Location: South Bend
Top Things to do in South Bend
What to do and see in South Bend, Indiana (IN): The Best Things to do Good for a Rainy Day
The 150-year-old University of Notre Dame is South Bend's biggest tourist draw, and for good reason. Though it's not easy to land seats at the 80,000-plus-capacity Notre Dame Stadium for a "Fighting Irish" football game, you'll find plenty of attractions on the beautiful, expansive campus. Highlights include numerous works of art, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, a replica of the famous shrine. Football fans will also want to visit the College Football Hall of Fame, which features interesting perspectives on the game and inductee videos. Whether or not you remember the Studebaker automobile, which saw its demise in the early sixties, you're sure to enjoy the Studebaker National Museum, featuring more than 75 vehicles drawn from the history of the company, beginning with horse-drawn carriages. South Bend has several fine museums, including the South Bend Regional Museum of Art and the Northern Indiana Center for History, a complex of four museums. Don't leave without trying truffles or fudge from the South Bend Chocolate Company.
Restaurants in South Bend
1. The Exchange Whiskey Bar
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 12 reviews
2. Basilica of the Sacred Heart
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 675 reviews
Reviewed By A6261TZrobertm - Darby, United States
I have visited this Basilica many times and it is a beautiful place of worship. Always go there after a Notre Dame Home football game on an annual trip for Catholic Mass Beautiful interior and Statuary.
3. DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 13 reviews
Here dance, music, theater and cinema aren't charming diversions: They are unconventional inspirations. Home to five performance venues, a performer's hall, scene and costume shops, numerous classrooms and more, it may be difficult to ignore the center's physical presence. The raw size and footage of the center is impressive, yet the center's real strength is its emotional and intellectual impact of integrating the arts into Notre Dame student and community life.
4. Compton Family Ice Arena
5. Just Goods
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 12 reviews
Indiana's oldest sustainable living general store. Locally owned and operated since 2003. We offer fair labor and earth-friendly socks, home decor, lunch gear, baby gear, toys, housewares, candles and gifts. South Bend souvenirs and post cards.
6. Outsmart Escapes
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 17 reviews
Whether you are looking for a memorable night out with family, an evening adventure with friends or a team-building experience with colleagues, look no further than Outsmart Escapes. - Now featuring TWO Escape Rooms in one location! Assemble your winning team as you work together to discover clues, solve puzzles and accomplish tasks before the clock runs out! Do you have what it takes to escape!?! Locations in South Bend, Indiana & Elkhart, Indiana. Opening soon in Buchanan, Michigan.
Reviewed By 3990Stortz - Berrien Springs, United States
We were a group of eight consisting of 6 adults, a teenager and a junior. It was a great experience with many laughs! It was very unique playing in the Studebaker Mansion. It is located on the second floor. This was our first Outsmart experience and are anxious to enjoy the experiences at the other locations.
7. Purcell Pavilion
8. Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 12 reviews
9. Studebaker National Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 581 reviews
Experience over a century on wheels at the Studebaker National Museum, from the Studebaker family’s c. 1835 Conestoga Wagon to the last car to roll off the Studebaker assembly line in 1966. Learn how the world-famous Studebaker Corporation made the transition from being one of the foremost wagon makers to crafting the automobiles of the modern era — the only company to do so successfully. While you are here, be sure to also check out the world’s largest collection of Presidential Carriages. We hope to see you soon!
Reviewed By calm_weather - Woodstown, United States
I'm not a big carhead. I enjoy history. This museum is mazing in the offerings it has to chronicle the history of manufactured transportation from 1840 to 1960. The number of cars it has, apparently provided by many antique car enthusiasts is, literally, unbelievable. With three floors, the museum appears to cover every aspect of the history of Studebaker and a few other automakers. The first floor goes from 1840 to the mid-1930s or so. This is clearly the heart of their focus. The wall readings explain the progress of the Studebaker family and the automakers. Some reading, not a lot. But you can't take your eyes off the immaculately maintained cars in the room. The sequence walks you through the years with a couple songs that become earworms after a while. The second floor expands the history to additional automakers with a spectacular Delage at the outset, a wonderful Pierce Silver Arrow, and a Scarab that once belonged to the Wrigleys as the first three highlights in the room that continue through other cars you just have to see. The basement floor, the 3rd in the sequence, offers some military production from Studebaker and a coupe other makers, and some additional Studebakers on and below lifts. They appear to be there in storage, but available for view. One 1920s car is still in its original worn condition which gives you a comparison for the work that had to go into reclaiming the cars on the first two floors you saw. If it was the old days, I would have gone through 11 rolls of film and nearly 200 light bulbs. In the digital age, it amounted to a little under a gb of photographs that will keep these beauties available to me forever. I can't encourage you enough to take about 2 hours to take in this museum.
10. The History Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 150 reviews
A stately Victorian mansion with original furnishings and stunning woodwork is the highlight of this museum complex, which also includes a children's museum, a gallery of Notre Dame history and an exhibit that chronicles the history of the St. Joseph River Valley. Our museum is also physically connected to the Studebaker National Museum. You can now visit two museums in one place!
Reviewed By lovesleisure2013 - Davison, United States
This home was beautiful and our tour guide very knowlegable. Beautiful wood work, marble and furnishings. Interesting family history also.
