Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If I was ranking them by sheer volume of things to do, it would probably go 1. Cincinnati 2. Indianapolis 3. Louisville. However, I don't think the gap between these is all that large, and I think Louisville in particular is closer to Indianapolis, by virtue of it being a river city with maybe a more distinctive local identity.
I'll rate them by what I see their respective strengths as being:
Cincinnati:
1. Has Kings Island. As amusement parks go, it is the third most visited seasonal one in North America after Canada's Wonderland and Cedar Point. I know Louisville has Kentucky Kingdom, but even still, I don't think either of the other two have a theme park close to on the order/scale of this one.
2. You mentioned aquariums and zoos. Newport Aquarium (just across bridge in Cincinnati) has recently been named the best aquarium in the midwest, and among the best in the US. If not national class, at very least it seems a better option than the other two have. Also, while all three have zoos, and all three appear to be quite good, Cincinnati's appears to be the most esteemed, and to have the largest diversity in species. Also, Cincinnati is the closest (just under 2 hrs.) to Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, which is perhaps rivaled or surpassed only by San Diego as being the most esteemed Zoo in the US (Jungle Jack Hanna's work).
3. By volume at least, Cincinnati is the best sports town in terms of tickets/options in town. It has MLB and NFL right in town, as well as MLS, and Big Time D-1 College Football (Cincinnati) and Basketball (Cincinnati and Xavier). It is also the closest of these three markets to an NHL team (again, Columbus, just over 90 minutes).
4. Cincinnati almost certainly has the best natural setting of the three https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1068...8i8192!5m1!1e3
I'm not necessarily sure what this does for you, but it is a gorgeous placement. Perhaps others can speak specifically to the placement of nearby hiking opportunities. If you're like me, you may even consider the Smokies as a weekend trip from here for hikes, leaf peeping etc, as 5 hrs. drive isn't all that bad. However, Louisville can kinda make that claim too, as in looking, the two are just about equidistant from Gatlinburg.
5. Cincinnati is, likely the most endowed of the three in terms of history, historic architecture, and cultural institutions. Between Cincinnati Museum Center, the aforementioned Zoo, the European in appearance Music Hall, Over the Rhine, Mount Adams, there is a lot to learn and take in, here.
Indianapolis:
1. Gets the most major events out of the bunch. Super Bowl, Final Four, CFP, B1G Championship, Indy 500 every year of course, you name it.
2. Indianapolis is the closest to Chicago. You don't mention being a big city person, but being 3 hrs. from Chicago I'd think would be considered a relative strength on volume of things to do. This also means that from the NW of the metro, you are as little as 2 hrs. from Indiana Dunes National Park, and Lake Michigan beaches, certainly making this a day trip/cool off option during the summer.
3. Despite perhaps being the least scenically interesting of the three, Indianapolis appears to have the best network of metropolitan parks and bike trails serving the metro area.
4. I know you mentioned football and baseball (and the following for the Colts, perhaps based on their success, seems more consistent than that of the Bengals in Cincinnati), but Indianapolis maybe has the best local "sports culture" IMO, specifically in regard to basketball. The state is diehard about that, and from what I understand, the state high school tournament likely has an amazing atmosphere and fanfare to it as well.
5. Indianapolis has Carmel, which is likely the most acclaimed suburb in any of the three and one of the most so in the country. It also maybe has the strongest metropolitan economy, particularly in certain niche industries and with the added benefit of being a state capitol which should help it's cause in the years to come.
Louisville
1. Based on maybe not all that much, since I'm not that well versed on music scenes, I would presume Louisville would have the most of what you are looking for from a country music standpoint at very least, and possibly also rock. Call it "Nashville bias", and the city does have that proximity as one of it's strengths (a little under 3 hrs.) but also, just the fact that the main section of street downtown is called Fourth Street Live! IDK, it just seems to resonate that it would be popular for someone musically inclined, towards seeing shows, etc.
2. I never did answer your questions about car shows (IDK) and whether one or the other is particularly good at celebrating Christmas or Halloween (I'm sure each are fine or have cool things), but I do think in general, Louisville has the best fair or festival vibe of the three. The Kentucky Derby in of itself (wasn't sure exactly how to attach horse racing into strengths while being subtle lol) is a major draw and party that spans the entire weekend and then some. It also hosts the Kentucky State Fair, Thunder Over Louisville (I knew about this as being the largest fireworks display in North America), and it appears several other major events throughout the year, from a bourbon fest, to what is officially titled as the World's Largest Halloween Fest, so, there you go lol. I'm sure any one of these cities has great offerings through, as I've also heard great things about Cincinnati's Oktoberfest.
