If there were a contest for the Ohio city with the most unexpected history, Akron would win. The hamburger was supposedly invented here. Thomas Edison visited often (his wife was an Akronite). Around the turn of the century, Akron’s supremacy in tire manufacturing helped it become known as the “rubber capital of the world.”

(And let’s not forget a certain NBA superstar who calls Akron home—they even renamed Main Street “King James Way” after him.)

Though it’s a city, Akron also has that bucolic, small-town charm going for it. There’s even a bike path that you can ride all the way up to Cleveland. The 85-mile “tow path” snakes through some of Ohio’s most scenic countryside, including Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the 11th-most-visited national park in the country, with its rolling hills, forests, hiking trails, and even waterfalls. Back in the 1800s, mules used to pull merchant boats up and down the historic Ohio and Erie canal, but the vibe is way more relaxed today: Chill Ice Cream, for example, sits right off the trail, making a convenient pick-me-up as you make your way through the valley.

But music might be Akron’s true legacy. It’s no coincidence that Devo, Chrissie Hynde, and The Black Keys all came out of Akron. “Akron, to me, is a very cool place,” says Maria Nagel, an employee of Lock 3, the city’s biggest outdoor music venue. “It’s a little cooler than Cleveland . . . it’s more avant-garde.” Indeed, during the 1940s and 1950s, when black musicians were routinely being turned away from hotels in Cleveland, Akron opened its doors—specifically, a cluster of eight or so jazz clubs that sprang up along Howard Street—and became known as the “jazz corridor” of the Midwest.

Today, what’s really keeping Akron on travelers’ lists is the Historic Arts District, where nightlife is huge. “Akron really comes alive at night,” Zack Jaworski, who runs an artisanal ice cream shop nearby, says, citing an indie movie theater and “Ohio’s best jazz club” as examples.

Here’s a list of what you should check out on your next trip to Akron:

Chill Ice CreamSmall-batch ice cream shops have become something of a requisite for small American towns looking to up their foodie cred, and Chill Ice Cream fits the bill. Founded by three brothers, the shop has been heartily embraced by Akronites (yes, that’s what they’re called). “We have a passion for ice cream,” explains one of the brothers, Zack Jaworski. And that’s evident in the exotic range of flavors: honey habanero (made with local honey), salted sweet corn with sage, honeydew cucumber cilantro, and a recent collaboration with Hoppin’ Frog, a local brewery.