A Weekend Getaway to Louisville, Kentucky- It Is More Than Just Horse Racing, Baseball Bats, and Bourbon
The pretty and walkable streets of downtown Louisville outside the Louisville Slugger Museum and Kentucky Science Center.
Why You Should Go
Louisville makes for a great weekend getaway for the family with its riverfront greenways and parks, cool restaurants, fun science museum, zipline in a cave, fossil hike, and a magnificent pedestrian bridge crossing the Ohio River.
It’s a city where you can walk or bike over to Indiana and have lunch before popping back over to Kentucky. The kids will love the idea of state hopping. For history buffs, Louisville is where Lewis and Clark set off on their western adventure and you can learn all about it in the small but unexpectedly fun Frazier History Museum downtown. Sounds pretty good, right?
But wait, there’s more! You can also explore the two attractions most people associate with Louisville, the Louisville Slugger Museum and the Kentucky Derby Museum at the Churchill Downs Racetrack, both of which are worth a trip just by themselves. Even some of the bourbon distilleries, another calling card of this city, are very kid-friendly.
Between all the things to do and see in Louisville, you could probably spend a week exploring this awesome city, but a weekend will certainly be a great getaway for the family. Time to reconnect, put down the devices, and have some fun together!
View of downtown Louisville and part of Waterfront Park from the Big Four Bridge.
Where You Should Stay
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Louisville has a compact downtown area and most of the activities are located within just a few blocks of each other. Stay as near to Waterfront Park/ KFC Yum Center or 4th Street Live! as you can. Here are just a few of our lodging recommendations:
The Hyatt Regency Louisville is perfectly positioned next to the Convention Center and 4th Street Live!, a glassed-in pedestrian area of restaurants, bars, and shops. We stayed in the 2 Q room with 2 adults and twin 7 year old boys and really enjoyed the hotel. Although breakfast wasn’t included, the spacious room, in-room mini-fridge and coffee maker, and the small indoor pool made up for it. We would stay here again.
If you are looking for an apartment rental, try the John Brasch Suite at The Palace Theatre just a block north of 4th Street Live! A 2 BR/ 2 Ba apartment in a good location, it is recently renovated and comes with free parking for 1 vehicle.
Pro-Tip: Just across the river in Jeffersonville, Indiana is also a good location, especially if you are into biking (you can easily take the Big Four Bridge over the river and into downtown.) There are a few restaurants, shops, and a good brewery (Flat 12 Bierwerks) on Jeffersonville’s picturesque Spring Street area and its riverfront.
What You Should Not Miss
Waterfront Park and the Big Four Bridge
Louisville has put a lot of money into revitalizing its riverfront and you can tell. The 8 mile long Riverwalk is a great mixed-use greenway, and Waterfront Park has playgrounds, swings, a splash pad, huge grass lawns, and a general respite from the hustle and bustle of urban life. Rent a kayak to explore the Ohio River or, if you are a landlubber, rent bikes from WheelFun Rentals.
The real showpiece of Waterfront Park though is the Big Four Bridge, a former rail bridge now converted to pedestrian and cyclist use. Stroll or bike across to Indiana while admiring the views of downtown and the river from this awesome vantage point.
Where You Should Eat
You’ll find a surprisingly good food scene in Louisville. Here are just a few of our favorites.
Home of the Louisville-style pizza (2 layers of toppings and cheese), this isn’t the original location in town but it has a nice relaxed vibe to it. The menu is not extensive but what they do, they do well. It’s a great value, has excellent service, is loved by the locals (there were tables of construction workers still in their yellow vests next to tables of business people), and is convenient to everything. Definitely stop here at some point.
One of our favorite places in Louisville, this is a cozy and unpretentious basement pub. It has good food, a great beer list, and very reasonable prices for downtown. The kids loved the hidden room, and the sports TVs all around kept them entertained. The giant troll outside is a fun photo op as well.
This is a covered, pedestrian, two story area that contains over 20 different bars and restaurants. It is a little touristy with the Hard Rock Cafe and Guy Fieri’s as some of the dining choices but could be perfect if you have some picky eaters and want a lot of options. Or it’s raining.
With all the possibilities, there is something for everyone in Louisville at any time of year. Louisville is within a 3 hour drive of Nashville, Indianapolis, Columbus, and Cincinnati; and a 4 hour drive of St. Louis and Knoxville.