Turns Out, You Don’t Actually Need to Be Drunk to Enjoy This City
Fodor's provides expert travel content worth exploring so you can dream up your next trip. The world is a weird and wonderful place—we want to show you around. The city of Louisville, known as the Bourbon capital of the world, offers numerous non-alcohol-friendly experiences that do not necessarily involve drinking. The city is home to about a dozen distilleries and the Kentucky Derby horse race, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. The Kentucky Derby Museum is open year-round and hosts permanent exhibits, including a dedicated museum dedicated to the horse race and the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali. Food is also a significant part of the experience, with chefs like Dallas McGarity and Edward Lee renowned for their innovative Southern fare and high-quality meats. Additionally, the city is known for its Southern deliciousness, with dishes like the Hot Brown and the Derby Pie.
Publicerad : 10 månader sedan förbi Derrik J. Lang i Travel World
Turns Out, You Don’t Actually Need to Be Drunk to Enjoy This City
There are plenty of dynamic experiences to be had in Derby City.
As the Bourbon capital of the world, Louisville has an extremely storied and financially important relationship to booze. It’s one of the driving forces of tourism for the city, which draws 19 million people a year. However, for those who don’t imbibe or simply want to take a break from drinking their faces off, there are plenty of dynamic experiences to be had in Derby City and the surrounding areas that do not directly involve sipping America’s finest whiskey.
Besides being home to about a dozen different distilleries, Louisville is the birthplace of the Kentucky Derby horse race, which celebrated its 150th edition this spring, as well as the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, and the infamous Louisville Slugger baseball bat. There are even entire museums devoted to each of them. If you’re looking to head outdoors, Louisville and the rest of the Bluegrass State are also rife with wonderful activities. So if you’re craving a hangover-free good time, consider these experiences.
Churchill Downs hosts live thoroughbred racing in the spring, summer, and fall. Besides the preeminent Kentucky Derby, there are a myriad of ways to experience one of the dozens of races held throughout the year, from sitting in a reserved seat in the stands to dining at one of the many on-site venues. (And yes, they serve non-alcoholic mint juleps.) While most of the revelry happens during the Kentucky Derby, attending any event at Churchill Downs remains special.
If a race isn’t on the agenda, the venue is home year-round to the Kentucky Derby Museum, which boasts 2,000 square feet of space across two floors. The permanent exhibits range from a look at over-the-top Derby fashions to a deep dive into the history of African Americans in horse racing. For the ultimate experience, visitors can book behind-the-scenes tours that allow access to places like the barns where the horses reside and the areas where jockeys train.
Besides booze, food is equally an important part of the Louisville experience. The city is an absolute haven for Southern deliciousness and is the birthplace of such iconic dishes as the nutty-and-chocolatey Derby Pie and the decadently rich Hot Brown, a cheesy open-faced turkey sandwich topped with slices of bacon and Mornay sauce that was originally created by chef Fred Schmidt at the ritzy Brown Hotel in the 1920s to soak up giggle water.
Today, culinary acclaim is heaped on celebrated chefs like Chopped champion Dallas McGarity of the modern comfort food eatery The Fat Lamb and Edward Lee, whose innovative take on Southern fare at 610 Magnolia and his more straightforward Asian fusion at Nami Modern Korean Steakhouse represents vastly different points of view. With access to fresher-than-fresh produce and high-quality meats, Louisville is an extremely difficult place to have a bad meal.
During a big chunk of the year, the weather in Louisville is temperate and ideal for enjoying nature in the area’s state and city parks. (Much of Louisville’s park system was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who famously planned New York City’s Central Park.) Stand-out strolls within Louisville include Cherokee Park’s idyllic 2.4-mile loop, the well-maintained 2.1-mile Anchorage Trail, and the scenic 1.9-mile walk across the Big Four Bridge at Waterfront Park.
There are also dramatic views from the Ohio River, which bisects Kentucky and Indiana and runs across downtown. Book a leisurely excursion on Belle of Louisville, the world’s oldest operating Mississippi River-style steamboat. (The vessel recently began its 110th season in operation.) Throughout the week, Belle of Louisville hosts various cruises, including sunset tours with jovial music, prime city views, and passage underneath the Abraham Lincoln Bridge.
Directly underneath the city, there’s a one-of-a-kind amusement park spread across 100 acres that reaches depths of up to 100 feet. At the Louisville Mega Cavern, which is located underneath the Watterson Expressway and most of the Louisville Zoo, thrillseekers can ride a zipline across the cavern’s vast expanse, soaring over underground lakes and rock formations, or tackle a suspended ropes course with obstacles like balance beams and tightrope walks.
Not a fan of heights? Louisville Mega Cavern offers tram tours that detail the cavern’s history and geological features while providing insight into the cavern’s uses over time. (It was originally a limestone mine that underwent a massive makeover in the 1990s.) For a naturally unadulterated underground experience, head an hour-and-a-half south of Louisville for a ranger-led cave tour at Mammoth Cave National Park, the world’s longest-known tunnel system.
Despite the prevalence of whiskey-centric cocktails in Louisville, most bars and restaurants have embraced the mocktail trend. For clever alcohol-free beverages in fabulous settings, try spots like the zippy karaoke NoraeBar, comedy club Planet of the Tapes, and Copper & Kings, a rooftop bar and restaurant above a brandy distillery that overlooks the city. Copper & Kings creates innovative mocktails with ingredients like pumpkin puree, Topo Chico, and lavender.
If craving a close approximation of Bourbon, a seemingly impossible task, head to the Canary Club. While the funky brick-walled dive specializes in natural wine, the bar’s mocktail offerings are among the strongest — in flavor, not booze — in the city. They pour Tilden’s Tandem, a ready-to-serve non-alcoholic elixir resembling a smokey Old Fashioned. It’s not exactly like sipping the real thing, but it’s probably as close as you’re gonna get in Louisville.
There are several places to gain a deeper understanding of African American history and its significance in both Louisville and within the broader context of the United States. In downtown, the Muhammad Ali Center simultaneously celebrates the legacy of the groundbreaking boxer and humanitarian as well as shines a light on the struggles and triumphs of fellow Black people during the Civil Rights Movement with archival material and interactive exhibits.
At the Roots 101 African American Museum, Black history is preserved with hundreds of artifacts, photographs, and documents from around the world. Founded in 2020 by Louisville native Lamont Collins, who amassed most of the museum’s collection himself, there are exhibits on the Underground Railroad and Harlem Renaissance. Much of the museum’s artifacts, including actual iron chains worn by slaves, were sourced from Africa.
Think Outside the Bottle
For sober visitors exploring the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, which includes more than 35 different distilleries across the state, it could still be possible to appreciate the art and science of Bourbon making without taking a sip. Besides learning about the fascinating process and compelling history of distilling during tours and through exhibits, several distilleries feature on-site eateries and activities like games, live music performances, and playgrounds for children.
Many of the larger distilleries outside Louisville like Maker’s Mark, Buffalo Trace, and Heaven Hill are staffed with well-trained tour guides who are adept at catering their spiels to specific audiences. Before a tour, do not hesitate to let them know about personal areas of interest beyond alcohol consumption, such as history or architecture. They will no doubt want everyone to feel included and have a good time while showcasing Kentucky’s unique culture.