Visiting Louisville, Kentucky

River City, Bourbon City, Derby City, Gateway to the South... there are a lot of nicknames for Kentucky's largest city. But there's a whole lot more to Louisville, Kentucky than any of these names lead you to believe.

Louisville KY is all of the things that prompted those nicknames and so many others over the generations, but it's more than each of them. We'll talk about those other nicknames later in this post, but let's start with Gateway to the South.

Louisville's location along the Ohio River and just south of Indiana makes this name seem obvious. It's a first step south from the Midwest... before you reach Virginia, Tennessee, the Carolinas or Georgia, you might just come through Kentucky. And if you're coming through Kentucky, you might just come through Louisville.

We weren't sure what to expect from our visit to Louisville KY. We've had a lot of folks give us recommendations for visiting places like Charleston, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, Asheville, North Carolina, and Chattanooga, Tennessee. But Louisville, Kentucky? Nope, we hadn't heard too much about it yet.

But when our travel route was going to be taking us north from Nashville and out of the south for the summer, we thought this would be the perfect time to stop in for a quick look to see what Louisville is all about.

As we quickly learned, one day in Louisville is not enough!

Things to Do in Louisville, Kentucky

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Free Things to Do in Louisville, Kentucky

Walk the streets of Downtown Louisville checking out the public art including a walk of fame honoring former professional baseball players, colorful full-size horse statues honoring the Kentucky Derby, and a 30-foot tall gold copy of Michelangelo's David in all his glory. (As we mention in the video, we also saw a smaller replica of David during our visit to St Augustine, Florida.)

Pop into the 1st museum hotel to see their latest exhibitions of contemporary art at 21c Museum Hotel. You can't miss this place on Main Street... look for the penguins on the roof and the giant gold David. Guided art gallery tours are also offered free of charge during most weeks.

Get some exercise when you stroll across the Ohio River from Kentucky to Indiana on the Big Four Bridge. Built as a railroad bridge in 1895, the bridge was decommissioned in 1969. It reopened as a pedestrian bridge in 2013, offering a 2 mile roundtrip over to Jeffersonville, Indiana and back to Waterfront Park in Louisville.

Enjoy live music at Louisville's downtown entertainment district, 4th Street Live!.

For more free art, take a look at the upcoming schedule for the Speed Art Museum. This museum offers free days each month.

Visit the final resting place and pay your respects to notable Louisville folks like Colonel Harlan Sanders and Muhammad Ali at the historic 1848 Cave Hill Cemetery. (Featured on an episode of the PBS series "World's Greatest Cemeteries".)

The Filson Historical Society offers free guided tours every weekday. Reservations are recommended.

Enjoy some time in nature by strolling through one of the 17 Louisville city parks that were designed by Fredrick Law Olmsted. You might be familiar with some of Mr Olmsted's other work. He also designed Central Park in New York City and the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina!

Places to Eat in Louisville, Kentucky

We only had one meal during our day in Louisville, but we really enjoyed our lunch at The Old Spaghetti Factory. As we mentioned in the video, it appears that downtown Louisville has a lot of good restaurant options to choose from. Don't worry, we'll try some more on our next visit!

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Tips for Visiting Louisville, Kentucky

Do not miss the Trolley Tour! The tour departs from Downtown Louisville daily and provides a great overview of the city, historical sites (including the Victorian homes), and recommendations of places to visit while you're in town.

Downtown Louisville is easily walkable with wide sidewalks on both sides of the street. We recommend parking your vehicle for the day and exploring the museum district along Main Street on foot. There are a lot of restaurant options around this area as well.

Paid parking is available around Louisville via parking garages, meters and surface lots. Some parking areas can be paid via apps. For information on public parking locations and daily fares, visit the Parking Authority of River City - PARC.

Plan to spend at least 3 or 4 days exploring in and around Louisville. And, if you are a fan of Kentucky Bourbon or its history, you'll need more like a week.

We downloaded discount tickets to some of the Louisville attractions through the visitor center app. Discount ticket bundles may also be available on the Louisville Tourism website.

What Makes Louisville KY Special?

Louisville is said to be the birthplace of the "Happy Birthday Song". The music is said to have been written here and copyrighted in 1893 by sisters Mildred and Patty Hill, originally titled "Good Morning to All". History says the sisters settled a lawsuit and officially copyrighted the lyrics of "Happy Birthday to You" in 1935.

Louisville is the largest city in Kentucky in both geographic area and population.

Louisville has been a city longer than Kentucky has been a state and was once a part of Virginia! Settled in 1778, the Town Charter of Louisville was approved by the Virginia General Assembly in 1780. Virginia ceded the District of Kentucky to the United States in 1792.

Louisville is the Disco Ball Capital of the World, having manufactured an estimated 90% of the disco balls back in the disco heydey. Yes, disco balls are still made in Louisville today!

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How did Louisville Get Its Name?

Believe it or not, Louisville, Kentucky was actually named for France's King Louis XVI in recognition for his support and assistance to the American Colonists during the Revolutionary War. This ode to France is also why you'll see the Fleur de Lis (a symbol we associate with French-influenced cities like New Orleans, Louisiana) on the official Louisville city seal and all around town.

Interestingly, King Louis XVI ruled under The House of Bourbon. Legend has it that this may also be why Kentucky's whiskey is known as Bourbon.

Louisville is Also Known As...

Google "Louisville KY nicknames" and you'll likely see a long list of names that folks have used over the years to refer to the city. Likely, the 2 most popular amongst visitors are:

Bourbon City

It's hard to visit Louisville without noticing bourbon. Evan Williams established the first commercial distillery in Louisville in 1783 using the limestone-filtered water of the Ohio River. By the late 1800s, the large number of distillers and spirits related businesses operating on Louisville's Main Street earned it the title of Whiskey Row. Today there are still several urban distilleries operating in Louisville, and the Frazier History Museum in Downtown Louisville is home to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Welcome Center.

Derby City

Louisville is home to historic Churchill Downs which has been hosting the Kentucky Derby since the year it opened, 1875. The Kentucky Derby is said to be the longest continually running sporting event in America and today brings in over 150,000 attendees each year.

Locals also refer to Louisville as the River City because the city hugs the Ohio River and the foundings of the community were based on river commerce that grew up from explorers portaging through where the city is today to get around rapids known as the Falls of the Ohio.

Is Louisville KY Worth Visiting?

We loved our time in Louisville and we 100% look forward to going back again in the future. After having visited, we're surprised we hadn't heard more about all of the fun and interesting things to do in Louisville before. We found Louisville to be a clean, welcoming city with lots of interesting things to see and do... a city that embraces its past and shares its stories via a variety of experiences.

But don't take our word for it. Louisville, Kentucky was recognized as one of The South's Best Cities 2024 by Southern Living and one of The 50 Best Places to Travel in 2024 by Travel + Leisure.

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Where is Louisville, Kentucky?

Louisville sits on the Ohio River at the state line of Kentucky and Indiana. Interstates 64, 65 and 71 run into Louisville.

How Far Is It from Louisville KY to...

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Our Basecamp for This Visit

📍 We stayed at the Scottsburg / Raintree Lake KOA Holiday in Scottsburg, Indiana. It's about 35 miles north of Louisville.

For More Information on Visiting Louisville, Kentucky

Check out the Louisville Tourism Website. You can also get current information about Louisville attractions and events at the Louisville Visitor Center located at 301 South Fourth Street in Downtown Louisville, KY.

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Louisville KY Fun Facts

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A Few Photos from Our Visit to Louisville