Louisville, Kentucky
Poised on the banks of the Ohio River, Louisville blends small-town charm with urban sophistication. The city's claim to fame is the Kentucky Derby. The race at Churchill Downs has been a national event for more than 120 years. Many of us first learned of the city from a baseball bat. Today, the rebuilt Louisville Slugger Factory is another major draw. The city itself has been revitalized with a bustling riverfront district that features the inviting Riverfront Plaza.
Louisville is also blessed with a dynamic arts scene, featuring the Kentucky Center for the Arts, as well as several fine museums and annual festivals. For dining, the city offers 2,500 restaurants, highlighted by the festive "Restaurant Row" on the Bardstown Road corridor.
The Top 16 Attractions in the Louisville Area:
 |
1. Fourth Street Live!:Louisville's $70 million entertainment district has revitalized downtown, adding a variety of restaurants and entertainment venues, all within walking distance of the majority of downtown hotels. Tenants include; Hard Rock Cafe; Sully's Restaurant and Saloon; Saddle Ridge; The Pub; Lucky Strike, and the one and only Maker's Mark Bourbon House and Lounge. |
 |
2. Caesars Indiana:Caesars Indiana, just a short drive from Louisville, offers world-class gaming action for every level of player, with over 130 gaming tables and 2000 slot machines. Caesars guests enjoy the largest variety of customary casino games in Indiana - 24 hours a day. With four floors of gaming, guests can take their pick of luxuriously decorated casinos. |
 |
3. Churchill Downs: Recently completing a $121 million renovation and expansion, the racetrack is most famous for the oldest continuously run sporting event in the United Statesis the Kentucky Derby. Known as the 'Run for the Roses' or the greatest two minutes in sports, the Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred horse racing. In addition to the Derby, Churchill Downs hosts spring and fall race meets. |
 |
4. The Muhammad Ali Center: The Muhammad Ali Center is a cultural attraction and international education center that is inspired by the ideals of its founder Muhammad Ali. The Ali Center features 2 1⁄2 levels of captivating exhibits and multimedia presentations, a five-screen orientation theater film, historic Civil Rights era media footage, video of Ali’s fights, interactive boxing fun, two changing exhibit galleries, children’s Hope and Dream wall, retail store and more. |
 |
5. Louisville Zoo:The Louisville Zoo has more than 1,300 animals from all over the world, exhibited in beautiful natural settings. Favorites include gorillas, lions, tigers, penguins, pygmy hippos, orangutans, reptiles, hundreds of colorful birds and many more. Enjoy the popular, interactive Lorikeet Landing and the award-winning Gorilla Forest featuring 11 gorillas. The zoo is open year-round. |
 |
6. Louisville Slugger Field:Louisville Slugger Field is home to the Louisville Bats, farm team for Cincinnati Reds, and is one of the most exciting and attractive sites in minor league baseball. Named after the popular Louisville Slugger baseball bat, the stadium offers something for fans of all ages. With its retro-classic design, Louisville Slugger Field has quickly become one of the most admired parks in all of baseball. |
 |
7. Huber's Orchard & Winery and Joe Huber Family Farm & Restaurant:At Joe Huber Family Farm choose from a wide variety of just-picked fruits and vegetables in the Farm Market and Gift Shop. In the restaurant, everything is made from scratch. Huber's Orchard & Winery includes over 550 acres of farmland and offers a children's farm park, farm market, cheese shop, ice cream factory, winery, gift shop and a banquet facility. |
 |
8. Louisville Science Center & IMAX Theatre:Kentucky's largest hands-on science center with about 150 interactive exhibits and activity stations, a 4-story tall IMAX Theatre, teaching laboratories, a variety of educational programs and distance learning capabilities. Permanent exhibits include, The World We Create, The World Within Us and The World Around Us. |
 |
9. Kentucky Derby Museum:The Kentucky Derby Museum, located next to Churchill Downs, captures the thrill and traditions of the Kentucky Derby every day in an exciting 360-degree high-definition multimedia show. The museum has exhibits and art to delight all ages. Guests can also take a walking tour through historic Churchill Downs to see the Grandstand, the Finish Line and Winner's Circle. |
 |
10. Derby Dinner Playhouse:An entertainment tradition for over thirty years, Derby Dinner Playhouse offers live-stage productions, a plentiful buffet, and desserts that are so big you'll need two spoons. Derby Dinner is one of the largest dinner theatres in the country seating 500 guests and entertaining over 200,000 people a year. |
 |
11. Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory:See the world's biggest bat! Exhibits at the interactive museum honors baseball's greatest hitters. The fun and fascinating tour includes a walk through of an underground locker room into a full-size dugout and a virtual home plate where guests can test their skill against a fastball. |
 |
12. Speed Art Museum:Established in 1927, the Speed Art Museum is Kentucky's oldest and largest art museum. The museum has distinguished collections of 17th century Dutch and Flemish painting, 18th century French art, Renaissance and Baroque tapestries, and significant holdings of contemporary American painting and sculpture. |
 |
13. Frazier International History Museum:Located in the heart of Louisville's downtown cultural arts district, the Frazier Arms Museum is a collaboration with Britain's Royal Armouries. Visitors enjoy interactive exhibits and live reenactments. Many of the artifacts once belonged to noted politicians, celebrities, frontiersmen and soldiers. |
 |
14. Cave Hill Cemetery: Originally part of William Johnston's Cave Hill Farm in the 1770s, Cave Hill Cemetery contains one of the city's finest collections of outdoor monumental sculptures, ranging from decorative tombstones to mausoleums. The Cemetery is the burial site for many famous people including George Rogers Clark and Colonel Harland Sanders. Guided tours are available. |
 |
15. Belle of Louisville:No other river steamboat in American history has lasted as long, been to as many places, or traveled as many miles as the Belle of Louisville, commissioned in 1914. The Belle, a National Historic Landmark, is now recognized as the oldest river steamboat still in operation. Now in her nineties, the Belle continues to journey back to the time when she carried passengers and goods to ports all along the beautiful Ohio River. |
 |
16. Mellwood Arts & Entertainment Center:This vast, 350,000 sq. ft. center is being renovated into over 200 artist studios, storefront specialty retail, galleries (including a 3-story tenant art gallery), teaching studios, offices space, rehearsal space for theatre groups and dancers, entertainment space and more. |
Paid Advertising
