10 TOP Things to Do in Columbus (2025 Activity Guide)

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What to do in Columbus

Popular places to visit

National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center

You can spend time exploring the galleries in National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center in Columbus. While in this walkable area, find time to visit its shops.

RiverCenter for the Performing Arts

Enjoy a show at RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, a theater with a story to tell in Columbus. Experience the entertainment venues and theater scene in this walkable area.

Peachtree Mall

During your trip to Columbus, you can do some window-shopping at Peachtree Mall. Amble around this family-friendly area's riverfront or experience its entertainment venues.

Springer Opera House

Enjoy a show at Springer Opera House, a theater with a story to tell in Columbus. Experience the entertainment venues and theater scene in this walkable area.

Columbus State University

Walk around the campus at Columbus State University during your stay in Columbus. While in this walkable area, find time to visit its shops.

Columbus Georgia Convention & Trade Center

Learn about the events happening at Columbus Georgia Convention & Trade Center during your trip to Columbus. Experience the entertainment venues and theater scene in this walkable area.

Columbus Civic Center

Catch an event at Columbus Civic Center during your trip to Columbus. Experience the entertainment venues and theater scene in this walkable area.

South Commons Sports Complex

Catch an event at South Commons Sports Complex during your trip to Columbus. Experience the museums and entertainment venues in this walkable area.

Hughston Clinic

Though Hughston Clinic might be what brings you to town, perhaps you'll have a chance to explore more of Columbus while you are here.

Areas of Columbus

A shaft of white marble erected in 1879 by the Ladies Memorial Association is dedicated to the Columbus soldiers who fought in the War Between the States. It differs from most monuments of the period in that it is topped with a simple Grecian urn rather that the usual statuary. Originally it had a fence with a turnstile around it to keep the cattle out. The park area surrounding it, known as Salisbury Park, was named for Major William Salisbury whose home formerly faced the park.

The monument holds special significance because the last major land battle of the War Between the States took place in Columbus. Union soldiers led by General James Wilson managed crossing the Chattahoochee River by bridge into Columbus. General Wilson was only 28 years old and was often referred to as “the boy wonder.” After arriving in Columbus, Union troops were ordered to burn any industry that could contribute to the war effort. In actuality, Lee had surrendered to Grant two weeks prior, but the news had not yet reached this far south.

Downtown Historic District

If you're spending some time in Downtown Historic District, Coca-Cola Space Science Center and Columbus Historic District are top sights worth seeing.

The family of author Carson McCullers moved to this house in 1927. Here Lula Carson Smith spent her formative years 10-17 and here she began to write, putting on shows in the two sitting rooms, using the sliding doors as curtains and drafting brother Lamar and sister Rita as actors. Shows grew into plays, stories and novels. She left to study writing in New York in 1934. When a teacher told her that the best stories can be found in one's own back yard, her "green arcade" of trees drew her home again. In the summer of 1935 she met James Reeves McCullers, Jr., whom she married in the garden here in Sept., 1937. They moved to North Carolina where the young author completed her first novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. During World War II, with Reeves overseas, Carson lived in New York but often returned home to work and rest. She liked to sit in the kitchen, absorbing its warmth, the aroma of food cooking and the conversation of the cook. In her front bedroom she kept her piano and the typewriter where she worked on her novel, and later prize winning-play, The Member of the Wedding. After the death of her father in 1944, Carson and her mother made their home in Nyack, N.Y.

MidTown

While visiting MidTown, you might make a stop by sights like Columbus Museum and Smith-McCullers House.

Downtown Columbus

If you're spending some time in Downtown Columbus, Springer Opera House and RiverCenter for the Performing Arts are top sights worth seeing.

"St. Elmo", one of the most exquisite examples of the classic houses in America, stands in view of this point, it was built on the old Stagecoach Road by Colonel Seaborn Jones, for his wife, Mary Howard Jones. Completed in 1833, it was originally called "El Dorado." Here, Augusta Jane Evans visited her aunt and found inspiration for her celebrated novel "St. Elmo."

As a member of Governor Troup's staff, Seaborn Jones came to the site of Columbus with LaFayette in 1825. Lawyer, painter, solicitor-general of the Ocmulgee Circuit

Weracoba-St. Elmo Historic District

If you're looking for some top things to see and do in Weracoba-St. Elmo Historic District and surrounding area, you can visit Columbus Museum and Springer Opera House.

Wynnton Village Historic District

Though Wynnton Village Historic District might not have many top sights, you can venture to the surrounding area to see attractions like Columbus Museum and Springer Opera House.

East Highlands

East Highlands might not have many top sights, but Columbus Museum and Springer Opera House are two attractions nearby that you can check out.

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Things to do in Columbus

Activities, attractions and tours

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