A Quick Trip to Louisville, KY for a Conference 🏙️

Didn’t rent a car since the city is pretty compact. Uber from the airport to downtown was less than $20 🚗. Also used the bus a few times (though it only runs about once an hour…). Downtown is pretty small—you can easily walk through it in under two hours: Whiskey Row 🥃: Popped into a few spots like Old Forester Distilling Co. for photos. Lots of restaurants and bars in the area! 21c Museum Hotel 🖼️: An art gallery-themed hotel with a small free exhibition on the first floor. Don’t miss the gorgeous golden David statue at the entrance! Lottie the Triceratops 🦖: A cute rooftop dinosaur near the science center, right by the highway. Perfect for rooftop lovers! Louisville Slugger Museum ⚾: Didn’t go in (not a big baseball fan), but the giant bat outside is a classic photo op. Flame Run 🔥: Glassblowing studio—looked fun but skipped it. Muhammad Ali Center🥊: Not really my thing, so I passed. Walked 20 minutes (or take the bus—$1.50 per ride via app) to the famous Red Tree Furniture 🪑. Huge store with tons of cute decor—spent about half an hour browsing. The area around it is a lively commercial district with lots of young people, restaurants, and already decked out in Christmas decorations!🎄 Skipped Old Louisville. Speed Art Museum🎨: Currently featuring Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Room! The permanent collection includes oil paintings, Egyptian artifacts, and ancient Roman pieces. Sundays are FREE (sponsored by a family/trust until at least 2026). Note: It opens at 10 AM on Sundays (despite what the glass facade says!). Allow 2+ hours here. Churchill Downs🐎: Two parts—the actual racetrack (hosts real Kentucky Derby events) and the separate Kentucky Derby Museum. The museum isn’t huge; you can finish in under 2 hours. They’re showing a cool 30-minute 360° film with historical Derby footage—super immersive! Also has interactive horse racing games and displays teaching how to bet on horses. There’s a KFC Museum🍗 located at Yum! Brands HQ (1900 Colonel Sanders Ln). Not much info online—looks like it’s only open on weekdays when employees are around. Don’t confuse it with Sanders Cafe & Museum (that’s a different location!). St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church⛪: Said to house two ancient saint relics—but it was too far, so I didn’t make it. #Kentucky #Louisville #TravelDiary #SoloTravel #Museums #ArtAndCulture