What to do in Indianapolis?

None ^ | today | Me

[TheBattman]

Wife and I will be in Indianapolis near the end of July 25-28 - arrive very late Friday - stay through Monday AM. We have plans for Saturday Afternoon/night (Drum Corps International Midwest Championships). Looking for Sunday activities/must see places.

We also like to try interesting resteraunts - so if you have a suggestion in that regard, please make your suggestions.

Basically - this is our first time in Indy - and the Indianapolis tourism page wasn't much help.

[TheBattman]

Come on Freepers - any help would be more than welcome!

[Sally'sConcerns]

I spent 4 months in Indy back in 95 so it's been a while for me.

Brown County was well worth the drive. Lots of little art/craft shops, pretty country and some interesting restaurants.

In 95 all of the downtown restaurants were closed on Sundays so I'd go to the (new at the time) mall and browse around.

There's a monument in downtown Indy at the circle (near the Bank One building) which you can go into. Not all that many stairs to climb to get to the top.

[Miss Marple]

Are you staying downtown? There is a large shopping mall called Circle Centre, with specialty shops and Nordstroms, if you are interested in that type of stuff.

Also, White River State Park is near the downtown...zoo and Eiteljorg Museum of Western Art are worth seeing.

Massachusetts Avenue has art galleries and clubs.

About 5 miles west of downtown is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the 500, which has a museum which is worth looking at.

North of downtown are boulevards with lovely old homes which is worth driving through, if you just like to get a feel for neighborhoods.

Also, at 30th and Delaware is the Indianapolis Children's Museum, one of the largest in the country.

At 38th Street and Cold Springs Road is the Indianapolis Art Museum, which has extensive collections of European and Asian art.

As far as restaurants and nightlife, I am not the one to give good advice. However, I am pinging someone who will be able to give you the scoop.

Coopster, what are the current must-see clubs and restaurants downtown?

[hoosiermama]

Will you have transportation? You might want to drive south to Brown County (Nashville). Beautiful scenary, small shops, winery. Go through Columbus, to see architecture.

[Petronski]

Fly to Vegas.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Hey, I know, you can go visit the newly opened Mexican consulate in downtown Indinapolis. It just open a few months ago. A very busy place I understand.

[July 4th]

I hear scenic Gary is lovely this time of year. ;) However, if you actually went to Gary, the Indiana Dunes state park is actually a kind of nice place and not far from there.

[blam]

My sister lives there but she doesn't like company. Sorry.

[DitzyDeltaDawn]

I'm not sure what exactly you'd be interested in, but I'll take a stab at giving you some information.

Restaurants:

Milano Inn (www.milanoinn.com) - Italian Cuisine. There's even a menu on the website so you can give it a glance.

Mayberry Cafe - This restaurant is a bit of a drive from Indy, but has good homestyle cooking and has all sorts of memorabilia from the Andy Griffith Show. I got the following summary from www.mayberry.com: When in central Indiana, be sure and say hey to Christine and Brad Born and the folks at the Mayberry Cafe, 78 West Main Street in Danville, Ind. They serve delicious meals every day. (Mon.-Sat: 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun: 11 a.m.-8 p.m.) Goober Hat Night is every Tuesday. Wear a hat and get a free dessert with a dinner purchase. For more info, call the cafe at (317) 745-4067.

Things to see and do:

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum (www.brickyard.com)-Even if you are not into racing it's an interesting look into the famous track's history. I used to live two blocks from the track and visited the museum on a few occasions.

The Benjamin Harrison Home/Museum (www.presidentbenjaminharrison.org)-It isn't open on all Sundays, but during the month of July there are Sundays that it is open.

The Canal Walk (http://www.theinternetisboring.com/canal.htm)-I moved without ever going there, but hear it is a wonderful place to visit. The NCAA headquarters/museum is located along the walk also.

There are a few suggestions. I don't know if it is anything you'd be interested in or not, but I hope this helps.

[ilgipper]

a few ideas....not done all these myself.

Indy Speedway
NCAA HQ, hall of fame?
Circle Centre Mall...
many good restaurants around there....St Elmo Steakhouse...other chain steakhouses (Mortons, Ruth's Chris). Hooters in Circle Centre (just kidding)

[TomServo]

Go see Letterman's Mom...

[Steve_Stifler]

Downtown restaurants: if you like steak -- St. Elmo's Steakhouse, great food, lots of atmosphere in the front bar room, try the shrimp cocktail if you need to drain your sinuses. if you like seafood -- Majestic Oyster Bar, very good food, nice historic atmosphere to dine in

[Lauratealeaf]

Miss Marple. We lived in Indianapolis for five years during the eighties, when our children were younger and they absolutely loved the Childrens' Museum. So did I. We used to like to go out to eat at Dodd's Flagpole Restaurant. Is it still around?

[Miss Marple]

I think that it still is...haven't driven by that part of town lately.

My daughter works at the Children's Museum. It is really a wonderful place.

[calvin sun]

How about Butler University and their Hinkle (?sp?) Fieldhouse? It was the site of the 1952 state boys' championship basketball game in the movie "Hoosiers."

[Lawgvr1955]

I've always wanted to go to the 86th floor of the Friggemall Building.

[SupportDubya]

I lived in Indiana for the first 35 years of my life. I can tell you that the reason you couldn't find anything to do there is because....honestly, there just isn't much there. LOL! Ok, so seriously, if you are going to be in Indy, here are my top 5 suggestions.

1. The Childrens Museum -largest in the United States, and great fun for all ages! (Make sure to be there at 1:00pm to see the clock!!)

2. Circle Center Mall (I enjoyed it when I lived there, but now that I live in Minneapolis, and can visit Mall of America on a daily basis, it hardly compares.)

3. Nashville, Indiana (Brown County) is only about 30 minutes away, and it's truly worth a visit. The town is only a few blocks long, but chock full of quaint little shops and eateries. Also, you may consider staying at the Hotel Nashville instead of staying in Indianapolis.

4. Brown County State Park - located in Nashville, IN and is beautiful anytime of the year!

5. The Indy 500 racetrack can be toured. Although I've spent many days in Indianapolis, I've never taken the tour. If you are into the Indy 500, I hear it's worth it.

There ya have it! Straight from the Hoosier's mouth!

[Lauratealeaf]

I think that it still is...haven't driven by that part of town lately.

My daughter works at the Children's Museum. It is really a wonderful place.

What a great job for your daughter! I would love that. It was always a treat to go to the Childrens' Museum. I miss the Dodds Townhouse. (I think that is what it is called) They had great steaks, salads, everything. We were eating there once and Van Johnson the actor was seated at a table near us. I believe it was on Meredian. We have a lot of great memories of Indy.

[Lauratealeaf]

How about Butler University and their Hinkle (?sp?) Fieldhouse? It was the site of the 1952 state boys' championship basketball game in the movie "Hoosiers."

Great movie! We also enjoyed taking the kids to the Benjamin Harrison Home. And outside of Indianapolis, to Conner Prairie. That is a real treat for a family.

[Lauratealeaf]

3. Nashville, Indiana (Brown County) is only about 30 minutes away, and it's truly worth a visit. The town is only a few blocks long, but chock full of quaint little shops and eateries. Also, you may consider staying at the Hotel Nashville instead of staying in Indianapolis.

I love Nashville. Do they still have fried biscuits at the Nashville House?