Hometown Series: Louisville, Kentucky

We would like to start a new Hometown Series to give our Red Wine followers the opportunity to give some advice about the town you grew up in or where you currently live. The travelers you meet along the way and have experienced a destination or lived there for years always give the best travel advice. You’ll find restaurants, galleries, shops, clubs, bars and parks that are not even given the time of day in mainstream travel books.

Scott is going to start off the Hometown Series by telling you the best places in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

For anyone not familiar with Kentucky, Louisville is on the Ohio River and borders Indiana. It’s known as the Bluegrass State and Kentucky Fried Chicken really is from this great state, along with Papa John’s Pizza, the Kentucky Derby, Abraham Lincoln, bourbon and nine NCAA basketball championships.

The most unique part of Louisville is an area of Bardstown Road in the Highlands which is filled with great independent restaurants, music shops, art stores, bars and eclectic vintage clothing boutiques. The stretch is about three miles long and very walkable, but there is a great bus system called TARC (Transit Authority of River City) that runs throughout the city and provides an easy method to get from Bardstown Road to the downtown area.

For restaurants to check out in this area, I’d recommend Wick’s or Bearno’s for pizza. Both are great and very different. Bearno’s cuts their pizza into squares on a thin crust and has amazing sausage, while Wick’s huge pizza has a ridiculously thick crust and a locale with more of a bar atmosphere.

For a really strange and delicious sit-down meal, Lynn’s Paradise Café is the place to spend some time. Mannequin legs protrude from the walls, table lamps hang upside down above booths, 1950's style tables are littered with mismatched chairs... and that’s after you’ve been outside in the massive teepee-shaped waiting room/shop that sits next to a giant coffee cup and brightly painted cows. The food is delicious, but slightly overpriced due to the distinct atmosphere. If nothing else, look around the equally zany gift shop that has items you could pour over for days and find numerous photo opportunities outside with painted cutouts to pop you face through.

If you’re in the mood for a pint, Molly Malone’s Irish pub has a great outdoor beer garden, plenty of good beer and Irish music.

Downtown Louisville is small enough to walk around easily and very safe, even at night. 4th Street is the best place to find a club with a mixture of music venues from country, rock and contemporary dance music. There’s even an upscale, modernized bowling alley that is unlike any other I have ever seen. Just be aware that all these clubs and fun spots aren’t cheap.

During the day, check out The Louisville Slugger factory, the Muhammad Ali Museum, the Museum Hotel which is an art gallery and a place to stay for a few nights. My favorite part is the two-way mirror in the men’s bathroom that is above the urinals and allows those doing their business to look out into the lobby. The Belle of Louisville, a 100-year old paddle wheel steam boat is docked on the river next to a very nice riverfront park which is a good place for a picnic. A short walk down the river is the Louisville Skate Park which is one of the nicest in the country and a great place to watch some extreme action if you’re not into falling off a skateboard yourself. It has 40,000 square feet of outdoor concrete skating surface including a full pipe, wooden vert ramp and restrooms.

If you’re into theatre, check out Actor’s Theatre which has a mix of contemporary and classic plays and a new play festival in early spring.

The best time of year for Louisville is during the Kentucky Derby Festival, which runs for two weeks up to The Kentucky Derby, the first Saturday in May. The festival is kick-started by Thunder Over Louisville, America’s largest annual fireworks display utilizing multiple barges, a bridge that crosses the river creating a waterfall of fire and sparks and many howitzers of the Kentucky National Guard. Every day during these two weeks is a celebration with events including a mini-marathon, art fairs, car shows, food cook-offs, balloon, steamboat and bed races and an event called The Run for the Rosé – a race where local waiters and waitresses run an obstacle course carrying a tray of full wine glasses - all leading up to the Kentucky Derby. If you can’t go to the Derby, Churchill Downs is open for horse racing most of the year, and a newly renovated museum opens in April.

This city of roughly 700,000 is packed with history, tradition, culture, music, entertainment and shouldn’t be missed on any road trip.


Now it’s your turn to be a travel writer; type a short article about your hometown and what shouldn’t be missed during a few days in your city, town or village and send it to redwinehelpsyousleepontrains@yahoo.com.