The Essential Guide to Indianapolis, Indiana

Although it’s known for hosting the world’s largest single-day sporting event, Indianapolis is far more than just the home of the Indianapolis 500.

While this Midwestern city of just under 900,000 does indeed have a rich sports history, it also has a fast-developing arts scene, award-winning restaurants, and an impressive collection of world-class museums. The heart of the city is downtown’s Monument Circle, while neighborhoods like Fountain Square and Broad Ripple have built their own distinct flairs and personalities.

Indianapolis is filled with activities for all ages, such as a spectacular urban park system (which includes White River State Park), a robust culinary scene with multiple James Beard Award semifinalists, and the world’s largest children’s museum. Indianapolis also has a strong coffee culture with local roasters and cafes such as Coat Check, Quills, and Calvin Fletcher’s.

From the historic Slippery Noodle Inn—Indiana’s oldest tavern—to creative cocktail bars and farm-to-table restaurants, Indianapolis has big-city luxuries without losing an iota of small-town charm. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the Indianapolis International Airport is consistently voted one of the best airports in the United States.

Here’s what you need to know before planning a trip to Indianapolis, Indiana.

Best Hotels & Resorts

Bottleworks Hotel

This Michelin Key Award recipient occupies the top two floors of a historic 1930s Coca-Cola bottling plant on Mass Ave. Original Art Deco details have been carefully restored, including a stunning rotunda with a spiral staircase and soda bottle cap-inspired ceiling plaster. The adjacent Garage Food Hall and numerous restaurants make this location ideal for exploring downtown.

Conrad Indianapolis

Part hotel, part art gallery, Conrad Indy’s walls are decorated with household-name creatives like Warhol, Picasso, and Dalí. Art enthusiasts can stay in the Gallery Suite or individually designed Collection Suites, which have world-renowned masterpieces. The property includes downtown’s only hotel spa, fine dining, and luxurious marble bathrooms with deep-soaking tubs in every room.

InterContinental Indianapolis

The city’s first luxury hotel in nearly two decades is housed within the historic 1926 Illinois Building, and is recommended by Travel+Leisure’s A-List advisor Maria Diego. This $110 million transformation by architect Henry J. Schlacks blends restored architectural heritage with modern touches like Astrea, the highest rooftop bar in Indianapolis.

Omni Severin Hotel

An icon since it opened in 1913, this downtown landmark recently completed a $24 million renovation, with transformed spaces that reflect its original Art Deco architecture. The hotel bar, Bar Cardinale, has specialty drinks honoring the premier Cardinal train line that once welcomed guests. 

Hotel Indy

For a more boutique feel, Diego recommends this beautiful property located in the former Brandon Block. The popular rooftop Cannon Ball Lounge and brunch at Hulman restaurant also make the hotel a local favorite.

Best Things to Do

White River State Park

This premier urban destination houses seven world-class attractions on 250 acres, including the Eiteljorg Museum, the Indiana State Museum and the Indianapolis Zoo. Enjoy gondola rides along the Central Canal, rent bikes or pedal boats, sprawl out for a picnic, or catch concerts at the 6,000-seat Everwise Amphitheatre with stunning downtown skyline views.

Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

The world’s largest children’s museum has five floors of interactive exhibits covering everything from dinosaurs to space exploration. Highlights include real fossils, a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and hands-on science demonstrations. The internationally acclaimed institution provides educational entertainment for families, and sometimes the museum even hosts adults-only museum nights. 

Walk & Talks

Sampson Levingston’s Walk & Talk tours have garnered national recognition as he takes people through the hidden history of Indianapolis streets. During his yours, you can get to know Indianapolis on a deeper level as you see the city through his historian’s lens. Levingston’s style is engaging and enthusiastic, and he’s a pro at bringing old facts to life.   

Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library

This small but fascinating museum celebrates Indianapolis’s preeminent literary icon, and includes displays of his trusty typewriter, paintings, family artifacts, and recreated writing space. Literature lovers will have a blast viewing Vonnegut’s personal library collection and comprehensive archives. 

Madam Walker Legacy Center

Honoring America’s first self-made woman millionaire, this museum documents Madam C.J. Walker’s entrepreneurial legacy as she built her empire of haircare products. The beautifully preserved theater serves as both a cultural center and a historical tribute, and though compact, it powerfully showcases Walker’s impact on business, philanthropy, and civil rights in early 20th-century Indianapolis.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum

Home to the world’s most famous auto race, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has guided tours and an extensive museum dedicated to racing history, iconic cars, and the legendary 500-mile tradition. Tour the historic track, kiss the famous bricks at the start and finish line, and explore exhibits featuring winners’ cars and memorabilia. The museum provides intimate access to the motorsports heritage that defines Indianapolis globally, one of Levingston’s top recommended stops in Indy.

Best Nightlife

Tappers

This nostalgic gaming bar combines craft beer with classic arcade games like Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. The retro atmosphere makes it a fun place for both gamers and craft beer enthusiasts.

White Rabbit Cabaret

This is an intimate venue with burlesque shows, live music, and theatrical performances like comedy and dating game shows in a speakeasy-style atmosphere. Its eclectic programming includes local and touring acts across multiple genres.

Chatterbox Jazz Club

Another essential jazz destination, Chatterbox hosts live performances in an intimate setting. The club maintains Indianapolis’s rich jazz tradition with regular programming with different styles of jazz from Sunday through Thursday. 

Rathskeller Biergarten

This downtown biergarten serves authentic German cuisine and extensive beer selection in Indianapolis’s best beer garden atmosphere. The historic venue features traditional German hospitality with outdoor seating perfect for enjoying bratwurst, schnitzel, live music, and 12 different types of imported draft beers. 

