South of Akron and just east of Interstate 77, Zoar Village was a utopian community founded by a German religious sect in 1817. The community has long since dissolved, but its village has been restored. You can see the magnificent house of sect leader Joseph Bimeler and several other homes, stores and workshops. (Be sure to see the garden, where a Norway spruce is encircled by 12 juniper trees, one for each of the apostles.) What was once designated as "house 23" is now the Village Tavern and Inn, a bed and breakfast with a restaurant that's a favorite of locals as well as guests. The village is closed Monday and Tuesday during the summer and open weekends only the rest of the year. 55 mi/90 km south of Cleveland.
