The Horticulturalist

My OH is going to a conference at the convention centre there next year and I thought I might tag along.

A couple of quick questions for anyone who's stayed in hotels there - Do all the downtown hotels charge for parking? I'm going to look on Priceline for this, but I don't think the price would include parking - or would it?

I'd have maybe a day for sightseeing, what would you reccomend?

Bluegrass Lass

Well, I'm a L'ville native so I have plenty of insider info. If you're going to be downtown, there is great area called 4th Street Live that has all kinds of restaurants to go to, including a Hard Rock Cafe and an Improv and a place called The Pub (supposedly Irish I think). Within the downtown area, there is a Science museum, the Louisville Slugger museum where you can see how the Louisville Slugger baseball bats are made. The Muhammed Ali museum is also downtown. If you want to see something pretty specific to L'ville then I recommend the Slugger and Ali museums. There are also Actor's Theatre and The Kentucky Center for the Arts where they have some ballets, musicals and shows that are usually worth seeing if you're into that scene.

As far as parking costs, I'm not really sure. I know when I've stayed at The Galt House, parking was always a separate cost but it wasn't overly expensive. I can't speak for other hotels tho. Don't expect parking rates to be as high as bigger cities like Chicago or D.C. I could park all day in some lots for $8 to $10.

Let me know what you would like to do/see and I'll let you know if there is something similiar.

Oh, I almost forgot, we do have several distilleries around the area that make bourbon whiskey (KY is one of the top places in the world for bourbon) and there could be some that do tours.

Scouse Express

If you stay at the Galt House, the "Belle of Louisville" is within walking distance and does scenic trips on the Ohio River.......very nice!

Louisville Slugger Bat Factory is well worth seeing, as well as Churchill Downs (Home of the Kentucky Derby). This is about a 10 minute drive from the Hotel.

The Jim Beam Distillery in nearby Bardstown, KY, is also worth a visit. Across the River, you also have the Derby Dinner Playhouse. They do great dinner shows.

Hope this helps!


Jim.

The Horticulturalist

Thank you both for your helpful suggestions!! It's not till April 2010 so it should be a nice time to go!

ian-mstm

Word of advice... if you get a Louisville Slugger mini-bat, be sure not to put it in your carry-on bag when flying home. Put it in your checked luggage.

I don't live in Louisville, but it's my local USCIS office. I've stayed at the Holiday Inn on W. Broadway just down the road from the federal building - they didn't charge for parking, at least... they didn't when I was there!

Ian

Bluegrass Lass

Yep, all good suggestions. However, the Belle just had a bit of a crash while out on a dinner cruise (it hit a barge) so it's in dry dock for repairs until further notice. My mother's boyfriend literally lives within a stone's throw of Jim Beam - he's actually selling his property to Jim Beam. So Jim Beam would be good to tour.

Oooh, Horticulturalist, I just read your other post. April next year is going to be THE time to be here. The Kentucky Derby horse race is the first week in May, so depending on what days in April you plan on being here, there could be a shit load of things for you to do related to the Derby. There are a lot of events to see, including a massive air and fireworks show called Thunder Over Louisville. I hope you have already booked the hotel and car rental otherwise they may not be available. This town gains about 100k people during the last 2 weeks of April and beginning of May.

If you are going to be here during the latter half of April, then take a look at http://www.kdf.org/ periodically to see what events are going to held during next year's Derby festival.