Need recommendations in the Louisville, KY area

[jodim]

Dh & I have an appointment there next week, and I'm wondering if anyone has any good recommendations for us. (food, hotel, things to do, etc)

We are going kid free and will be there 2days/1night.

Thanks!

 

[Praying Colonel]

Things to do:

Visit the Kentucky Derby Museum, Speed Art Museum or museums on Museum Row (Louisville Slugger Museum, Louisville Science Center, Muhammad Ali Center and Frazier History Museum;

See a free play in Central Park;

Take a walking tour of our waterfront or Old Louisville;

Watch our Reds AAA affiliate, the Louisville Bats;

Catch a concert at the KFC Yum Center;

Do something at 4th Street Live;

Visit the Louisville Zoo;

Take a day trip to Bardstown and take a distillery tour, visit My Old Kentucky Home State Park or catch an outdoor production of The Stephen Foster Story.

 

[Praying Colonel]

Some of our favorite local places to eat:

Lynn's Paradise Cafe;

Ramsi's Cafe on the World;

Baxter Station Bar & Grill;

Havana Rumba.

And even though it's a chain and not local, there's a Joe's Crab Shack down by the waterfront which is well worth the visit for the awesome view of the river.

 

[OHVolunteer]

I'm so glad you posted this, my H and I are looking at taking a weekend trip to Louisville and I was wondering what area we should get a hotel in? We want to be in walking distance to restaurants/brewery's and some of the other activities, and I wasn't sure what part of town was best. So if anyone has any hotel suggestions I'd love to hear them.

 

[Princesca]

DH and I live outside Lou., but stayed here a night and loooooved it!

http://www.innatpark.com/

 

[Princesca]

Also, you can take a ride on the Belle of Louisville, which is tons of fun. It might be a bit warm, depending on when you're going...

www.belleoflouisville.org

Also, definitely see the Kentucky Show at the Center for the Arts. It's a great, multimedia introduction to all the state has to offer.

www.kentuckyshow.com

Inn at the Park... I'm not sure what that's within walking distance of... most of the brewery type stuff would be either right downtown (West Main Street), or in the Highlands, downtown Bardstown Rd/Baxter Ave. area.

 

[Princesca]

I second Havana Rumba - it's awesome. This is my abso favorite, though:

http://themayancafe.com/

 

[JB2K]

Like baseball? The Louisville Bats (AAA affiliate of Cincinnati Reds) play all their home games at Louisville Slugger Field.

It's easy to get from either I-64 or I-65.

Speaking of Louisville Slugger, you can get a tour of the Louisville Slugger Museum/Factory...

 

[akcire]

This candy store is about 2 minutes from Louisville, and has been featured on different TV shows. It is a cool place and worth a visit.

http://www.schimpffs.com/

 

[#1hoosierfan]

I live RIGHT ACROSS the river from Louisville in New Albany, Indiana. Our little downtown has really come alive with some GREAT restaurants.... including a winery and a brewery. There is also a great bed and breakfast here.

Message me if you would want more details, and I will give you the info.

 

[Princesca]

DON'T CROSS THE RIVER!!!!

Just kidding. I love southern Indiana too. Especially Huber's. Does that count? LOL.

Seriously, my DH is from PA originally, and he starts to pretend to be having a meltdown whenever we have to drive across the Ohio. "Nooooo... it's Yankee territory... don't make me goooooo!" It's a hoot. I guess he's taken to southern living pretty well.

To the OP - give us a better idea of what things you enjoy, and we can probably be of more assistance. Somebody said something about a brewery... check this out: http://louisvillebeerstore.com/

 

[#1hoosierfan]

DON'T CROSS THE RIVER!!!!

Just kidding. I love southern Indiana too. Especially Huber's. Does that count? LOL.

Seriously, my DH is from PA originally, and he starts to pretend to be having a meltdown whenever we have to drive across the Ohio. "Nooooo... it's Yankee territory... don't make me goooooo!" It's a hoot. I guess he's taken to southern living pretty well.

To the OP - give us a better idea of what things you enjoy, and we can probably be of more assistance. Somebody said something about a brewery... check this out: http://louisvillebeerstore.com/

bwahahaha

I think there are a TON of people that cross the river once a year to go go Huber's and get their pumpkins..... cracks me up!

Do you drink wine and/or beer?

I was actually referring to the River City Winery right downtown on Pearl Street. Yummy wines.... great gourmet pizzas and the BEST crabcakes. It is in an old restored building. Dh and I the place.


