louisville/lexington/help me please
 

hi.we are 2 people from norwy who is going to new orleans in august, and from there we are driveing up to tennessee, nashville and memphis,and from there we are thinking of take a trip to kentucky for 2 days. shall we stay in louisville or lexington, we are just thinking of have a ok dinner, take a few beers.(any good pubs??)and walk around the city. also thinking abouth safety, any parts of town we shall avoid??thinking a bit of louisville, see the muhammed ali museum.

You certainly won't see anything like the wonderful fjords in your country. But as a Loujisvillian I would suggest you not miss the horse country around Lexington - fabulous. You can stay at Shakertown for a different experiecne. The Shakers were a religous sect which died out because they did not beleive in sex at all. But they left some great simplisitc places and Shakertown is one of the best to visit. You could also try the Beaumont Inn in Harrodsburg - near Lexington. Harrodsburg is ripe with early history - Danial Boone etc.

As for the Muhammed Ali museum in Louisville - it is still a hole in the ground. Downtown Louisville is terrible right now- not much to see or do and is undergoing a transformaiton. Louisville does have some wonderful old areas with old homes and great parks. It is only about 1 1/2 hours from Lexington. Best place to eat and have a few brews is along Bardstown Rd. where there are numerous good restaurants for any taste. One of the godd pubs for brew and food is Molly Malone's on Bardstown Rd.

But, by all means, do take in the horse farms. I think some of them still allow visitors.

There are lots of things to do in Louisville, and it is a very easy drive up I-65 from Nashville. You should see the Kentucky Derby Museum, and we have some historic homes open to visitors; e.g., Farmington, which is designed like Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, and Locust Grove, the home of the sister of General George Rogers Clark, founder of the city and the place where he lived out his life.

There are horse-drawn carriage rides available downtown. We have a good arts community and many varied restaurants and pub-type places. The hotels will have material available for sightseeing and dining.

They are close enough to each other that you should be able to visit both but if you have to choose, it's no question --Lexington.

Go to Lexington, stay downtown and walk around to the many restaurants, pubs, and shops.

hi. thanks for the reply.sounds that lexington is an ok place..does anybody knows about an ok hotel, not top end, and not rock bottom, we just need a hotel where they have a safety-deposit box,(and an ok area) so we dont have to take our pasports,etc,with us when we are going out.when we are driveing up from nashville, is there any small southern town in kentucky where we can stay for one night? after we have been in kentucky we will fly up to new-york, is there a plane connection from lexington to new-york, or do we have to drive to louisville?? i think we can make 3 days in kentucky, is not a long time, but 1 day in a small town, and 2 days in lexington sounds ok, or what do you think, 3 days in lexington??. thanks again for all the info.

hi. just found out abot 2 hotels.
1.quality inn northwest, located 3,2km from down town.
2.hyatt regency,located inn the city center.
is this 2 hotels ok. the price from quality inn is ok, but location?
hyatt regency, is a bit more expencive, but the location is ok, right??
what do you folks think??

Lexington airport (LEX) is pretty small and only served by a few airlines. Luoisville is only an hour away and that's where most people fly out of.

The Hyatt in downtown Lexington is very nice. Quality Inn Northwest is NOT. If you're looking for a budget hotel, I would recommend the La Quinta northwest instead.

Be sure and visit the Kentucky Horse Park while you are there. It is a good way to learn about the horse industry in Kentucky, and a very nice park!

All the recommendations are good. As for good, inexpensive food and a good beer, I recommend the Irish Rover over Molly's in Louisville. Personal preference. Both Lexington and Louisville have great places to eat.

Louisville also has the Louisville Slugger Museum, history of baseball and the famous bat.

For small towns, I'd recommend Bardstown or Frankfort. Bardstown has My Old Kentucky Home, which inspired the song by the same name. Also, the Maker's Mark Distillery is in Bardstown and offers tours. Frankfort is the capitol of Kentucky with access to both the new and old capitol buildings. Downtown Frankfort also has lots of old historic homes and great views of the city from the cemetery. Also, Lambrot and Graham Distillery is nearby, on the way to Lexington. Bardstown is southeast of Louisville and Frankfort is halfway between Louisville and Lexington.
Tammy

Delta flies non stop to New York.

Lexington is a smaller, therefore, easier airport to get around in.

Forgot to say that Delta flies non stop FROM LEXINGTON.

I can't say that I would find either Louisville or Lexington much of a vacation destination and if you are going to have two full days, you would probably have enough time to see both. From Nashville to Louisville is just a three hour drive, but if you want to stop somewhere inbetween, Bardstown would be a good place if you are looking for southern charm. Though it is not right off of I-65, it's not too bad of a drive. I agree with the horse park in Lexington and would recommend the Slugger Museum and the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville (it is located at Churchill Downs, and although the track is closed for racing at that time, they will take you into the paddock area). Might I suggest that instead of stopping inbetween Louisville and Nashville, just driving on through to Louisvlle and staying both there and Lexington. But if you are going to choose just one of those, I would go with Louisville, which is larger and has a better choice of things to do as well as restaurants and hotels.

hi.thanks again for all the info. since we got so many replys, are we now talking about 3-4 days in kentucky.(its not a long time, but at least we get to see some of it)i have been many times to the us, but most of the times in nyc, and up the coast to boston,but my dream has always to see the south, its not for the music,or anything, but all the pictures i have seen, and all i have read about the south, its sounds and looks great.i have read much abouth the other southern states, but not so much about kentucky, so thats why i will find out so much i can about kentucky on fodors, and now i cant wait to go.if you have any other info about your state, i will be glad to know. cheers!!

