Help with 3-day trip to KY (Louisville area) (Lexington, Elizabethtown: where to stay, to rent)

[G in MP]

Guys, my wife and I plus our friend couple are planning a 3-day trip to Louisville in springtime. We're debating on whether to rent an Airbnb in Louisville for the 3 days, and just do some day trips out to the surrounding towns, or do something else like stay in Louisville 1-2 days, and stay somewhere else another day.

I researched a bit where to stay in Louisville (east of downtown, northward of Bardstown) and some sights to see there, and also researched some nearby towns that could be fun to visit like LaGrange, Bardstown, and Shelbyville.

I'd love to get to check out Lexington and surrounding towns, but dunno if there's enough time. What do you guys think?

[Crazee Cat Lady]

Louisville has some fabulous parks
The Pedestrian Bridge/Waterfront Park

Cherokee Park
Iroquois Park
McNeely Lake
Tom Wallace Park
^And many more!

If you like Amusement Parks there is Kentucky Kingdom, Louisville Zoological Gardens is small but really nice,
Of course if you are coming in the Spring you might want to check out Churchill Downs (there are a lot of events for Derby in May -the Great Balloon race, the Steamboat race, thunder over Louisville, etc.
There are some magnificent historic old hotels in Louisville - The Seelbach, the Brown, The Galt House...

What particular Louisville site was featured in The Great Gatsby?



Three primary landmarks: the Seelbach Hotel, Cherokee Triangle and Union Station all played a significant role in the novel and the story of Gatsby, with the Seelbach by far the most important site to visit.Jul 28, 2022


https://deepsouthmag.com/2022/07/28/...-great-gatsby/

Cherokee Triangle has some beautiful historic homes you might want to check out.

http://historiclouisville.com/cherokee-triangle/


If you like live theatre you might want to check out Actor's Theatre, Derby Dinner Playhouse, or Kentucky Center for the Arts. There is Shakespeare in Central Park....there is always an abundance of things to see and do in Louisville, and it's a foodies paradise!

[Crazee Cat Lady]

Bardstown KY is a great little town, that you would love to visit. Check out My Old Kentucky Home
(Stephen Fosters inspiration for the song 'My Old Kentucky home' Lagrange and Shelbyville are nice as well.
Did you ever see the movie 'Elizabethtown' with Orlando Bloom? You might want to visit the actual 'Elizabethtown' also.
Lexington and the Central Kentucky Bluegrass region is really nice also, honestly though, not sure you would have time to get around this way, because there is so much to do in Louisville and surrounding areas. We do have a lot of beautiful horse farms in Central Kentucky though.

[G in MP]

Crazee Cat Lady, awesome, thanks much! We're coming in early evening 03/31, and heading back to Chicago on 04/03, so I guess technically it's only 2 full days...so I'm sure you're right about no time for Lexington.

Our friends are looking at airbnb's in old Louisville (which I heard could get a little sketchy), central business district, Germantown, and Highlands. What would you say is the better choice for coming in on the 31st, dropping off our stuff and then having nearby attractions for a nice meal, some drinks, and pleasant locale to explore?

Bardstown and Elizabethtown would be great, yes! Since they're both down there south and near each other, I was thinking to do both in one day, and whatever else you could recommend down that way.

Is it worth taking time to check out the towns in Oldham county?

As far as what we like, architecture/history, maybe museums, pretty parks (I did hear about Cherokee park!), just scenic stuff all around, and interesting places to eat and drink. Not really into amusement parks, sports events, etc.

[mjlo]

I’d focus my Air BNB search in the Highlands - 40204 zip code. Anything within a few blocks of Bardstown Rd/Baxter Ave you should be good. You can walk to quite a bit of the many restaurants and night life in the neighborhood, and it’s a centralized starting point if you want to tour some of the downtown distilleries/ eating options in NULU etc.

Highlands restaurants I like:
The Cafe (for breakfast)
Wick's Pizza
Highland Taproom (bar food)
Dragon Kings Daughter (Asian Fusion)
Lou Vino (Italian, check for reservations)
O'Sheas (Irish Pub)
Molly Malones(Irish Pub)
Agave and Rye (Modern Tacos)
There's a lot I like too many to name

I'd also check out NULU along Market St.
La Bodegiuta de Mima (Cuban food, be dilligent about reservations)
Gaucamole
Evergreen Liquors (bourbon selection/tasting)
Taj Bar
Bar Vetti (Italian, reservations needed)
There's several options in NuLu as well.

