Baseball, bourbon, underground zip lining, horse racing.
I had an enjoyable week in Louisville, Kentucky and I was surprised at the amount of different things there are to do there.
https://www.gotolouisville.com/
Kentucky Derby:
Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby I suppose is the one thing that most people know Louisville for. The first leg of the Triple Crown is run on the first weekend in May and draws about 150,000 people to the track for the festivities. The first sign of horses was at the airport, this is a book and gift store. The Kentucky Derby Festival is held during the 2 weeks prior to the Derby race. There is a marathon, a steamboat race, fireworks and many other activities.
Bourbon District:
Not being a drinker I did not realize the extent of the bourbon influence in Louisville. There are at least 30 different distilleries in Louisville. The Bourbon District is a major part of tourism there and is marked by this sign.
Louisville Slugger:
Here in Louisville is the world’s tallest baseball bat at 120 feet.
There is a very interesting museum and tour you can go on where you can see Major League Baseball bats being made by the Louisville Slugger factory.
There are various displays in the museum. This is on Ted Williams who I believe is the greatest player of all time.
How cool is this bench which is actually a glove and ball.
Downtown Louisville:
Here are just some of the buildings and sights I saw in downtown Louisville.
This building has jockeys outside the second floor windows !
Louisville Slugger Field was built in 1998 and is home to the Triple-A team the Louisville Bats.
This gold statue of David is across the street from this sculpture of a horse and on the same side as the building with red penguins on it.
Louisville Mega Cavern:
Did you know that you can zipline underground in Louisville ?
The Louisville Mega Cavern is an old limestone mine which is now classified as a building and is the largest building in Kentucky. It was mined for more than 42 years and is now used for storage, recycling, business and tourism. There are guided tours, a ropes obstacle course, annual lights display and the zipline course.
One of the drive in entrances and the public entrance on the right.
This is what it looks like inside, solid rock walls and the next picture is of the holiday lights display.
Here is an advertised picture of the zipline. It is so much fun, I would highly recommend it.
Here is a picture of the ropes obstacle course. It is a fascinating creation with so many rope walks, plank bridges and all sorts of other rope obstacles to overcome.
Ohio river:
Louisville is on the Ohio river, with Indiana on the other side of the river. There are also riverboats available to enjoy.
The building in the center of the picture is the Muhammad Ali Center.
Kentucky Exposition Center:
This exposition center is the 6th largest of its kind in the United States and hosts the Kentucky State Fair, Robotics World Championships and various farming expos.
It has also hosted College Final Four basketball events, baseball and football games and motor races. This venue will bring the most people into Louisville besides the Kentucky Derby.
The arena at the KEC is circled by plaques commemorating the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame. Here is just one of the plaques.
Hot Brown:
There is even a signature dish in Louisville called the Hot Brown. It turns 100 years old in 2026 and originated in the Brown Hotel. It is a turkey breast sandwich covered in creamy Mornay sauce and then bacon, tomatoes and mushroom slices are added.
I think one of the coolest things about Louisville is that it was the home of Muhammad Ali. The airport is named after him and there is a Muhammad Ali Center.
Those are some of the reasons you should visit Louisville, Kentucky.