3. Caves. I mean, this is a quirky one, but as a single natural feature nearby one of these cities, Mammoth Cave is likely the most noteworthy or unique. It's a little over 90 minutes, and it can range in possibility. You could just go there once and do the standard self guided cave tour.. but then it's also the world's largest known cave system.. so you could also go as crazy as you want to, learning spelunking on the weekends, and generally becoming an expert. You also have Louisville Mega Cavern right in town, which is a very different kinda deal, but it still seems like a fun local thing to do.
4. Drinking-The fact that it's such a hub for Bourbon on a global scale, and that the mint julep was crafted here are relevant in of themselves, but so too is the fact another poster mentions a later last call here. Louisville takes some cues from nearby Nashville in establishing itself as a party city.
5. Uniqueness-This is at least partially a good thing. Between horses, bourbon, being a river city, etc, Louisville seems to have more of a distinctive city/metro culture overall than Indy and Cincy too. There is also that vibe of hipsterdom that is present with the Keep Louisville Weird, etc, that is perhaps almost a bit of a reach after what Portland and Austin have done. That second part of the uniqueness could be taken as a good or bad thing lol.
I think I could be happy living in each of these three, and don't think you can go wrong. Good luck!
Decent stab...but your knowledge of Louisville is shaky and superficial at best. You are correct on festivals. Louisville has St James art fair, rated usually top or top 3 nationally, one of largest zombie walks, and it also has 4 of the largest music festivals in the midwest. Forecastle has a reputation right behind Lolla in the Midwest but recently Cincinnati got bigger with Bunbury.
Still, Louisville's Trifecta festival with three back to back weekends of Bourbon and Beyond, Hometown Rising, and Louder than Life cannot be compared in this region.
Also, for several years, Louisville's Yum got more major concerts than Cincinnati. It has been top 20 in the USA for music shows attendance in some pre covid years.
I'm sorry but Cincinnati and Louisville crush Indy in the music arena:
This is fueled by an amazing independent music radio scene.
Louisville is also far and away the most per capita gays and has also the most thriving gay nightlife and drag.
All in all, the three cities are actually close in amenities, remarkably so, but owhat one lacks, the other has. Remember Louisville has a couple unique casinos as does Cincy.
I can only think of one objective way to compare "things to do" in the cities and that is using data like from tripadvisor
using that, it is Indy 157
Louisville 170
Cincinnati 170
City Data is sleeping on Louisville and it is so funny. Folks on City-data...."Louisville has less to do and out of it's league"
meanwhile you do not look at objective lists like Tripadvisor and I guarantee none of you have seen even 25 of the top 170 things listed for Louisville lol.
So curious, are you guys aware how many hotels Louisville is building and how big bourbon tourism is? Have any of you visited Louisville in 2019 to see all the tourists with bourbon bags walking downtown and Nulu? One thing I agree with is Louisville has a major, read major, image and branding issue.
Oh, Louisville DOES have Tier one pro sports, but it is womens pro soccer (hosting an international women pro soccer event now actually). Louisville's men's soccer is Tier 1b and leads the USL in attendance in a swank new stadium with luxury boxes. Also, Louisville college sports are on a whole different level than these other two being a major high level ACC school.
Also, Louisville has by far the most relevant major music superstars right now. Among them in rock are Houndmouth and the White Stripes. In rap, Jack Harlow Bryson Tiller are huge. And now EST Gee may be the hottest new rap artist of the year.
In sum, I'd say Louisville and Cincinnati have the most to do, as evidenced objectively by Tripadvisor. Yet Indy is essentially equal too just different.
Last edited by Peter1948; 08-20-2021 at 01:05 AM..
Decent stab...but your knowledge of Louisville is shaky and superficial at best. You are correct on festivals. Louisville has St James art fair, rated usually top or top 3 nationally, one of largest zombie walks, and it also has 4 of the largest music festivals in the midwest. Forecastle has a reputation right behind Lolla in the Midwest but recently Cincinnati got bigger with Bunbury.
Still, Louisville's Trifecta festival with three back to back weekends of Bourbon and Beyond, Hometown Rising, and Louder than Life cannot be compared in this region.
Also, for several years, Louisville's Yum got more major concerts than Cincinnati. It has been top 20 in the USA for music shows attendance in some pre covid years.
I'm sorry but Cincinnati and Louisville crush Indy in the music arena:
This is fueled by an amazing independent music radio scene.