Right around the corner on Bank Street is the NABC.... New Albany Brewery Company.... an upscale microbrewery..... great craft beers. They have awesome wings, pomme frites, and cheeseburgers. They also serve nightly specials like fresh fish and filet mignon.

Head on over sometime!

 

[Princesca]

Don't listen to her, you can't trust them Hoosiers!

Just kidding, of course. I've heard good things about NABC. My favorite Thai restaurant is also in southern Indiana. And yeah, Huber's. Best fried catfish I've ever had, and you gotta love a place that gives you big condiment bottles of apple butter. They make a surprisingly decent port, too!

 

[h518may]

a few other ideas for food
Two are bbq

Marks feed store http://www.marksfeedstore.com/

Bootleg bbq http://www.bootlegbbq.net/

and good pizza

Za's http://www.zaspizza.com/main.html

Oh and I love Huber's, but for strawberries not pumpkins.

 

[pintamino]

If you're going kid-free, definitely check out Fourth Street Live! which is Louisville's night scene. The Pub at Louisville was fun; I'd skip Maker's Mark Lounge. There are some crazy bars there too.

Louisville has a zoo that is supposed to be great -- haven't been myself.

Kentucky Derby Museum is okay (there is a cafe there that is nice DURING THE WEEK -- weekend menu is very limited). Churchill Downs itself is fun, especially if it's a racing day. Have a mint julip or an Oaks Lily!

Haven't done the Slugger museum due to price. There are a lot of parks and such around here as well, historic battlefields and sites if you head down towards Fort Knox (where I'm living this summer). I've heard there are some nice waterfalls around as well.

And of course there is always the Urban Bourbon trail!

If you find anything that you really enjoy down here, please share!

 

[Princesca]

The Zoo is really nice. It has a carousel, and a new splash park called like Glacier Bay or something, but I haven't been since it opened. Er, I think it's open.

Louisville has some awesome historic homes, too, if you're into that. It just really depends. Lynn's Paradise Cafe is fun and funky, and there are boutiques and things within walking distance of that.

One place I love is Falls of the Ohio state park, which is actually across the river in Indiana. You can walk out on the fossil beds, and they have a really neat visitors center and movie that talks about the prehistoric origins of the area.

If you're into antiquing, I really like the town of Shelbyville for that. Main St. Shelbyville has some really nice dining options, quite a few antique stores, and that small-town southern feel. Shelbyville is about a 30 min. drive from Louisville.

If you have a car, Pleasant Hill Shaker Village is a fun trip, too. It's about an hour and a half I think, but it's a "living" Shaker village, where you can tour buildings and watch craftsmen in action. They have a terrific restaurant on site that uses locally-grown food.

Woodford Reserve out near Lexington is a great tour, too. I think it's around $10 pp, but you get a shot of bourbon at the end and all the bourbon balls you can eat. Yum.

As you can tell, Kentuckians love to welcome visitors... I'm perpetually trying to get all my friends to move here. I grew up here, and returned back in 2007 after a long stint living up north (not in Indiana - LOL - Massachusetts). I wouldn't live anywhere else. Louisville just has this amazing blend of southern hospitality and down-home feeling with all the arts opportunities of a bigger metropolitan area. There's also a burgeoning slow food/sustainable agriculture movement here, and we have an incredibly wide array of awesome restaurants from pretty much all cultures I can think of.

If you'd like more specific information, PM me and I'm happy to help you plan I loooooove to show off my state!

 

[jacksmomma]

Central IN Hoosier here...we do not claim Southern IN either! "Kentuckyana" is a state all to itself! Just kidding! In addition to what has been mentioned make sure you go to Graeter's to get ice cream...Yummy!

Also check out the Louisville Glassworks. It is a working glass studio where you can watch glass blowers working and create your own project to take home.

 

[Bibbidi]

Looks like you've gotten lots of good suggestions. We used to live in Louisville--our oldest dd is a native

We love Napa River Grille for dinner. Nice meal, not terribly expensive, but it is not downtown.

Mark's Feed Store is a good one to try for a casual meal.

We liked touring Churchill Downs and we did the Slugger Museum with every guest that came to visit us. It really is a nice tour.

Have a great trip.

 

[DisneyBill]

There is about every chain hotel available somewhere in the metro area, but a couple of unique places to stay that are close to the museums and entertainment previously mentioned are; www.21chotel.com , and www.seelbachhilton.com.

I am sort of proud no one mentioned doing the Bambi walk though.

 

[Dashzap]

Actor's Theatre!