Louisville

Advertisement

Introducing Louisville

A major shipping center during the days of Westward Expansion, Louisville (or Looeyville, or Louahvul, or Luhvul) is still the largest city in Kentucky.

Advertisement

Best known as home of the Kentucky Derby, which has been drawing aristocrats to Churchill Downs since 1875, Louisville is also a nice place to stop for a day or two, with some good museums, a pretty riverfront, and interesting blue-collar neighborhoods full of corner pool halls and drive-through chili restaurants. Located just south of downtown is Old Louisville (www.oldlouisville.com), with the largest collection of Victorian homes in the country. A series of pretty parks (laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1890s) encircle the city, along with an inner (I-264) and outer (I-265) ring road.

The visitor center (502-582-3732, 888-568-4784; www.gotolouisville.com; 221 S 4th St; 10am-6pm Mon-Sat, noon-5pm Sun) has a free exhibit about that great Kentucky icon, KFC founder Colonel Sanders. Surf the web free at the public library (301 York St) downtown.

Last updated: Jun 15, 2009

Thorn Tree forum discussion

Recent posts

  1. buckguy avatar
    Re: USA Road Trip day stops

    by buckguy 20 August 2011

    If you go a relatively straight line from DC to Nashville, you'll be able to do Skyline Drive, Blue Ridge Pky, Shenandoah, and the the…
  2. 30somethingtraveler avatar
    RE: Touring small town USA (& Canada)

    by 30somethingtraveler 19 August 2011

    Congratulations on your retirement! My husband and I drove across the U.S. from NYC to Seattle and can't wait to do another drive when…
  3. alime avatar
    Re: Kentucky Derby 2012 inc. nashville to chicago roadtrip

    by alime 10 July 2011

    OK thanks for the help so far. I didnt realise there would be an issue with one way car hire, that's something to think about. I woul…

See all Thorn Tree forum discussions for Louisville

In our shop

See all shop products

Travel Insurance

Going to USA? Make sure you're covered.

Get a quote

See all travel services

Advertisement