Vacation in Louisville? Where to visit. (Lexington, Frankfort: 2013, hotel, home)

[sheena12]

Want to spend five days in Lousiville. Family of five with teenagers. Any ideas? We will be driving from Eastern OH, and one of the kids is checking out colleges.

Thanks in advance!

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by sheena12

Want to spend five days in Lousiville. Family of five with teenagers. Any ideas? We will be driving from Eastern OH, and one of the kids is checking out colleges.

Thanks in advance!

If one of the colleges is UofL, I'd recommend sightseeing in the Old Louisville neighborhood. The Victorian-style housing is gorgeous. If you want to take a walk on the Riverfront, I'd go to Waterfront Park because it has a great view of the Louisville skyline. For good eats, I'd recommend the East Market district and the Highlands too since Louisville ranks up there for foodies.

[Msradell]

You definitely need to visit the Kentucky Derby Museum, as well as the Louisville Slugger Museum. They both are iconic to Louisville's tradition. As mentioned earlier, there are many great restaurants in the area to partake of, he probably should try a Hot Brown, which is a traditional Louisville dish. Having one for lunch at the Brown Hotel would allow you an opportunity to be close to downtown for a visit to that area (also quite close to the Slugger Museum). Actually, since your children are older, they might enjoy a tour of one of the distilleries in the area that are part of the Bourbon Trail. The beverage and the entire process is deep-rooted in the Louisville/Kentucky area.

[kytoaz]

don't know if you guys are sports fans, but the Louisville bats are a fun time. slugger field is one of the best minor league stadiums in America and very family friendly. it's also located downtown so it has close proximity to museums and restaurants.

[Dayton Sux]

The Derby Musuem is a must-see. They did a nice job with this musuem and they give you two tour options, with one taking you to the back of the track.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by sheena12

Want to spend five days in Lousiville. Family of five with teenagers. Any ideas? We will be driving from Eastern OH, and one of the kids is checking out colleges.

Thanks in advance!

Make sure you eat at good, local, quality restaurants as well. Louisville is one of America's top restaurant cities.

These are not neccessarily the very best eats in town, but upon review of them I think they are cool local spots that a teenager would like:

The Eater Louisville Heatmap: Where to Eat Right Now - Hot Hot Heat! - Eater Louisville

Eating around a city is a great way to explore it.

Of course Churchill Downs/Derby Museum, The Louisville Slugger Bat Factory, Waterfront Park(along with the Great Lawn and Big Four Pedestrian bridge), UofL, Spalding, and Bellarmine's Campus, and historic St James and Belgravia Courts in Old Louisville make for great photo ops.

Definbitely do a day where they can walk up and down Bardstown Rd, and maybe up Cherokee Rd to Cherokee Park.

Be sure to eat at least one spot on Frankfort Avenue too. There is just so much to do and see in Louisville.

Other options, especially for younger teens:

Louisville Mega Cavern

Home Page | Bluegrass Indoor Karting

[CraigCreek]

Five days will give you ample time to see Louisville, plus a bit more of Kentucky. Depending on your interests, you might want to drive over to Lexington (less than two hours away) and see the remarkable Kentucky State Horse Park (site of the most recent World Equestrian Games a couple of years ago - the Olympics of the horse world), Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate, the Mary Todd Lincoln House, or go on a bus tour of the thoroughbred horse farms. Lexington also has a number of interesting, reasonably priced restaurants which offer excellent food.

Shakertown at Pleasant Hill, a beautifully restored Shaker village with fine dining, tours, and a riverboat ride in season, is also very accessible - turn onto U.S 127 from I-64 at Frankfort (Kentucky's capital, Frankfort is also worth a visit) then turn onto US 68 at Harrodsburg after visiting historic Fort Harrod State Park, or take the Lexington - Shakertown stretch of US 68 through the scenic Kentucky River Palisades - Harrodsburg is just the other side of Shakertown if you take this route.

If you enjoy antiques, check out Shelbyville, again just off I-64 but closer to Louisville.

Also within easy range of Louisville is Bardstown, the site of My Old Kentucky Home State Park plus many other historic attractions. And if that's not enough, the Cave Country is just down I-65.

There are good websites for all of these places and attractions.

Enjoy your Kentucky visit!

[Crazee Cat Lady]

You should definitely go check out the Belvedere, and catch a ride on the Belle of Louisville,
if you have time! If you like beautiful architecture from days gone by, there is also a lot to check out, from St James Court/Old Louisville, to the beauty of the Louisville Palace or the Cathedral of Assumption...the Grandeur of the Seelbach or Brown Hotel. There are usually concerts, plays, festivals going on - a Foodie's Paradise of great places to eat, Museums and Parks... My favorite are Cherokee Park and Iroquois Park, (Love those Olmsted Parks!)

Welcome to Kentucky, and I hope you get great enjoyment from your trip!
(What dates are you coming - concerts and events really vary depending on the dates you are visiting.)

[NoJiveMan]

Originally Posted by sheena12

Want to spend five days in Lousiville. Family of five with teenagers. Any ideas? We will be driving from Eastern OH, and one of the kids is checking out colleges.

Thanks in advance!

This place {Clifty Falls State Park} could be a good day trip diversion for you and family, it is truly unique, plus, don't forget to check out the Lanier Mansion, all across the river from Louisville.

DNR: Clifty Falls State Park

http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel...dison%20FB.jpg

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by CraigCreek

Five days will give you ample time to see Louisville, plus a bit more of Kentucky. Depending on your interests, you might want to drive over to Lexington (less than two hours away) and see the remarkable Kentucky State Horse Park (site of the most recent World Equestrian Games a couple of years ago - the Olympics of the horse world), Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate, the Mary Todd Lincoln House, or go on a bus tour of the thoroughbred horse farms. Lexington also has a number of interesting, reasonably priced restaurants which offer excellent food.

Shakertown at Pleasant Hill, a beautifully restored Shaker village with fine dining, tours, and a riverboat ride in season, is also very accessible - turn onto U.S 127 from I-64 at Frankfort (Kentucky's capital, Frankfort is also worth a visit) then turn onto US 68 at Harrodsburg after visiting historic Fort Harrod State Park, or take the Lexington - Shakertown stretch of US 68 through the scenic Kentucky River Palisades - Harrodsburg is just the other side of Shakertown if you take this route.

If you enjoy antiques, check out Shelbyville, again just off I-64 but closer to Louisville.

Also within easy range of Louisville is Bardstown, the site of My Old Kentucky Home State Park plus many other historic attractions. And if that's not enough, the Cave Country is just down I-65.

There are good websites for all of these places and attractions.

Enjoy your Kentucky visit!

Respectfully, I disagree that that is enough time to see Louisville and go out in the state. There is so much to do in Louisville that 5 days is barely enough to scratch the surface. For this reason, I do not feel a visit to Lexington is warranted or needed at all as it would waste half a day driving round trip. While Lexington restaurants have improved, they are not even in the same ball park as those in Louisville. I do agree the beauty of US 68 is very unique to KY and would be worth seeing if the OP's primary destination were Lexington, however, it ends up being a TON of driving and US 60, while not involving as many hills or the river, also offers a uniquely KY experience between Louisville and Shelbyville which would not involve as long as a drive for the OP with teenagers.

That said, if the OP is into smaller towns, Bardstown would be a neat option to see that is a more reasonable day driving distance.

However, Louisville is the Chicago of KY. While Rockford, IL is a nice town, I am not sure anyone with the primary destination of Chicago for 5 days would make the 80 minute jaunt to see it. I think the same analogy applies here.