Louisville is also far and away the most per capita gays and has also the most thriving gay nightlife and drag.
All in all, the three cities are actually close in amenities, remarkably so, but owhat one lacks, the other has. Remember Louisville has a couple unique casinos as does Cincy.
I can only think of one objective way to compare "things to do" in the cities and that is using data like from tripadvisor
using that, it is Indy 157
Louisville 170
Cincinnati 170
City Data is sleeping on Louisville and it is so funny. Folks on City-data...."Louisville has less to do and out of it's league"
meanwhile you do not look at objective lists like Tripadvisor and I guarantee none of you have seen even 25 of the top 170 things listed for Louisville lol.
So curious, are you guys aware how many hotels Louisville is building and how big bourbon tourism is? Have any of you visited Louisville in 2019 to see all the tourists with bourbon bags walking downtown and Nulu? One thing I agree with is Louisville has a major, read major, image and branding issue.
Oh, Louisville DOES have Tier one pro sports, but it is womens pro soccer (hosting an international women pro soccer event now actually). Louisville's men's soccer is Tier 1b and leads the USL in attendance in a swank new stadium with luxury boxes. Also, Louisville college sports are on a whole different level than these other two being a major high level ACC school.
Also, Louisville has by far the most relevant major music superstars right now. Among them in rock are Houndmouth and the White Stripes. In rap, Jack Harlow Bryson Tiller are huge. And now EST Gee may be the hottest new rap artist of the year.
In sum, I'd say Louisville and Cincinnati have the most to do, as evidenced objectively by Tripadvisor. Yet Indy is essentially equal too just different.
Louisville is not "midwest" in most rankings. Clearly all these towns are north of the ohio river.
Louisville has been on top travel lists for over a decade. US News, Conde Naste, Lonely Planet. Smart Assett, Southern Living. You name it, almost any pub has listed it high since 2010.
Decent stab...but your knowledge of Louisville is shaky and superficial at best...
Can't really say I disagree-not from the area and haven't spent a ton of time around there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter1948
I'm sorry but Cincinnati and Louisville crush Indy in the music arena
I mentioned agreeing with you on that. I've never really heard about Indy being a major music city and presumed that Louisville would have the best scene, even based on what limited knowledge I have.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter1948
All in all, the three cities are actually close in amenities, remarkably so, but owhat one lacks, the other has. Remember Louisville has a couple unique casinos as does Cincy.
I would agree that the disparity isn't significant necessarily, and I would also agree that they seem to be complementary in terms of one or the other having what the others lack.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter1948
I can only think of one objective way to compare "things to do" in the cities and that is using data like from Tripadvisor
using that, it is Indy 157
Louisville 170
Cincinnati 170
City Data is sleeping on Louisville and it is so funny. Folks on City-data...."Louisville has less to do and out of it's league"
meanwhile you do not look at objective lists like Tripadvisor and I guarantee none of you have seen even 25 of the top 170 things listed for Louisville lol.
I get what you are saying by using TripAdvisor as an objective frame of reference and I do that sometimes also, but I do have a couple issues with that. TripAdvisor itself is a site that is subject to bias based on which people may use and rate it, etc. It's entirely possible that a city like Louisville could be underrated on it, compared to a city which just happens to get more overnight visitors, but still only has an equal or lesser amount of things to do. I would imagine cities like Myrtle Beach, SC and Gatlinburg, TN, at least on a certain level "outkick their coverage" on there, while there are certain attractions in say Louisville or Indianapolis that don't even get reviews, because said cool thing is completely unknown to visitors outside the area who might be more likely to write a review in the first place. Also, you have to remember that this logic is assuming that we are literally only comparing the city propers, which, at least for me I'd say we are at least comparing the MSA's as a whole. Based on the most recent estimates I've seen:
Louisville city limits is roughly 49% of the MSA population, 700K outside city limits
Indianapolis city limits is roughly 42% of the MSA population, 1.2 Million outside city limits
Cincinnati city limits is only 14% of the MSA population, 2.0 Million outside city limits
Obviously, a higher percentage of touristic attractions are going to be within the city limits anyway, but this is at least something to consider or account for. Not saying that Louisville doesn't have a good amount of things to do, and honestly, I do think these three are all somewhat in the same tier on that (though Cincy is probably at the higher bound of that group), just figured I would input my logic on that too as a data nerd
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter1948
So curious, are you guys aware how many hotels Louisville is building and how big bourbon tourism is? Have any of you visited Louisville in 2019 to see all the tourists with bourbon bags walking downtown and Nulu? One thing I agree with is Louisville has a major, read major, image and branding issue.
