| Louisville is Kentucky’s largest and most prized city. Despite its size, Lousiville has consistently been honored as one of the Top Ten safest large cities by Morgan Quitno research company. The city’s beautiful skyline continues to change and grow with the population; recent additions will include the proposed 62-story Museum Plaza and 22,000-seat waterfront arena. The downtown business district is Louisville’s prominent urban hub; a glassed-in Skywalk spans six city blocks and links the Kentucky International Convention Center, Fourth Street Live, and several hotels including the Falt House Hotel & Suites, the Marriott, and Hyatt Regency. It is scenically set south of the Ohio River and southeast of the Falls of the Ohio. The nearby West Main District features Museum Row, where the Frazier International History Museum, Lousiville Science Center, and Muhammad Ali Center all reside. The Belle of Louisville is also a noteable feature, as it is the oldest Mississippi-style steamboat still in operation. Family fun is a priority for Louisville; they host the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Thunder Over Louisville (the largest annual fireworks display in the country), and events like the Great Steamboat Race and Great Balloon Race. Lousiville Waterfront Park’s free concerts and festivals and Cherokee Park’s prominent landscape. The Valhalla Golf Club is the place to be for golfers, and is host to the 2008 Ryder Cup; don’t worry--the kids will have a blast at Louisville Extreme Park skateboarding while you golf. Sports lovers can catch a University of Lousisville men’s basketball game coached by Rick Pitino. As the sun sets, Louisville nightlife really picks up, and the Highlands neighborhood is the best known bohemian and night club destination. Whether you grab a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken and head for a picnic in the park or choose to enjoy a sweet sounding evening at a blues club, Louisville, Kentucky is the place to be. Kentucky is a state where good food and fine distilled spirits are as much a part of the state’s heritage as its sparkling lakes, babbling rivers, green mountains, and rolling hills of Kentucky Bluegrass. This is not only the place that Colonel Sanders founded Kentucky Fried Chicken and its patented blend of 11 herbs and spices; it’s also home to several uniquely Kentuckian dishes such as Kentucky Hot Brown (bread, turkey, bacon and pimento browned and topped with Mornay sauce), Benedictine (a cucumber cream cheese), and burgoo (a slow-simmered stew of pork, veal, chicken, beef, lamb, chicken, vegetables, and potatoes). It is also the only place in the world where a whiskey can truly earn the name “bourbon” due to the ingredients and geographic location of where it was primarily distilled. Kentucky is also home to the most famous series of horse races in the world, the Kentucky Derby. Here visitors can bet on their favorite horse while sipping a mint julep, a signature derby beverage, and feasting on dry-rubbed, hickory smoked, pork barbecue. Yum! Of course, due to its varied terrain, more active visitors might choose river rafting, boating, fishing, exploring the Land between the Lakes, hiking through the Appalachian Mountains or Daniel Boone National Forest, spelunking Mammoth Cave, or climbing around Red River Gorge. Kentucky Derby, Kentucky, Appalachian Mountains, Daniel Boone National Forest, Mammoth Cave, Red River Gorge, Colonel Sanders, bourbon, benedictine, burgoo, KFC Louisville Zoo, Louisville Slugger Field, Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, Museum Plaza, waterfront arena, downtown business district, Skywalk, Kentucky International Convention Center, Fourth Street Live, Falt House Hotel, Marriott, Hyatt Regency, Ohio River, Falls of the Ohio, West Main District, Museum Row, Frazier International History Museum, Louisville Science Center, Muhammad Ali Center, Belle of Louisville, steamboat, Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs, Thunder Over Louisville, Great Steamboat Race, Great Balloon Race, Louisville Waterfront Park, Cherokee Park, Valhalla Golf Club, Ryder Cup, Louisville Extreme Park, University of Louisville, Rick Pitino, Highlands neighborhood, bohemian, Kentucky Fried Chicken, blues club, Morgan Quitno |
