Location: Louisville
Top Things to do in Louisville
10 Things to do Good for Kids in Louisville That You Shouldn't Miss
Each year, horse enthusiasts hoof it to Louisville and Churchill Downs, the legendary home of the Kentucky Derby. In addition to equestrian endeavors and bluegrass roots, Louisville boasts a range of exciting attractions the whole family can enjoy. Stroll through Central Park, in the historic district, to people-watch and get a real feel for the city. Visit other nearby parks for hiking, biking and fossil finding. Baseball fans will love the Louisville Slugger Museum, a celebration of the sport's legends. The museum is easy to spot, just look for the humongous bat that leans against the building.
Restaurants in Louisville
1. Louisville Mega Cavern
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 15,493 reviews
While visiting Louisville, Kentucky, you won't want to miss MEGA ZIPS, the world's ONLY underground zipline adventure tour! Featuring 6 ziplines nearly 100 feet off the cavern floor and two challenge bridges, MEGA ZIPS is 2.5 hours of adrenaline-fueled adventure! Though fun for the whole family, the kids will especially love MEGA QUEST, the only underground ropes challenge course in the world! MEGA QUEST features two levels and 76 challenge elements including mini-ziplines and rope walls. Explore at your own pace in this 2-hour adventure! Heights aren't your thing? No problem! Enjoy the jumps in our 320,000 square foot BMX & MTB MEGA BIKE PARK, explore the furthest parts of the cavern on our MEGA eBIKE tour, or enjoy a seated historical tour of the cavern on our MEGA TRAM.
Reviewed By susanpN5519OU
Quentin and Maddie were great zipline tour guides, very funny, informative and knowledgeable (ask about the porcelain bunny collection!) Highly recommend these two as guides!
2. Beckley Creek Park
3. The Parklands of Floyds Fork
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 146 reviews
Reviewed By jeffF8875IX - Louisville, United States
Outstanding and well-kept park - perfect for hiking, dogwalking, and biking - paved bike paths as well as dirt trails through the woods and along Floyd's Fork creek - great time.
4. Kentucky Derby Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,298 reviews
The Kentucky Derby Museum, where every day is Derby day, is the official tour provider of historic Churchill Downs. When you visit the Museum, you will find yourself immersed in the next best thing to actually being at the Derby! As the exclusive tour provider for the track, various tours are offered throughout the year even when the track isn’t in session with live racing. General admission includes two levels of family-friendly interactive permanent & temporary exhibits, "The Greatest Race," a 360-degree immersive sound and visual experience that'll get your heart racing and emotions soaring, Historic Walking Tour of Churchill Downs Racetrack, access to the Gift Shop, Kentucky fare in the Derby Cafe Express and much more!
Reviewed By B465DMsarahc - Glenwood, United States
We stopped here on our drive through to take a break and it was well worth it. It was four of us, 10-month old, 14 year old, and my husband and I. We took the tour, watched the video, and walked around the museum. It was all well worth it and we learned a lot. We didn't get to see the entire museum because we had to get back on the road. You can stop here for a little over an hour, or spend the day....lots of options and lots of different tours depending on how long you want to stay. I will say, we got there after lunch time and the more in depth tours were already sold out, so if you want to take the behind the scenes tour that take you to the barns, etc. - you probably need to book those early. We would come here again.
5. Louisville Free Public Library
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 26 reviews
6. Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 6,521 reviews
Batter up! It takes a special place to craft the #1 Bat in Major League Baseball. At Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, experience history-in-the-making as you stroll through the actual factory where world-famous Louisville Slugger bats are created. The award-winning factory tour is a highlight of the visit here, but there's plenty more to enjoy along with it. Admire the World's Biggest Bat - stretching 120 feet into the sky. Hold bats actually used by baseball superstars like Mickey Mantle, Johnny Bench, Cal Ripken Jr. And Derek Jeter. Face down a 90-mph fastball hurled by a major league pitcher. Count the homerun notches Babe Ruth carved into his Louisville Slugger bat for every home run he hit with it. Step into the batting cages and take some swings with a replica model of your hero's bat. Guests even get a free miniature souvenir bat at the end of the factory tour. You can even create a bat with your own name on it, just like the pros. They make great gifts for all kinds of special occasions, from newborn babies, to groomsmen gifts, to team trophies and more. The museum store is also loaded with lots of sporty merchandise for every budget. Be sure to swing by!
