Click on the links to learn more about fun places to visit in Derby City.
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Kentucky Kingdom (formerly known as Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom) is an amusement park in Louisville, Kentucky. The 63-acre (25 ha) park includes a collection of amusement rides and a water park named Hurricane Bay.
The Fourth Street Live! entertainment district is within just a few blocks of the Kentucky International Convention Center and many downtown hotels. The $70 million entertainment complex offers bars, restaurants and clubs, including Hard Rock Café, TGI Friday’s, Rascal’s Comedy Club, Saddle Ridge, Red Cheetah, Lucky Strikes Bowling Lanes, and Maker’s Mark Bourbon House and Lounge.
Explore Glassworks, featuring hot glass, flame-working and cold glass studios, where artists create their delicate crafts.
Louisville Waterfront Park Waterfront Park, 85 acres of green in a bustling urban waterfront neighborhood. There’s always something going on in Waterfront Park. Check the Events tab or click below for our Calendar. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Big Four Pedestrian Bicycle Bridge. The LED special lighting on the Big Four Bridge is ON! daily, twilight to 1am.
Churchill Downs is America's most historic and famous Thoroughbred racetrack. Established in 1874, it is the oldest continuously operated racetrack in the U.S. The first Kentucky Derby was held in May 1875 and has been run every year since on the one-mile oval track on the first Saturday in May. Derby Day excitement can be experienced every day during the spring and fall race meets with a day at the races. The grand-stand, with its Edwardian spires, was built in 1895 and is a National Historic Landmark.
The Kentucky Derby Museum, next to Churchill Downs, is one of Kentucky's premier attractions, and captures the pride, tradition and excitement of the "greatest two minutes in sports." Dedicated to expanding public awareness, appreciation and understanding of the Kentucky Derby and Thoroughbred racing, the Museum offers visitors the chance to learn about the past and present of the industry. Three floors of exciting exhibits grant visitors an in-depth look at racing and the Kentucky Derby - the first jewel in racing's Triple Crown. You'll also enjoy the 360-degree video presentation of "The Greatest Race," and see all the pageantry and fun of Derby Day. The museum has exhibits, memorabilia and art to delight all ages. There is also a fine gift shop and a café overlooking a paddock with a resident horse.
The Belle of Louisville is the oldest operating Mississippi River-style sternwheel steamboat in existence today, as well as a National Historic Landmark. Originally commissioned the Idlewild, in 1914, she served as a packet boat for many years carrying passengers and freight on America's inland waters. In 1962, Jefferson County purchased and refurbished the renowned old sternwheeler. The Belle is 191.5 feet long, 46 feet wide and powered by two steam engines, one on the port, and one on the starboard. The boat has three decks with the capacity of 650 passengers. The authentic steam calliope, powered by steam from the engine room, has 32 whistles.
The Kentucky Science Center features over 40,000 equare feet of hands-on exhibits and a four-story IMAX® Theatre. All the major sciences are brought to life with exciting, interactive exhibits that engage your hands, your mind and your imagination! Explore the three major permanent exhibits, "The World Around Us," featuring the natural and earth sciences; "The World We Create," a celebration of creative thinking; and "The World Within Us," a celebration of the life sciences and health. Both children and adults alike will discover and experience the joy of science and technology in a fresh and fun way.
In the “e-Main” Street district you’ll find Louisville Slugger Field, home of the Louisville Bats baseball team. The Bats are the 2001 International League Champions and AAA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds.
You’ll know when you’ve found the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory when you see the world’s largest baseball bat, standing 120 feet tall and weighing 68,000 pounds, just outside the entrance. Exhibits at the interactive museum honoring baseball's greatest hitters include a walk through an underground locker room into a full-size dugout and a virtual home plate where you can try your skill against a fastball. There's a large collection of custom-made Sluggers signed by the stars who used them, including Ruth, Mantle, Mays and DiMaggio. After a walk through a replica Northern White Ash forest, take a guided tour of the plant to see how wood bats are turned for today's major league players.
Louisville is the birthplace of Muhammad Ali, one of the many reasons he chose to locate the $41 million Muhammad Ali Center, honoring his life, here. The 24,000 square-foot facility, which opened November 19, 2005, houses exhibit space, classrooms, theatres, a library and function space. It is a place that redeems and esteems the core values behind Ali himself - peace, social responsibility, respect and personal growth. The Center not only explores Ali’s life and what makes him such an enduring hero, it also touches visitor’s lives and inspires them to emulate his discipline, perseverance and willingness to stand up for one’s beliefs.
Take an unforgettable journey through history that spans 1,000 years and two continents. Thanks to a unique collaboration with the Royal Armouries (Britian's oldest museum), the Frazier International History Museum displays the arms and armor of knights and kings; the possessions of Henry Viii and Elizabeth I, and other rare and wonderful pieces from Europe dating back a thousand years. In addition to the Royal Armouries collection, the museum features magnificent displays of American artifacts from the colonial era to the early 1900's - including pieces that once belonged to famous politicians and celebrities, explorers and soldiers. Along with the priceless collection, the museum has multi-media and interactive displays and costumed interpreters.
