South Bend/Notre Dame in summer
 

My mother's always wanted to see the campus of Notre Dame so I was planning on driving her to South Bend at the end of July. Does anybody know if reservations at nearby hotels are necessary in the summer? Is there anything else to do there besides ND?

I would make reservations. We went there a couple years ago in late July and we didn't make reservations (we didn't know when we would be there) and we had to go way up in S.E. Michigan to find a room. They had some kind of convention going on in South Bend and it was packed. I say "better safe than sorry".

I am a student at Notre Dame, and there are just a few things to do here. Besides campus, there is the college football hall of fame. That is pretty much it. There is also a Studebaker Museum and a beautiful restaurant called Tippecanoe place that was the old Studebaker Mansion. There is also a bit of amish country around here. Hope this helps!

About 15-20 miles away is Shipshewana which is Amish country. There is a huge flea market on Tues and Wed and also an auction on Wed. There's lots of antique stores, Amish furniture stores, B&Bs and Amish family style restaurants. Try www.shipshewana.com for more info. My favorite restaurant is Essenhaus in Middlebury but there's also Amish Acres in Nappanee. Try www.essenhaus.com or www.amishacres.com for more on those. <BR> <BR>I'd also recommend being safe and booking a room. We had the same experience as Cali near Toledo one summer and also near Kalamazoo another time.

Like most college towns, it caters 50% to students/alumni and 50% to the locals. That said, there are a lot of little galleries and museums and gift shops around. Also, you are 35-40 minutes away from some great SW Michigan/Lake Michigan areas. About 5 wineries, too. <BR> <BR>Make your reservations. Weddings and conventions DO happen all summer long -- majority of hotel rooms and meeting halls are taken up in the summer. (I'm sure ND alumni don't know other seasons other than football season!) ;)