Just out! Cincinnati Essentials is my new app that covers the waterfront from Cincinnati’s Ghost Subway to flying pigs and frying goetta. Designed for travelers and residents alike, Cincinnati Essentials uncovers the best of the quirky Queen City.

The mobile guide for Apple iPhones, iPods and iPads is available for $2.99 on iTunes. All updates are free.

Greater Cincinnati’s major attractions and little secrets are revealed in more than 230 entries and 1,700 photos. You’ll learn how to eat Cincinnati chili five+ ways and where you’ll never get a shot of tequila at the bar, no matter how you plead.

Essential photos, GPS maps and easy searches help users:

* Cheer on the first professional team in baseball
* Track the stars on the oldest professional telescope in America
* Meet 700 dummies at the world’s only ventriloquism museum
* Try to follow Sarah the Cheetah, the world’s fastest land mammal
* Raise a stein at America’s largest Oktoberfest—and do the chicken dance.

The interactive app lists dozens of free and budget adventures, plus handy taxi maps to estimate fares.

Entries are sortable by name, distance, cost and neighborhood, as well as subjects such as art, attractions, Cincy eats, family fun, music, riverside revels, shopping and sports.

As many of you know, I covered the city on staff at The Cincinnati Enquirer. I’ve since written about Cincinnati for National Geographic Traveler, Hemispheres, Midwest Living and media across North America. I’ve reported from every continent, but still like landing at CVG.

A total history geek, I trained as a volunteer Cincinnati Heritage Programs history docent at the Cincinnati Museum Center, and you’ll see juicy tidbits from Cincinnati’s past in Cincinnati Essentials.

Rates start at $625 per night for an executive suite, and include:

• A $50 gift card to the 900 shops, one per room per night;

• free makeovers at Bloomingdale, one per each guest per stay;

• $100 daily spa credit, one per room, per night; and

• an in-room visit by the Martini Man, who brings his traveling Martini Cart to the guest room.

So, Cincinnatians will be especially interested in the world’s first Margaritaville Beach Hotel, opening this summer at Pensacola Beach, Fla. It can’t hurt to get on the waiting list for reservations.

“Having grown up in Mobile, Pensacola Beach was the first Florida I ever saw, long before I headed to Key West,” Buffett said in a statement. “It is great to be coming home and making a commitment to Pensacola and the Gulf Coast, especially at this time… Fins Up Pensacola, here we come.”

Like to have your palm or tarot cards read? Madame Sheri is available before or after each performance for an additional fee. Hotel room packages start at $189 through April 30.

• $50 Bloomingdale’s Gift Card

• Bloomingdale’s signature tote bag with 15% savings pass

• Jacques Torres healthy “AM Quickie” Chocolate Bar for energy and a bottle of water

• Makeover at Lancome in Bloomingdale’s and

• 25% discount at SPAffinia.

Affinia Chicago starts at $199 per night and Affinia Manhattan in New York at $219 per night. At Washington, DC’s Liaison Capitol Hill, An Affinia Hotel, rates are from $149 per night, without the Bloomingdale’s savings pass or Lancome makeover. Be sure to mention the promotional code STYLE when you book.

Four Seasons Hotel Chicago is offering a Be Our Holiday Guest package for travelers visiting family in the Windy City. The package, from $365 per night, includes:

• A room with Lake Michigan or city views
• Daily Midwest breakfast for two
• Two complimentary holiday cocktails with roasted chestnuts by the fire in Seasons Lounge
• Choice of pumpkin pie, pecan pie or cookie tray to present to the party host.

Lee Ann and Bill Hieber of Cincinnati have traveled to the Continent before, but this was their first trip to England and Scotland. They offer a few tested tips:

• Restrict yourself to one medium-sized suitcase per person, on wheels! Much of the UK is not handicap-accessible in the way we’re accustomed to, and you want to be able to maneuver your own bag up and down stairs, on public transportation and along city streets if necessary. Just pack what you really need!

• Take the Underground (London’s subway) to/from Heathrow Airport; a cab is prohibitively expensive. The Piccadilly line of the Underground goes directly to/from Heathrow for £4/$6.50 per person, one way. It took us about 50 minutes from Piccadilly station to the airport, so allow enough time. The Gatwick Express train is a little more expensive than the Underground, but the quickest transportation to/from Gatwick Airport.
  

  Bill Hieber, left, catching up with a fraternity brother in London over a pint. Lee Ann Hieber photo

• Stay in bed-and-breakfasts whenever possible. We chose to plan our itinerary ahead of time and made all our reservations via the internet prior to leaving the U.S. Just “Google” bed and breakfasts in the given location and you’ll get all kinds of information. Not only are these generally less expensive than hotels, but it gives you a chance to interact with the owners and other travelers in a less formal setting. Sometimes in B&B’s the price is “per person” rather than “per room,” so be sure to check that out before making a reservation.

• Get a good guide book and read about each destination right before you arrive there—we like Rick Steves. That way, the information is fresh in your mind. We found so many “free” or “near free” sights and activities that we would never have found on our own. A good guide book is invaluable!

• You just about have to rent a car if you want to get out of the cities and into the countryside. Just keep repeating to yourself, “Stay on the left, stay on the left!” When driving in a roundabout, if you get off at the wrong exit you can usually just go a short way, turn around, go back into the roundabout and correct your mistake. You don’t want to drive in the cities! We arranged to pick up our car at Heathrow after leaving London and turned it in when we arrived in Edinburgh. The cities all have fantastic public transportation.