Things to do in Kentucky
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Mammoth Cave National Park
With the longest cave system on earth, Mammoth Cave National Park has some 300 miles of surveyed passageways. Mammoth is at least three times bigger than any other known cave, with vast interior cathedrals, bottomless pits, and strange, undulating rock formations. The caves have been used for prehistoric mineral gathering, as a source of saltpeter for gunpowder and as a tuberculosis hospital. Tourists started visiting around 1810 and guided tours have been offered since the 1830s. The area became a national park in 1926 and now brings nearly two million visitors each year.
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Lynn's Paradise Cafe
It's breakfast anytime at this psychedelic diner, marked by the 10ft-tall teapot outside. Don't miss the homemade biscuits with sorghum butter, or the Hot Brown sandwich, a Louisville classic invented in the 1920s at the Brown Hotel.
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Lilly's Bistro
Chef Kathy Cary creates 'Kentucky tapas' (think catfish spring rolls, chorizo spoonbread) at this eclectic upscale eatery, a longtime Bardstown Rd favorite. The three-course lunch menu ($15) is a steal.
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Kentucky Horse Park
The Kentucky Horse Park sits on 1200 acres just north of Lexington. Horses representing 50 different breeds live in the park and participate in special live shows. Also included, the international Museum of the Horse has neat dioramas of the horse through history, from the tiny prehistoric 'eohippus' to the pony express mail carriers. Seasonal horseback riding costs $15 with park ticket, $22 without. It has 260 paved sites open year-round. There are showers, laundry, a grocery, playgrounds and more. Primitive camping is also available.
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Louisville Slugger Museum
Look for the 120ft baseball bat leaning against the Louisville Slugger Museum - ya can't miss it. Hillerich & Bradsby Co have been making the famous Louisville Slugger baseball bat here since 1884. The admission fee includes a plant tour, a hall of baseball memorabilia such as Babe Ruth's bat, a batting cage and a free mini slugger. Customized bats are sold in the lobby. Note: bat production halts on Sunday, as well as on Saturday in the winter.
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Muhammad Ali Center
- Louisville, USA
- Sights › Other
Muhammad Ali Center is a love offering to the city from its most famous native. Self-guided tours include a stirring film on Ali's life and video projections of his most famous fights, as well as exhibits about the racial segregation and humanitarian issues that so vexed the outspoken man once known as the 'Louisville Lip.'
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Kentucky Derby Museum
On the grounds, the Kentucky Derby Museum has exhibits on derby history, including a peek into the life of jockeys and a roundup of the most illustrious horses. There is a 360-degree audiovisual about the race, and a behind-the-scenes track tour ($10) that leads you through the jockey's quarters and posh VIP seating areas.
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Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill
Thirty minutes southwest of Lexington is Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, home to a community of the Shaker religious sect until the early 1900s. Tour 14 impeccably restored buildings, set amid buttercup meadows and winding stone paths. There's an inn and restaurant, and a gift shop selling the Shakers' famous handicrafts.
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Holly Hill Inn
Guests dine in the converted bedrooms and parlors of an elegant old farmhouse, just west of Lexington in the town of Midway. The husband-and-wife owners serve local bounty with a deft touch - lamb with scallion ravioli, farmstead egg custard with fiddlehead ferns.
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Headley-Whitney Museum
Headley-Whitney Museum, marvellously old, holds the private collection of the late George Headley, a jewelry designer whose gemstone trinkets and handmade dollhouses are on display, along with a truly bizarre garage turned 'seashell grotto.'
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Red Mile
Head to the Red Mile to see harness racing, where jockeys are pulled behind horses in special two-wheeled carts. Live races are in the fall, but you can watch and wager on simulcasts of races from around the world year-round.
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Keeneland Race Course
Watch 'em run at the Keeneland Race Course, which has races in April and October and horse sales throughout the year. From March to November, you can watch the champions train from sunrise to 10am.
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Louisville Science Center
The kids will enjoy the interactive exhibits at the this centre, which include the 'Chemical Kitchen', 'Inventors Garage' and a giant heart that beats like a real one. The centre also houses an IMAX theatre.
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Frazier International History Museum
- Louisville, USA
- Sights › Other
The state-of-the-art Frazier International History Museum covers 1000 years of history with grisly battle dioramas and costumed interpreters demonstrating swordplay and staging mock debates.
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Thoroughbred Center
Most farms are closed to the public, but you can see working racehorses up close at the Thoroughbred Center, with tours of the stables, practice tracks and paddocks.
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Billy's Hickory Pit Bar-B-Q
Even the green beans have meat in them at homey Billy's, an institution known for its Kentucky-style smoked pork, beef and mutton and its burgoo, a regional chili-like stew.
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Speed Art Museum
- Louisville, USA
- Sights › Other
Speed Art Museum is a handsome Greek Revival-style building with more than 12,000 pieces of art, from classical sculptures to Kentucky mint julep cups.
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Actors Theatre of Louisville
This highly regarded theater performs everything from Shakespeare to contemporary musicals and has premiered several Pulitzer Prize-winning plays.
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Rudyard Kipling
In Old Louisville, this place is loved by arty locals for its intimate indie-bluegrass shows and Kentucky bar food (try the 'snappy cheese').
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Mary Todd-Lincoln House
The 1806 Mary Todd-Lincoln House has articles from the first lady's childhood and her years as Abe's wife.
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True North Outfitters
True North Outfitters sells gear and offers guided climbing and hiking trips, plus hostel beds ($18).
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Falls of the Ohio State Park
- Louisville, USA
- Sights › Other
A shallow part of the river exposes fossils from an ancient sea at the Falls of the Ohio State Park.
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Abraham Lincoln Birthplace
The Abraham Lincoln Birthplaceis a faux Greek temple constructed around an old log cabin.
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Hunt-Morgan House
Hunt-Morgan House is a fine Federal-style mansion (c 1814) with a small Civil War museum.
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Whispering Woods
Call to arrange guided trail rides at Whispering Woods, in bucolic Georgetown.
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