Welcome to Bourbon City!
Louisville is Kentucky’s largest city and home to the iconic Kentucky Derby, the birthplace of Muhammad Ali, and the famed Louisville Slugger. Sip on some of the world’s finest spirits along the Urban Bourbon Trail, honour some of history’s greatest influencers, and dine at award-winning restaurants. Our authentic experiences and southern hospitality are what keep people coming back time and time again.
Yes, Bourbon is a spirit that comes in a glass, but it’s also the spirit that defines our culture, our arts and parks, and our creative energy. It’s this kind of spirit that helped create Louisville into a city that combines heritage with innovation, authenticity with originality, and quirkiness with friendliness in a way that’s completely unique to our region.
Louisville is home to 11 bourbon distilleries and tasting experiences are available at many of these. Whether it’s a historic journey into the past at the Evan Williams Experience or a premium Bourbon tasting at Angel’s Envy Distillery, this is a must-do in Bourbon City.
The greatest boxer of all-time – Muhammad Ali – was a Louisville native. Otherwise known as a ‘Louisvillian’. Visit the Muhammad Ali Centre and learn about his life and legacy, see the gym where he started his career, visit his childhood home, or pay your respects at Cave Hill Cemetery on a self-guided “Footsteps of Greatness” tour. Cave Hill Cemetery is also the final resting place of another famed Kentucky resident, Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).
Another Louisville legend not to miss is the ‘Louisville Slugger’. This legendary baseball bat has been the bat of choice for many of the game’s greatest players, including nonother than Yankee and Red Sox Hall of Famer, and undoubtably baseballers most celebrated athlete – George ”Babe” Ruth. Visit the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory and discover the craftmanship that goes in to producing approx. 4,000 baseball bats daily.
Louisville is bursting with flavours and fare, with more than 2,500 restaurants across the city, including several James Beard Award nominees. Why not try a true taste of Louisville and sample the Hot Brown sandwich at The Brown Hotel where it was invented in 1926, or order Louisville’s official cocktail – The Old fashioned, said to have been invented at The Pendennis Club Louisville.
Take a step back in time and stroll around the district of Old Louisville – the largest Victorian architecture district in the USA, with many stately homes and mansions dating back to 1880. The district is also home Central Park. Design by Frederick Law Olmsted, the same designer of Central Park New York, Central Park Louisville is the perfect place to unwind any time of year. However, the summer brings some extra theatrical magic to the park as it plays host to the free open-air Kentucky Shakespeare Festival.
Louisville is an entirely different type of Southern. With a booming bourbon renaissance, iconic attractions, world-class hotels & venues and a renowned culinary scene, Louisville is an experience like no other city.