Tini

With great cocktails, a hot dance floor, and drag nights, Tini is an LGBTQ+ haven and cocktail bar on Mass Avenue, Indy’s main downtown street. Every Tuesday, they also have a hosted karaoke night. 

Slippery Noodle

The oldest continuously operating bar in Indiana is a great place to listen to live music, enjoy cold drinks, and enjoy a classic pork tenderloin sandwich (a local delicacy). It’s been open since 1850, and at one point, this bar was a stop on the Underground Railroad and even served as a brothel. 

Best Restaurants

Bluebeard

Housed in a renovated 1924 warehouse in Fletcher Place neighborhood, Bluebeard pays homage to the 1987 novel by Kurt Vonnegut, after which the restaurant is named. The James Beard Award semi-finalist has daily menus built on regionally grown produce and meats. Menu favorites include house-made pastas and their famous house-made grilled breads. 

Milktooth

This brunch spot has become one of Indianapolis’s darlings, thanks to its rotating menu with items like savory Dutch babies and sourdough waffles. Their drinks with house-made syrups are also inventive, and I’m a fan of the Gochujang caramel latte.  

Borage

In Speedway, Borage feels like a community hub, pairing a relaxed café atmosphere with a connected market selling the same locally sourced grains, vegetables, and breads used in its kitchen. The dining room is casual, with sourdough brioche donuts and chicken liver mousse rice taking the spotlight on the menu. The restaurant emphasizes community connection in its menu and partners with local farms to source ingredients. 

St. Elmo Steak House

An iconic Indianapolis institution and James Beard Award winner, St. Elmo’s exudes old-school charm with its classic mahogany woodwork and white tablecloths. Having the legendary shrimp cocktail, coupled with horseradish-laced cocktail sauce, is a rite of passage, while thick-cut, dry-aged steaks and loaded baked potatoes are akways showstoppers. It’s the kind of place where celebratory toasts are frequent, and the classic steakhouse atmosphere has been drawing regulars and out-of-town visitors alike since 1902.

Workingman’s Friend

Workingman’s Friend is a time capsule of a tavern, with original Formica counters, glass-block walls, and a cash-only policy that hasn’t changed in decades. The draw is their famously crispy, double-patty burgers cooked on a well-seasoned griddle, served with American cheese and simple toppings. There’s nothing fancy at this joint, just perfectly cooked burgers in a place that feels like it hasn’t missed a beat since 1918. Time your visit well, because they’re only open for a few hours a day. 

Bodhi

This compact Thai-inspired restaurant and cocktail bar brings in the vibe with its moody lighting and leafy atmosphere. The restaurant serves Thai classics like som tum and panang curry while turning up the creativity with cocktails that take inspiration from Midwest and Thai ingredients. You can expect drinks like corn yuzu cocktails. They don’t take reservations, so get there early if you want a table. 

Best Time to Visit

The best time to visit Indianapolis is during spring and fall when temperatures are comfortable and the city comes alive with outdoor events. Spring brings the legendary Indianapolis 500 in May, while fall offers the Indiana State Fair and pleasant weather for exploring the extensive trail system and outdoor attractions. Indianapolis has plenty of festivals and events throughout the year as well, from the Rock the Ruins concert series to the Butter Fine Art Fair. 

How to Get There

Indianapolis International Airport (IND) is the city’s primary gateway, and it’s only 15 miles from downtown. With convenient rental car access and ride-hailing services, you can be downtown in less than 30 minutes. The airport is consistently voted as one of the best airports in the U.S. thanks to its efficiency and customer service. 

Indianapolis is also within driving distance of major Midwest cities, including Chicago (three hours); Louisville, Kentucky (two hours); and Nashville (4.5 hours). Nicknamed the “Crossroads of America,” the Indy has great access to major highways such as I-65, I-70, and I-74.

Neighborhoods to Visit

Fountain Square

A designated cultural district just southeast of downtown, Fountain Square combines vintage architecture with a creative energy. It has coffee spots like Calvin Fletcher’s Coffee Company and Bovaconti, along with vinyl shops, art studios, tattoo parlors, music venues such as Hi‑Fi Indy, and Square Cat Vinyl, and speakeasies—including The Commodore inside the historic Fountain Square Theatre Building. 

Broad Ripple

Broad Ripple Village has a dense cluster of bars, restaurants, galleries, and shops centered around Broad Ripple Park, a 62‑acre park bordering the White River. The neighborhoods intersect with the Monon Trail, an extensive bike and pedestrian trail that runs through the city. 

Mass Avenue

This historic Arts and Theater District stretches for nearly a mile through downtown Indianapolis and is generally considered the city’s most vibrant area. Galleries, restaurants, independent boutiques, and bars line the streets, and it’s an easily walkable area perfect for a night stroll or bar crawl.

Bottleworks District

Part of downtown Indianapolis, this mixed-use development has continued to expand over the years, offering all kinds of activities within the beautifully restored historic Coca-Cola bottling complex. The district features the award-winning Bottleworks Hotel and Garage Food Hall with its diverse dining options, shops, and entertainment venues. 

How to Get Around

While downtown Indianapolis is highly walkable with most attractions concentrated around Monument Circle and the Cultural Trail, you’ll need a rental car to get around outside of the central downtown area. The Indianapolis Cultural Trail has an eight-mile-long urban bike and pedestrian path connecting downtown to key neighborhoods like Mass Avenue, Fountain Square, and White River State Park. 

Indianapolis also has a bus system, the IndyGo bus system. The Red Line rapid transit connects downtown to some of the most popular neighborhoods, although you’ll need either cash or the MyKey App to pay for rides. Ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft are also readily available and popular for short trips within the city. For those who want to bike around, the city also has a bike rental program through the Pacers Bikeshare program, with free 30-minute rides for Marion County residents.