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The U.S.A will celebrate 250 years in 2026, and Louisville is an under-the-radar destination that gives visitors a taste of Americana. An iconic American cocktail, like the Old Fashioned, was invented in Louisville, while the Mint Julep has been the official drink of the Kentucky Derby since the 1930s. Both made with America’s only native spirit, Bourbon. Baseball is known as America’s favorite pastime and baseball bats have been made at the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory since the late 1800s. After taking a selfie with Babe Ruth’s 120-foot replica bat visit Cave Hill Cemetery, the final resting place of the Hill sisters, the writers of the world’s most sung song, Happy Birthday To You. It’s also where you’ll find the graves of KFC’s Colonel Sanders and Muhammad Ali, two of the planet’s most recognizable faces. Visit the Muhammad Ali Center to learn about America’s Civil Rights history in addition to the Champ’s boxing career. Take a free tour of the 120-year-old Seelbach Hotel to see where F. Scott Fitzgerald got inspiration for one of America’s greatest novels, The Great Gatsby, or head across the river to Southern Indiana to learn its connections to American icons Lewis & Clark and Rosie the Riveter. And just a one-hour road trip south will lead you to the birthplace of America’s most popular President, at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park.
COMING IN 2026
Celebrate America 250 in Louisville by visiting the new Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) Education Center and Museum, which plans to open on Independence Day, July 4, 2026. The museum will include interactive galleries leading visitors on a journey that spans the entire American Revolution, introducing them to the pivotal people and events of the period. The Dot Experience at the American Printing House (APH) aims to be the “most accessible museum in the world” and will house the largest repository of Helen Keller archives, provide factory tours to see how braille books are made, and have hands-on opportunities to learn about the history of education for people who are blind. Another new museum coming in 2026 is the AHOY children’s museum. The project will transform a Victorian house into an immersive, experiential children’s space and include indoor and outdoor play areas. Kentucky Kingdom, the state’s largest amusement park, will unveil a $25 million upgrade featuring new lands, rides, and dining experiences, all with a Kentucky twist. The city’s official dish, The Hot Brown, will turn 100 years old in 2026, and can still be ordered at the Brown Hotel just as it was a century ago.
From Bourbon and horse racing to culinary traditions to The Greatest himself, Muhammad Ali, Louisville would not be the city it is today without the contributions of its Black community. Tours, exhibits, and experiences include the Black Heritage in Racing exhibit at the Kentucky Derby Museum which highlights the accomplishments of Black jockeys who once dominated the sport; The Ideal Bartender Experience at Evan Williams Bourbon Experience where guests will meet an actor portraying Louisville native, Tom Bullock, the first African American to pen & publish a cocktail book; and Roots 101 African American Museum, which offers a full range of exhibits from the Faces of Africa to Black to the Future. Walk in the Footsteps of Greatness of Muhammad Ali by visiting the places that majorly impacted his life and career like the Muhammad Ali Center, his boyhood home, or Cave Hill Cemetery, a 296-acre burial ground and arboretum that serves as The Champ’s final resting place.
THE BOURBON BOOM IS JUST BEGINNING
Though Louisville’s distilling heritage dates back to the 1780s, 2023 marked only a decade since the opening of the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, the city’s first ticketed bourbon attraction. Since then, Louisville has undergone a spirited renaissance, seeing bourbon-themed hotels, festivals, restaurants, and more than a dozen additional distilleries and attractions open within the city limits. Louisville has seen even more action in 2024 with the openings of The Last Refuge, a new restaurant, whiskey bar, and live music venue inside a 150-year-old church led by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, Log Still Distillery’s Monk’s Road Boiler House, a supper club-inspired restaurant and tasting room on the original Whiskey Row, and the Oxmoor Bourbon Company, which offers tours and tastings at a historic farm that was once home to 5 generations of the Bullitt family. Stay tuned for two new tasting rooms coming to Whiskey Row in 2025 from Bourbon brands like Green River Distilling Co., Pursuit Spirits, and WhistlePig.
HOW IMMIGRANTS ARE SHAPING THIS FLOURISHING FOODIE NEIGHBORHOOD
Recently named one of “The Best Food Neighborhoods in the USA” by AFAR, NuLu has become one of Louisville’s must-visit dining destinations. Yucatan born Bruce Ucán was first on the scene nearly two decades ago with his longtime staple Mayan Café. Cuban-born Fernando Martinez has done his part to brighten up the neighborhood with the addition of two successful concepts, La Bodeguita de Mima and Guacamole. Husband and wife duo Alvio and Elaisy Lapinet bring additional flavor to the city’s exploding Cuban community with the opening of Cured, while Israeli-born Noam Bilitzer just celebrated the one-year anniversary of Meesh Meesh, which focuses on Levantine-inspired cuisine. Wash it all down at Rabbit Hole Distillery, which houses the ultra-modern Bourbon brand created by Kaveh Zamanian, who is originally from Iran, but eventually moved to Kentucky after falling in love with his Louisville-born wife.
HALLOWEEN AND HAUNTED PLACES
Louisville is largely known for its spirits, but it is an underrated destination for Halloween and haunted sites. Visit Old Louisville, where you’ll find a registered historic district that was once named “One of America’s Most Haunted Neighborhoods.” Learn about its century-old restored Victorian mansions (and previous residents) on a nightly walking ghost tour. Another one of America’s most haunted places is Waverly Hills Sanatorium. Initially opened in 1910 as a tuberculosis hospital, the gothic-style facility was nearly condemned when the hospital closed in 1981 after seeing the death of thousands of former patients. Today, tours are offered throughout the sanatorium, including the morgue and body chute. The Seelbach Hotel, built in 1920, has seen the likes of celebrities, mobsters, and even ghosts during its time. Ask about the Lady in Blue on a free historic hotel tour. Annual Halloween events include Pumpkins at Kentucky Kingdom, the Jack O’ Lantern Spectacular, and Louisville’s own Halloween street, Hillcrest Avenue.
A new 6-story Hotel Bourre Bonne will open just one block from Whiskey Row in early 2025. The 168-room property will feature a rooftop pool & bar, and a ground-floor eatery, Bourré Bonne Steakhouse, helmed by one of Louisville’s top restauranteurs, Kevin Grangier. A trio of outdoor projects will also come to fruition in 2025. Early next year, look for the completion of a new phase of Waterfront Park’s westward expansion along the Ohio River, which will bridge the divide between Louisville’s downtown and Portland neighborhood. Yew Dell Gardens is investing $5 million for its Castle Gardens Project which will transform the area surrounding the iconic Yew Dell Castle into a stunning collection of new gardens and water features. The Speed Art Museum is the oldest and largest art museum in Kentucky and is receiving a $22 million, three-acre makeover with a new park and sculpture garden opening late in the year. Free and open 24/7, the art park will feature 13 new world-class outdoor sculptures. Historic Churchill Downs will turn 150 years old in 2025, with the national historic landmark announcing that it will invest $90 million to upgrade the racetrack before Kentucky Derby 151. The Kentucky Derby Museum will also celebrate a milestone, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2025 with a $2.3 million upgrade to The Greatest Race, the museum’s popular 360° 4K film, as well as a new Derby through the Decades fashion exhibit.
