Louisville Named a Top Place to Travel to in 2024

LOUISVILLE, KY. (Dec. 19, 2023) – Bourbon City has become even more flavorful over the past year with a triad of new Bourbon tasting rooms, a myriad of new hotel properties, and a handful of nationally recognized bars and restaurants. The city started the year on a high note with The New York Times naming Louisville as one of "52 Places To Go in 2023," featuring the city on a list of powerhouse destinations that included London, Istanbul, and Madrid. People poured into Bourbon City from around the globe for popular events, with festivals like Louder Than Life seeing record-setting attendance in 2023, with over 160,000 attendees, and the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport seeing its busiest travel day ever on the Sunday following the 149th Kentucky Derby.

Local attractions like the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory in downtown Louisville set a new single-day attendance record twice in 2023, the first time in March while the NCAA Division I Men’s Regional basketball tournament was playing at the KFC Yum! Center, and for a second time in June while the Beta Club’s National Convention was in town at the Kentucky International Convention Center with its estimated 13,000 attendees. The Kentucky Derby Museum set an all-time attendance record in (fiscal) 2023, with over a quarter of a million guests visiting the Louisville staple, making it the busiest year in its nearly four-decade history.

Prominent national travel and tourism authorities, including The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Southern Living, and Frommer’s all highlighted Louisville as a noteworthy travel destination, with Travel + Leisure naming Louisville one of the “50 Best Places To Travel in 2024."

Over the course of the past 12 months, Louisville has been touted as a strong seasonal destination, with TripAdvisor, The Points Guy, PureWow, and Good Housekeeping naming the city as a “Best Place to Travel in May.” AARP, Travel Pulse, Cheapism, Wealth of Geeks, and Explore.com all point to the city as underrated, overlooked, or an under-the-radar destination, and Travel + Leisure, Hotels Above Par, and TheTravel all recommend Louisville as a top place to visit during the Fall season.

Below is a compiled list of some of Louisville’s top accolades for 2023:

OVERALL CITY ACCOLADES

∙ “52 Places to Go in 2023” – New York Times
∙ “The 50 Best Places to Travel in 2024” – Travel + Leisure
∙ “Best Places to Go in 2024” (Kentucky) – Frommer’s
∙ “Top 50 Destinations in North America” – Cvent
∙ “25 Best Weekend Getaways in the South” – Travel + Leisure
∙ “The Best Food Cities in the U.S.” – Travel + Leisure
∙ “10 Inspiring Places Where You Can Honor Black History in the U.S.” – Viator
∙ “7 Underrated Girls Trips Around the World” – Travel + Leisure
∙ “8 Under-the-Radar Music Destinations You Need to Know” – AARP
∙ “The Most Overlooked Travel Cities in America” – Cheapism
∙ “15 Underrated U.S. Cities to Experience” – Wealth of Geeks
∙ “12 Underrated Winter Getaways Across the U.S., According to Travelers” – Explore.com
∙ “15 Overlooked U.S. Cities Worth Exploring” – Wealth of Geeks
∙ “10 Most Underrated Romantic Destinations Around the Globe” – Travel Pulse
∙ “47 Romantic Getaways in the U.S. to Fall in Love With” – AAA
∙ “Most Romantic Cities in America” – 27/4 Wall St.
∙ “Best-Value Cities in the U.S.” – The Times
∙ “Best Budget-Friendly U.S. Destination to Celebrate a Bachelor Party” – Explore.com
∙ “The Best Places to Travel in May in the U.S.” – TripAdvisor
∙ “The 8 Best Destinations to Visit in May” – The Points Guy
∙ “The 6 Best Places to Travel in May 2023” – Pure Wow
∙ “12 Places to Visit in May to Beat the Summer Vacation Crowds” – Good Housekeeping
∙ “Best Big College Towns in America” – Stacker
∙ “The 10 Best U.S. Cities to Visit for Sports Fanatics” – Best Life
∙ “21 Summer Vacation Destinations for Sports Fans” – Sports Engine
∙ “15 Most Bike Friendly Cities in the U.S.” – Insider Monkey
∙ “Best Cities for College Basketball Fans” – WalletHub
∙ “14 Affordable Vacation Destinations for Summer” – Trips to Discover
∙ “10 Most Beautiful and Affordable Places to Live in the U.S.” – Travel + Leisure
∙ “13 U.S. Cities with the Most Beautiful Old Houses” – BestLife
∙ “The 10 Best places to Travel in September” – The Points Guy
∙ “21 Best U.S. Cities for Fall Travel”– Travel + Leisure
∙ “These Are the Best Places to Travel in the U.S.A This Fall” – Hotels Above Par
∙ “Top 10 Best Halloween Cities in the U.S. & What to Do While You're There” – TheTravel
∙ “The Best U.S. Destinations to Visit in November – DiscoverNet
∙ “Best Places to Go for Thanksgiving 2023” – WalletHub
∙ “Best Winter Holiday Destinations 2023” – WalletHub
∙ “The Best Holiday Travel Destination in Each State” – Travel Pulse
∙ “Best Cities for New Year's” – WalletHub
∙ “2023’s Best Cities for Vegans & Vegetarians” – WalletHub
∙ “The Most Hippie Town in All 50 States” – Thrillist
∙ “A Perfect Score on the HRC Municipal Equality Index for 2023” – Human Rights Campaign

