![]() |
Soldier & Sailor Monument |
Well, no one should have been surprised. The year before, Indiana swept the Great
American Beer Festival, winning more prestigious beer medals than any other
state. Good beer makes anything
possible. But people who have never been
to Indianapolis and assume it is just another dying, dull, rust and corn-belt
Midwest city could not be more mistaken.
Indy is amazing, and getting better by the day.
Indy’s very walkable downtown is green (with 350 acres of parks, rivers, tree-lined boulevards and canals); European (with impressive monuments and murals); trendy (with 300 restaurants and a national farm-to-table reputation); and artistic (with a unique pedestrian path that stretches across a state park, from a downtown zoo past world class history, art, and sports museums).
And did I mention beer? Locals Sun King and Upland lead a team of 64 Indiana breweries, and craft beer is supported by nearly every restaurant and bar in town. It is the cleanest city you will ever see, with horizon-to-horizon vistas of green trees, while armadas of white clouds float overhead in majestic Midwestern corn-blue skies.

City Layout

Indy is not Paris, and there are plenty of boring blocks for
every great one. But it is a wonderful
city to stretch your legs, and from any downtown hotel you can soon be strolling
beside a canal, river, park or monument.
Some things to do:
Bike The Indianapolis
Cultural Trail

![]() |
City Market |
See the
Monuments
Young farm boys from Indiana have been cannon fodder for
America since the Civil War, volunteering – and dying – in astonishing numbers. Indiana’s casualty rate in war is double the
national average. Some 75% of the
Indiana men eligible for the army volunteered to fight in the Civil War, the
second highest per capita rate of any state in the country.
In tribute to these men, Indy has built more war monuments
that any other city, and is second only to Washington DC in the total number of
war memorials. Unlike many decaying
city war memorials, the ones in Indy are huge, impressive, and kept in
immaculate condition. The museums that
go with them are a tad hokey and underfed, but the monuments are something
else. Leading is the Soldiers and
Sailors Monument, a 284-foot tower that is the heart of the city, from which
all spokes lead out. You can climb 330
steps to the top or take a reasonably priced elevator for $2. Everything about the monument is
colossal. This monument, nearly as high
as the Statue of Liberty, honors soldiers of the Civil War and Spanish American
War. You can walk around its huge
statues of soldiers and civilians or sit by its fountains many times and see
something new each visit. The Civil War
museum in the basement could use some love, but buffs will enjoy it.
The Indiana War Memorial is a few blocks away and is a big,
solid chunk of a memorial, with a basement military museum covering all wars
from the Revolution on. Indy’s truly
horrifying war museum is also here, honoring the USS Indianapolis, the WWII ship immortalized in Jaws.
The ship was on a secret mission to deliver parts for the atomic bomb when
it was sunk by a Japanese submarine. No
one knew it had gone down and there was no attempt to rescue survivors. More than 900 men went into the water in the
dark of night with nothing but lifejackets.
Only 300 survived – many of those lost were eaten by swarms of sharks
that surrounded the survivors and forced them into ever increasingly smaller
circles. If you have trouble visualizing
the horror of that, the museum has paintings to help.
Eat and Drink Indy
Style
People in Indy like to eat…and why not? This area that has always appreciated
farm-to-table, local restaurants having long traditions with local farms.
Portions can be outrageous, particularly anything with pork (pork tenderloin
sandwiches are the city’s signature dish).
Some classics not to miss:
![]() |
Rathskeller |
The Rathskeller is a rambling, huge, authentic old German
restaurant with a long beer hall lined with dead animal heads and an outdoor
beer garden filled with live bands.
Their wienershictizel is as good as any in Germany, and the portion was
the size of a deflated basketball. Their
pretzels are just as large and tasty.
When there’s a band, the outdoor bar is filled with hundreds of young
people.
St. Elmo Steak House is where all the celebrities who were
in town for the Super Bowl had dinner. It’s a dark wood, clubby, men’s steak
house, with a maze of different rooms and floors. They’re all cozy and Old
World, particularly the main bar and the upstairs bar. St. Elmo is known for their spicy shrimp
cocktail; if you can’t afford dinner, at least stop in for one of those.
![]() |
St. Elmo's shrimp cocktail |
The Slippery Noodle Inn is Indiana’s oldest bar and a former
hangout of gangster (and local hero) John Dillinger. Dillinger allegedly shot holes in the back
bar. There are slugs in the bricks, and
the bar staff will show them to you if you ask.
Although Dillinger was gunned down by the FBI in Chicago, he’s buried in
Indy at the Crown Hill Cemetery. The Slippery Noodle is a downtown institution
with live blues bands and a good late night stop.
Walk White River
State Park
In 1834, Indy built the Central Canal to the White River
with the hope that it would provide power and transportation to turn the young
city into an industrial giant.
Fortunately, the canal silted up and was a complete failure. Indy never became a manufacturing center like
Detroit or Pittsburgh.

The zoo has a series of biomes that showcase everything from
lions to dolphins. It’s right downtown,
which makes it unusual. The Eiteljorg Museum is one of the nation’s finest museums of Native American and Western
art. It’s gorgeous, with big paintings
by big name Western artists like Albert Bierstadt and Frederic Remington. But while the paintings are big, the museum
is just right -- small and manageable.
Next, door, the Indiana State Museum is a hodgepodge of
natural and cultural history, but the big news is the Star Wars exhibit is
coming here from May to September 2013, filled with costumes, artifacts and
original models from the movies.
![]() |
Indiana Historical Society |
Visit a Museum
The Indianapolis Art Museum is a few miles from downtown,
but worth the trip. It’s one of the top
10 in the nation in terms of its collection, and it’s located on 100 acres of
land that was formerly the estate of pharmaceutical king J.K. Lilly Jr. That means there’s lots of money behind the
museum, and it shows. There’s a bit of everything here, including an outdoor
sculpture park, and lots of familiar paintings by big name artists.
Tour the Raceway

IF YOU GO: Most
people will see Indy on a convention or sporting event. They have an excellent set up with great
hotels, restaurants and attractions all within walking distance. It would also make a good add-on to a
Kentucky Bourbon Trail trip. Indy is two
hours from Louisville and three hours from Lexington, so it makes a nice
loop. For info: . visitindy.com
Wow, I had no idea Indianapolis had so much to offer -- and so many great beers!
ReplyDeleteLiving in metro Indpls. since graduating from Butler University in 1979, I'd have to say this article is spot on. There is so much to do and see AND drink and eat here that I believe half the local population may not be aware of what has "popped up" like Morels in a forest the last 2 decades.
ReplyDeleteWow nice photography with good information.Robe Harbour View Motel
ReplyDeleteActually, Indianapolis was a vehicle manufacturing center before Detroit was one. The canal didn't work out but the trains were a whopping success, so Indianapolis has always been strong in manufacturing.
ReplyDeleteNice article. I think it is useful and unique article. I love this kind of article and this kind of blog. I have enjoyed it very much. Thanks for your website.
ReplyDeletecarbon wheel rental
Great article. Very proud of the improvements I have seen in our city, especially in the last few years.
ReplyDeleteAs low as $69.95 Brewery, distillery and wine tasting tours in Temecula Ca. (3-stops, tastings & local transportation included) 844-619-1818. brewery tours temecula
ReplyDelete