Louisville likely does have a bright future, as it has positive qualities of both a midwestern and southern city in some ways at once. Looking forward to making it for a longer visit at some point.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter1948
Oh, Louisville DOES have Tier one pro sports, but it is womens pro soccer (hosting an international women pro soccer event now actually). Louisville's men's soccer is Tier 1b and leads the USL in attendance in a swank new stadium with luxury boxes. Also, Louisville college sports are on a whole different level than these other two being a major high level ACC school.
Having NWSL isn't a small thing, esp. considering that many of the other franchises currently in the league are playing directly at their MLS market/stadium, perhaps showing consideration to Louisville eventually getting one of those as well (Sacramento's failed bid, perhaps?). That said, just from a purely economic standpoint, it's difficult for me to quite yet at least, consider NWSL at the same level of being Tier 1 (even though, compared to MLS from a competitiveness standpoint, it's perhaps actually more of a major league, given that it has teams and players playing in it that are among the best in the world, in their prime). I saw that a team, Reign FC, had just been acquired for 3.5 million, which was actually a step up, given that many of the teams in the league had previously been valued in the 1-2 million range by most estimates, even still, the cheapest of the "Big 4" leagues at this point valued, is the Arizona Coyotes, at 300 million. FWIW, this data analysis shows the low end of WNBA valuations at around 17 million (they keep things bottled up impressively tight) https://herhoopstats.substack.com/p/...ale-worth-2021
I am rooting for the NWSL, as I think it's a good thing for soccer and the American sports scene in general, and I am glad it was resilient enough to survive COVID-19, and now hopefully grow.
I can't really argue your point about Louisville having an ACC team. Being a UCF fan/alum, I know firsthand the inherent TV revenue, reputation, visibility, etc. value of being in a Power 5 league. Indianapolis is certainly 3rd place on college sports, in spite of occasionally hosting the big boy events and Butler (and the legendary Hinkle Fieldhouse). Cincinnati is closer, with the dynamic that, at least for the past few and next few years, Cincy is and will likely remain a Top 25 national CFB program competitiveness wise, whereas Louisville has dropped off a bit in the post-Lamar Jackson years (Louisville's early-season game against UCF would be key to the Cardinals returning to bowl eligibility this year, with FPI rating it as roughly a toss-up game currently, 53-47% Louisville as a home favorite, should be one of the more competitive non-conference games this fall), and with the added presence of Xavier.
All that to say though, college sports would be 1) Louisville 2) Cincinnati 3) Indianapolis, but overall sports objectively at least IMO 1) Cincinnati 2) Indianapolis 3) Louisville. The KFC Yum! Center looks like perhaps the most impressive modern arena in CBB right now, so hopefully that helps Louisville to attract NBA or NHL at some point (I hear the previously mentioned Coyotes are looking for a new home next year, so..)
Can't really say I disagree-not from the area and haven't spent a ton of time around there.
I mentioned agreeing with you on that. I've never really heard about Indy being a major music city and presumed that Louisville would have the best scene, even based on what limited knowledge I have.
I would agree that the disparity isn't significant necessarily, and I would also agree that they seem to be complementary in terms of one or the other having what the others lack.
I get what you are saying by using TripAdvisor as an objective frame of reference and I do that sometimes also, but I do have a couple issues with that. TripAdvisor itself is a site that is subject to bias based on which people may use and rate it, etc. It's entirely possible that a city like Louisville could be underrated on it, compared to a city which just happens to get more overnight visitors, but still only has an equal or lesser amount of things to do. I would imagine cities like Myrtle Beach, SC and Gatlinburg, TN, at least on a certain level "outkick their coverage" on there, while there are certain attractions in say Louisville or Indianapolis that don't even get reviews, because said cool thing is completely unknown to visitors outside the area who might be more likely to write a review in the first place. Also, you have to remember that this logic is assuming that we are literally only comparing the city propers, which, at least for me I'd say we are at least comparing the MSA's as a whole. Based on the most recent estimates I've seen:
Louisville city limits is roughly 49% of the MSA population, 700K outside city limits
Indianapolis city limits is roughly 42% of the MSA population, 1.2 Million outside city limits
Cincinnati city limits is only 14% of the MSA population, 2.0 Million outside city limits
Obviously, a higher percentage of touristic attractions are going to be within the city limits anyway, but this is at least something to consider or account for. Not saying that Louisville doesn't have a good amount of things to do, and honestly, I do think these three are all somewhat in the same tier on that (though Cincy is probably at the higher bound of that group), just figured I would input my logic on that too as a data nerd
Louisville likely does have a bright future, as it has positive qualities of both a midwestern and southern city in some ways at once. Looking forward to making it for a longer visit at some point.