I'm not as familiar with downtown options, but there's a speak easy called Hell or Highwater. It's a very cool space inside. Kind of reminds me of an upscale library. You need reservations to get in and they fill up fast so don't delay on them if you're curious. It could be a cool spot on Friday night if you're interested. Cocktails are more expensive, but they've got some super cool/innovative drinks last time I was there.

In terms of distilieries there are several downtown Michters, Angels Envy, Evan Williams etc. For distilleries out in the country I would say the Makers Mark tour is a must do for first time visitors to the area. Makers is a bit out of the way near Bardstown, it's in an absolutely gorgeous setting, and the tour is informative and fun. For a more laid back distillery tour I'd reccomend Willett. It's not far from Makers, both will require tickets purchased ahead of time if you want to do the tour. Heaven Hill is also on the way between Bardstown and Louisville they have a cool spot for cocktails we like.

There are plenty of things to do. For some of these things you'll want to plan it out a bit and get tickets or reservations. (Tickets for maker's tours sell out fast so don't delay if you want to go on a tour). If you can't make a tour and still want to check out Makers the gift shop/restaurant don't require a tour ticket. I'd research restaurants based on what you all want to try, and see when reservations are available. Though there are plenty of good options that won't require reservations as well. If you have more specific questions, please ask

[G in MP]

Cool, thanks Mjlo! That Makers Mark tour sounds like a good addition to us heading down to Bardstown, nice!

Is Germantown good to stay at? Looks fairly close to all that fun stuff in the Highlands and NuLu. Also, how's the parking there in those areas, or I suppose Uber is fairly efficient there (probably better idea anyways).

Yeh, whatever else you guys could think off, please chime in. Any other scenic areas to check out for architecture/history? Cat Lady mention Cherokee Triangle, gonna check that out.

[G in MP]

So we just got back from our 3-nite Louisville trip on Monday. It was an interesting experience, good time to be had. We stayed at an airbnb in Germantown, a remodeled shotgun house on Mary street, near Logan St Market (our go-to breakfast place). Our initial idea to head out of town for one of those days never materialized, so we spend the whole time in Louisville.

Wow, it's no lie that the food scene here is legit, with every meal we had here being flat out fantastic! We hit Agave & Rye, La Bodeguita De Mima, Bristol Bar & Grille, a few vendors for breakfasts in the Logan St Market, and our final intown breakfast at Big Bad Breakfast. We also had drinks at Prohibition Craft Spirits, Gravely Brewing, Atrium Brewing, and another place we did bourbon flights at which I can't recall. All these places were a great experience...great use of space with interesting decor, very friendly and attentive staff, and the pricing seemed quite fair. Also really cool that some establishments were repurposed buildings, like a corner gas/service station converted into a cafe, that sort of thing.

What I really enjoyed about Louisville was that it did not come off as a tourist town. Like all them places we ate/drank at seemed to cater to locals. Love that! The downside to that is that some of the areas we saw looks fairly shabby. Like the area we stayed at, Germantown, maybe 2 houses per block looking kept up or remodeled, the rest of them fairly neglected. Other areas were really nice though...like around Cherokee park, nice! And Cherokee park itself is quite impressive, I must say I'd be a regular visitor to that park if I lived in Louisville.

A few other things we did was take a trolley tour, which mainly took us through old Louisville and out to Churchill Downs. We went to a flea market and an antique mall, and also checked out a few local shops. We checked out the art museum at the Hotel Louisville. The ladies spent a few hours at The Craftery doing crafts and day drinking, while me and my bud went shooting pool at a dive bar (The Backdoor).

Fun trip, I'd visit again!

[Crazee Cat Lady]

Glad to hear you had a fun trip!



Louisville was recently voted one of the top ten foodie cities in America by Travel and Leisure.
(see number nine)
https://www.travelandleisure.com/bes...=pocket-newtab


^about time, and a well deserved honor!

[Oldhag1]

Glad you enjoyed the visit! Louisville does have some amazing food offerings.

[Crazee Cat Lady]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OgX1RlbzMg