on the Titanic. Grab a cappuccino ($2.75) and a blueberry muffin ($1.99) from the Equal Exchange Espresso Bar and crane your neck upward from the central tables for a look at those murals. Come back after noon to get a bit closer at the wine and craft beer Balcony Bar on the second floor.

6. Gateway Gaping, 10 a.m.

Until Sept. 18, the Gateway District, a community development association that has been active in Cleveland’s downtown renaissance, is offering free heritage tours called Take a Hike. The 90-minute Saturday outing focuses on the history and architecture of downtown’s Euclid Avenue, a once-bustling 19th-century shopping district, now the focus of residential and commercial projects adapting the grand old buildings. Costumed characters, including an actor playing the city’s early 20th-century reformist mayor Tom Johnson, provide history, but the design focus en route is on the handsome collection of vintage buildings being preserved.

7. Arcade Buyer, 11:30 a.m.

Take a Hike tours meet at the Arcade, one of three elegant glass-topped, blocklong malls in the area modeled on European shopping arcades including Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan. The five-floor Arcade, with scrolling iron balconies, is largely occupied by a hotel; the two across the street, the former Colonial (1898) and Euclid (1911) Arcades, now operating as the 5th Street Arcades, warrant doubling back to browse the new tenants that are trying to revive retail downtown. There are souvenir shops, including We Bleed Ohio; others offer unique wares including Fra Angelica Studio for local art and fashion, L’Amour Du Noir for edgy men’s casual wear, and Happy Hour Collection, selling vintage and new bar ware.

8. Eating Ohio City, 1 p.m.

Just west of downtown, Ohio City, which was annexed by Clevelandin 1854, still attests to the heritage of its original European immigrant population, particularly in the historic West Side Market, a1912 landmark bustling with produce, dairy and meat vendors. Grab a made-to-order spinach, egg and Gruyère ($7) crepe from Crepes de Luxe and take a perch on the second-story mezzanine for a view over the market and its vaulted brick ceiling. As an artisan culinary district, Ohio City offers a rich progressive feast, including a generous scoop of chocolate peanut butter cup ($3.50) for dessert at Mitchell’s Ice Cream, where you can watch the Wonka-like creamery works behind glass. Wash it down with an Eliot Ness amber lager ($6) from the city’s most decorated microbrewery, Great Lakes Brewing, at its handsome mahogany bar.

9. Art History 101, 3 p.m.

Holding the treasures amassed by early industrialists, the Cleveland Museum of Art (free) in University Circle has a collection of nearly 45,000 pieces, including a 19th-century royal Persian tent, a recently restored Caravaggio, and Impressionist masterworks led by one of Claude Monet’s oversized water lily canvases. Now celebrating its centennial, the museum added a compelling architectural draw in 2013 when it was expanded by the architect Rafael Viñoly, creating a 39,000-square-foot glass-roofed atrium bounded by the original neo-Classical building and new wings. The museum’s Provenance Café offers courtyard seating from which to admire the grandeur over flatbread ($7.75) and wine (half bottles $12).

10. The Cleveland Sound, 7:30 p.m.

Downtown’s Playhouse Square calls itself the country’s largest performing arts center outside of New York, with nine theaters in a one-block radius, many staging touring productions. But for homegrown talent, book a date with the renowned Cleveland Orchestra. When it’s not touring the world, the orchestra, under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst, who is closely associated with the Vienna Philharmonic, performs most of the year in University Circle’s Severance Hall, an opulent, 1931-vintage concert hall as elegant as the music performed there. In the summer, catch them with the picnic crowd at Blossom Music Center, about 25 miles south of the city.

11. Presidential Homage, 9 a.m.

Join the dog walkers and joggers amid the peace and greenery of Cleveland’s rolling, 285-acre Lake View Cemetery bordering University Circle. Established in 1869 and modeled on the garden cemeteries of Europe, the grounds contain the graves of many of the city’s early movers and shakers, including the Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller. Pay political tribute at the imposing, 180-foot-high Garfield Monument containing the caskets of President James A. Garfield, a Cuyahoga County native who was assassinated in 1881 after only 200 days in office, and his wife, Lucretia.

12. Locavore Brunch, 11 a.m.

About 80 percent of the ingredients that go into the dishes at Spice Kitchen + Bar in Gordon Square come from the restaurant’s 13-acre farm, Spice Acres, in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, about 20 miles south of town where the chef and owner Ben Bebenroth lives, or other family farms. Brunch fare in the rustic storefront ranges from apple cinnamon beignets ($7) to Korean fried chicken and waffles ($12) and hearty eggs, bacon and biscuit ($12). Even the eye-opening Spice-Y Mary ($9) features house-made Bloody Mary mix and homemade hot sauce.

Newly open in a 1902-vintage downtown building, the Kimpton Schofield Hotel loans cruiser bikes to guests and holds a free wine hour nightly. Rooms from $180; kimptonhotels.com.

Attached via underground passage to the convention center, the newHilton Cleveland Downtown showcases the city in locally sourced art and a panoramic top-floor bar. Rooms from $149; hilton.com.