The above suggestion about staying in Bardstown on the way from Nashville to Louisville is a good one. Bardstown is very interesting and that area is where most of the world's bourbon whiskey is produced. You can take tours of the distillerys...the best one in my opinion is Makers Mark in Loretto.

However, let me put in a plug for where I live. About an hour north of Nashville on Interstate 65 is Bowling Green...here you can see the only place in the world where they make Corvette sport cars and there's also a large Corvette museum. Also, in this area is Mammoth Cave National Park. While you're this close, I HIGHLY reccommend that you take a tour even if you don't stay here. It would be a half-day excursion on your way to Louisville/Lexington.

I hope you enjoy our country. You'll find that people in the South the friendlist in the US...

Isn't Bowling Green also the home of the real J Peterman? I love him.

Bowling Green may be his home, I don't know, but he lives in Lexington and his old J. Peterman headquarters is here as well.

I also vote for a visit to Mammoth Cave. We have always taken the shortest tour but have always enjoyed it!

Went to Lexington and Louisville last summer. A nice hotel in Lexington is the Marriott Griffin Gate. It is a very nice and relaxing hotel. I don't remember how costly it was though. The town is small. It was very quiet in the summer. There is a big university there. See the Horse Park like the above post said. It is a beautiful,but quiet area.
Louisville, see if the races are running and visit Churchill Downs. We stayed at an Amerisuites that was okay. Clean and quiet. It was just outside the city area. There were lots of shops and restaurants around. There were many small hotels -courtyard by marriott, etc in that area and was safe.I can't remember the exact area-I think near St.Matthews. Oh, and visit the Makers Mark distillery on your way into town. You must try a bourbon while in Kentucky!Have fun!

Just got back from a four night trip to Kentucky. I would highly recommend Cumberland Falls Resort State park. The falls are very nice and there are a number of hiking trails you can take. If you want to stay in the park you can rent a lodge room, cottage or duplex room in the woods.

Skipped the KY Horse Park because the AAA discount price was $18.50 and we did not have time to see the whole complex. Also went on a very interesting tour of the Toyota plant in Georgetown, KY. The tour is free and takes you right on the floor of the plant. Call for reservations to insure a spot on the tour.

Yes, it is not cheap to get into the Horse Park, and you really need at least half a day to do it justice. I personally have been there 5 times and it is worth the price of admission to me because I'm a horse person and the International Museum of the Horse always has an excellent exhibit.

J. Peterman is more associated with Lexington

Bowling Green was the home of the real Duncan Hines

While visiting Louisville, might I suggest to ride on the Belle of Louisville, a historic steamboat that cruises the Ohio River. If you are into antiques, there is an antique store on E. Main St. called Joe Ley's that is really great. There are a couple of nice little restaurants across the street from it that would be great for lunch as well as Muth's Candy Store where you can get Mojeskas (a caramel-coated marshmallow candy that is a local thing). As far as where to stay in the city, the downtown area is fine, though not much goes on after dark. That or the east end are probably your best bets. As far as dining goes you can find lots of choices either on Bardstown Rd. in the Highlands or Franckfort Ave. in Crescent Hill. They are also probably the two best areas of the city to stroll through.

When in Louisville, be sure to visit Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum. Although the horses will not be racing in August, the museum offers a great multimedia show that puts you in the center of the excitement of The Kentucky Derby. Be sure to pick up an "official" Kentucky Derby Mint Julep glass as a souvineer of Kentucky....and they are cool collectibles that increase in value over the years, too! Between Louisville and Lexington you should visit the bourbon distilleries such as Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, Maker's Mark in Loretto, and LaBrott & Graham near Versailles. In Lexington take a guided tour of the beautiful horse farms that surround the city. The Kentucky Horse Park is also a must see. Favorite restaurants in the 2 cities are Harpers in Louisville and DeShas in Lexington. Forget the beer.....when in Kentucky drink BOURBON!!

Be sure to go to the Ky Horse Park --- they have an exhibit for the summer --- "All the Queen's Horses" which is supposed to be fantastic. Allow 3-4 hours to do it justice. Hotels--- there are lots of new ones at Hamburg Place (large shopping area --- on Man-O-War by I 75/64. A new COurtyard/Marriot just opened. Also good Hilton/Garden Inn. Neither too expensive. Be sure to eat at the Homestead Restaurant --- in an old house out Harrodsburg Road -- may undergo a name change soon to Murrays, but great food in a wonderful atmosphere. Patio area is good/fun. Labrot & Graham distillery outside Frankfort is well worth the trip. Enjoy -- this is a beautiful area.

hi.thanks again for the ALL the info.
we are now sure that we take 4 days in kentucky.when we are driving from nashville up to bardstown,we skip the interstate,and try to drive the small roads up to bardstown, so we can see some of the landscape to.dont know how long time that will take,but will leave nashville in the morning,so i dont think there will be any problems to make that trip if we have a full day.we have the destillery on our plans,and perhaps we will see louisville to..thanks again for all the info,you have been very helpfull.i will make a trip report after we been there..cheers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!