Louisville downtown - places you shouldnt miss?
 

We are heading off to Louisville,KY for a wedding memorial day weekend. We are arriving Wed night and leaving Sunday. Sat and Sunday will be filled with wedding activities and such. We are staying downtown and have opted not to rent a car. We are experienced travellers who love to explore cities from a locals perspective. Could someone give me a couple great restaurants to try? At least one in the $10/entree range and one in the $40+/entree range? Also, cool other places to visit in the city that you wouldnt find elsewhere?

At the high-end, <b>Vincenzo's</b> in the Humana building is excellent. At the lower end of dining, visit the entertainment area called <b>&quot;Fourth Street Live&quot;</b> where you'll find many options of varying quality (the Maker's Mark restaurant is my favorite of the bunch).

http://www.vincenzositalianrestaurant.com/

http://www.4thstlive.com/index.cfm

Unfortunately, there is little or nothing in downtown Louisville that you won't find elsewhere. The Frazier Museum has an amazing collection of arms &amp; armor.

http://www.frazierarmsmuseum.org/

For an &quot;only-in-Louisville&quot; experience, you'll need to take a taxi to the Derby Museum at Churchill Downs.

http://www.derbymuseum.org/

Enjoy!

We enjoyed our tour of the Louisville Slugger Museum, where you can learn how baseball bats are made.

http://www.sluggermuseum.org/

If you were....are....or will ever be a baseball fan, the tour of the Louisville Slugger factory and museum is a must.......... and something you won't find in any other city.

Go to Churchill Downs and place a bet on a 20 to 1 longshot.

Welcome to Louisville. For the cheaper alternative, try Melillo's on Market:
http://www.melillos.com/

While I agree that Vincenzo's used to be the best, they've slipped a lot IMO. Check www.louisvillehotbytes.com for second and third opinions. I think the best restaurant in the city now is Seviche.
http://www.sevicherestaurant.com/
Another really great place is L&amp;N Wine Bar and Bistro
http://www.landnwinebarandbistro.com/

For things to do, I put together a comprehensive &quot;go list&quot; on Trip Advisor&quot; complete with links. I wrote it over a year ago, I would take Lilly's and Vincenzo's off there:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/GoListDet...e_for_the.html

OOps....takr a look at 21C Hotel- it's a hoot. Their restaurant, Proof on Main is very good. The Brown Hotel used to have an acclaimed restaurant, but the chef just left and management changed. The Oakroom in the Seelbach Hotel has maintained the quality.

For breakfast you might take a cab to Lynn's Paradise Cafe http://www.lynnsparadisecafe.com/. The food is terrific and the place is fun and funky.

Of course! How could I have forgotten about the Louisville Slugger Museum!

And my last meal at Vincenzo's, under the same brother team as when it opened, was extraordinary as always. It is not the newest kid on the block, but in my opinion it is still the best.

Wine aficionados should <i>definitely</i> dine at L&amp;N .. it's list &quot;by the glass&quot; is amazing!

Walk down to the riverfront. Take a riverboat cruise on Belle of Louisville.

If you decide to rent a car, these are all within an hour's drive:

Joe Ley Antiques in Louisville

Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville

Bardstown

Lincoln's birthpace

Frankfort

Horse farms near Lexington (a little more than an hour from Louisville)

A new breakfast place closer to downtown is Toast on Market in the 700 block of East Market Street. The review in the newspaper had a color photo of their lemon souffle pancakes with blueberries. It's pretty inexpensive. I went once but had an omelet--huge, and tasty.