Reviewed By Vmorris99 - Saint Louis, United States
Don't hesitate...go...and pay for the tour! We toured the museum while in Louisville for a convention and visit with friends. My husband and I took our 9 year old son. We all found the museum to exceed our expectations. You can pop into the museum, and you have the option to pay for a tour of the factory. We are so glad we took the tour! Our tour guide was knowledgeable, interesting and funny. You begin with a short movie about how they own their own forest, and how trees are selected, harvested for production and conserved. It was a short and interesting film. Then, our guide lead us through the factory and stopped at key points to describe the process of bat production, labeling and painting. I found the info on how MLB players select bats fascinating. At the end if the tour, each person receives a miniature bat. Afterwards, you are able to explore the museum, which contains baseball history, actual bats of famous players, clocked pitching speed demo, and fun photo opportunities including a dugout and pitching mound where you can pose with a famous player's actual bat. For fellow smashed penny collectors, the lobby features a crank machine with four designs for your smashing pleasure! The lobby also contains a nice gift shop where custom bats, hats, keychains and other souvenirs can be purchased. The ginormous bat on the outside of the building is Instagramable!
7. The Speed Art Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 227 reviews
Features paintings by Rembrandt, Picasso and Rubens, as well as contemporary art exhibits.
Reviewed By LindaKay1959 - Louisville, United States
Isabelle de Borchgrave Exhibit- Fashioning Art from Paper. Life size dresses made from paper, covering 500 years of history from Europe and around the word. Also on special exhibit is Adele and Leonard Leigh’s collection of glass. The story of how they met and the life that led them to Louisville is quite interesting. Along with these two displays are the permanent displays in the museum. Social Distancing and mask are enforced. Tickets sold in advance at a limited number per hour. The exhibits take between 2 and 2 1/2 hours to cover.
8. Iroquois Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 195 reviews
The more rugged of the Louisville parks, Iroquois Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, has plenty of forested hillsides and scenic vistas for those willing to walk the extra mile.
Reviewed By michaelbL8559PF - Louisville, United States
The Jack o' Lantern Festival has become a mainstay of Halloween tradition and while a drive-through necessity based on COVID protocols isn't my ideal, I have to say that the Festival is still as magical and impressive as ever. BEST thing I can give out here, however, is a heartfelt "THANK YOU" to one of the workers, a young lady named Dulce, who took care of my group after waiting in line almost three hours without making it in before we had to leave for another engagement. Dulce said that she wouldn't scan our ticket and that we could come back on another night and move to the head of the line. I was understandably skeptical when more than a week later we came back, asking for her. Without any prompting, she remembered us and sent us directly in to the Festival with a smile. It's that kind of job done that reassures my faith in the human race. But be prepared: the lines are LONG and even getting there early won't keep you from a substantial wait. Looking forward to the Winter Woods Spectacular!!
9. Cherokee Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 314 reviews
Less hilly and grassier than its local cousins, Cherokee Park is mostly open meadows and woods.
Reviewed By jrhee1 - Louisville, United States
Whether you want to take your kids to the playground, or you want to exercise, or just want to take fresh air, or you want to take a time to meditate, this is a great place. The park is big and beautiful. Worth coming.
10. Old Louisville
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 519 reviews
Welcome to the official TA tour page for Old Louisville. All of our tours are brought to you by Louisville Historic Tours. LHT is the oldest and most well-known tour company in Old Louisville. Our tours have been recommend by the New York Times and we've guided over 50,000 visitors through beautiful Old Louisville. Please click on the specific tour on the right hand side or email us for more information. Operating hours are below.
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