EAT & DRINK

∙ “The Best New Restaurants in America, 2023” (Nami) – Esquire
∙ “The 9 Best Whiskey Bars in America for 2023” (Bourbons Bistro and Neat Bourbon Bar & Bottle Shop) – Men’s Journal
∙ “The 12 Best New Restaurants to Visit in The U.S. in 2023” (Nami) – The Daily Meal
∙ “The South's Most Legendary Restaurants” (Jack Fry’s) – Southern Living
∙ “Ranking the Top 10 Airport Bars in the U.S.” (Book & Bourbon) – USA Today 10Best
∙ “The 10 Best Craft Brandies in the U.S.” (Copper & Kings) - USA Today 10BEST
∙ “The Best Vegan Restaurant in Every State” (Heart and Soy & Roots) – TastingTable
∙ “The Best Hotel Bars in America for 2023” (Old Seelbach Bar) – Wine Enthusiast
∙ “13 Beautiful + Instagrammable Bars in the South” (Old Seelbach Bar) – StyleBlueprint
∙ “7 of the South’s Best Beer Bars” (Holy Grale) – Garden & Gun
∙ “13 Rollicking Drag Brunches That Represent the Best of America” (Le Moo) – OpenTable
∙ “The South’s Most Legendary Steakhouses” (Pat’s Steakhouse) – Southern Living
∙ “The South's Best New Restaurants of 2023” (North of Bourbon) – Southern Living
∙ “Best Wine Shops of 2023” (The Breeze) – Wine Enthusiast

PLAY

∙ “5 Can’t-Miss Sporting Events in 2024” (Kentucky Derby) – AARP
∙ “11 of the U.S.A’s Top Sporting Venues” (Churchill Downs) – LoveExploring
∙ “Top 7 U.S. Sporting Events in 2023” (Kentucky Derby) – The Chiswick Herald
∙ “Sports fans will love these 10 attractions across the U.S.” (Kentucky Derby Museum) – USA Today 10Best
∙ “10 Best Riverwalks Across the United States” – USA Today 10Best
∙ “15 Best River Walks in the USA” – Fodor’s
∙ “The Coolest State Fairs Around the U.S.” – Country Living
∙ “The 33 biggest Music Festivals Through Summer 2023” (Bourbon & Beyond) – NJ.com
∙ “10 Music Festivals to Look Forward to in 2023” (Louder Than Life) – Beyond the Stage
∙ “The Best Music Festivals of 2023” (Louder Than Life) – The Hollywood Reporter
∙ “20 Best Rock and Metal Festivals Worldwide in 2023” (Louder Than Life) – Metal Shout
∙ “The Top Fall Music Festivals” (Louder Than Life) – TravelNoire
∙ “The Best Halloween Festivals in The U.S. Can Be Found in These Cities” (Boo at the Zoo) – The Travel
∙ “Best Halloween Celebrations in the U.S.” (Boo at the Zoo) – StudyFinds.com
∙ “10 Best Halloween Parades in the U.S.” – USA Today 10Best
∙ “The Best Christmas Light Displays in Every State” (Lights Under Louisville) – Travel + Leisure
∙ “Top holiday markets in the U.S.” (Fete de Noel) – Yelp
∙ “11 Must-See Holiday Displays Across the U.S.” (Lights Under Louisville) – Wealth of Geeks
∙ “21 Drive-Through Christmas Lights Displays That Are Worth a Road Trip” (Lights Under Louisville) – Condé Nast Traveler
∙ “9 Food Festivals Every Drinker Should Know” (NuLu Bock Fest) – Wine Enthusiast
∙ “The Best Burger Cities in America” – Home Bay
∙ “20 Distilleries Every Whiskey Lover Must Visit Before They Die” (Stitzel-Weller and Rabbit Hole) – Mashed
∙ “Please & Thank You Named Best Cookie Shop in the U.S.” – USA Today 10Best
∙ “Top 10 Orchards in the Nation” (Huber’s Orchard and Winery) – USA Today 10Best
∙ “14 Most Haunted Places on the East Coast” (Waverly Hills Sanatorium) – The Travel
∙ “Top 10 Pumpkin Patches in the Nation” (Huber's Orchard and Winery) – USA Today 10Best
∙ “10 Unbelievable Ghost Tours Around the U.S. That Are Worth Booking” (Old Louisville Ghost Tour) –The Travel
∙ “10 Best Fall Ghost Tours for Spine-Tingling Fun in America” (Victorian Ghost Walk) – FoxNews

STAY

∙ “Airbnb’s Top trending U.S. Destinations for Summer Travel” – TimeOut
∙ “8 of the Best New Hotels for a U.S. City Break in 2023” (Genevieve) – National Geographic UK
∙ “Best Hotels Opening This Year” (Genevieve) – Fifty Grande
∙ “77 New Springtime Hotel Openings Worth Visiting This Year” (Genevieve) – Forbes
∙ “8 of the Best New hotels for a U.S. City Break in 2023” (Genevieve) – National Geographic
∙ “Top 100 Places to Stay 2023” (Brown and 21c Louisville) – Yelp
∙ “Best B&Bs and Inns - United States” (Inn at Woodhaven) – TripAdvisor
∙ “12 of the Best Hotels in the World for Whiskey Lovers” (Hotel Distil) – Wine Enthusiast Magazine
∙ “The South’s Loveliest Hotel Lobbies” (Brown Hotel) – Garden & Gun
∙ “Top 200 Meeting Hotels in North America” (Omni, Louisville Marriott Downtown, and The Galt House) - CVent 

*This list may not include all accolades the city or its tourism-related businesses have received over the past 12 months.