Having NWSL isn't a small thing, esp. considering that many of the other franchises currently in the league are playing directly at their MLS market/stadium, perhaps showing consideration to Louisville eventually getting one of those as well (Sacramento's failed bid, perhaps?). That said, just from a purely economic standpoint, it's difficult for me to quite yet at least, consider NWSL at the same level of being Tier 1 (even though, compared to MLS from a competitiveness standpoint, it's perhaps actually more of a major league, given that it has teams and players playing in it that are among the best in the world, in their prime). I saw that a team, Reign FC, had just been acquired for 3.5 million, which was actually a step up, given that many of the teams in the league had previously been valued in the 1-2 million range by most estimates, even still, the cheapest of the "Big 4" leagues at this point valued, is the Arizona Coyotes, at 300 million. FWIW, this data analysis shows the low end of WNBA valuations at around 17 million (they keep things bottled up impressively tight) https://herhoopstats.substack.com/p/...ale-worth-2021
I am rooting for the NWSL, as I think it's a good thing for soccer and the American sports scene in general, and I am glad it was resilient enough to survive COVID-19, and now hopefully grow.
I can't really argue your point about Louisville having an ACC team. Being a UCF fan/alum, I know firsthand the inherent TV revenue, reputation, visibility, etc. value of being in a Power 5 league. Indianapolis is certainly 3rd place on college sports, in spite of occasionally hosting the big boy events and Butler (and the legendary Hinkle Fieldhouse). Cincinnati is closer, with the dynamic that, at least for the past few and next few years, Cincy is and will likely remain a Top 25 national CFB program competitiveness wise, whereas Louisville has dropped off a bit in the post-Lamar Jackson years (Louisville's early-season game against UCF would be key to the Cardinals returning to bowl eligibility this year, with FPI rating it as roughly a toss-up game currently, 53-47% Louisville as a home favorite, should be one of the more competitive non-conference games this fall), and with the added presence of Xavier.
All that to say though, college sports would be 1) Louisville 2) Cincinnati 3) Indianapolis, but overall sports objectively at least IMO 1) Cincinnati 2) Indianapolis 3) Louisville. The KFC Yum! Center looks like perhaps the most impressive modern arena in CBB right now, so hopefully that helps Louisville to attract NBA or NHL at some point (I hear the previously mentioned Coyotes are looking for a new home next year, so..)
Haven't the NHL Phoenix Coyotes been rumored to be wanting to move, for a number of years now? At one point I remember hearing a rumor that they looked into moving to Las Vegas, before the NHL gave that city an expansion team (Golden Knights).
And yes have seen the inside of the KFC Yum Center on TV before for certain Louisville basketball games, and it looks nice. I know there are some businesspeople in Louisville that to this day are bitter about their former ABA team not being picked up by the NBA in that merger(unlike i.e. the San Antonio Spurs), and would like the NBA to consider adding an expansion team in Louisville. Hopefully, Louisville might be considered for either an NBA or NHL team one day. Especially if the NHL some years back, added a team in Columbus (Blue Jackets).
Haven't the NHL Phoenix Coyotes been rumored to be wanting to move, for a number of years now? At one point I remember hearing a rumor that they looked into moving to Las Vegas, before the NHL gave that city an expansion team (Golden Knights).
And yes have seen the inside of the KFC Yum Center on TV before for certain Louisville basketball games, and it looks nice. I know there are some businesspeople in Louisville that to this day are bitter about their former ABA team not being picked up by the NBA in that merger(unlike i.e. the San Antonio Spurs), and would like the NBA to consider adding an expansion team in Louisville. Hopefully, Louisville might be considered for either an NBA or NHL team one day. Especially if the NHL some years back, added a team in Columbus (Blue Jackets).
There's a large group of NBA investors in Louisville. They have a regular group and meetings. It's a huge deal. There's a local investor who is among the wealthiest in the USA. Alot of it is secret but the group is not.
Trust me when I tell you Louisville can and will support an NBA team. Think OKC but better. The new mayor will be a go getter and very pro NBA.
If you like horses racing: Louisville
If you are a racecar driver: Indianapolis
If you like other things: Cincinnati
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
