Getaways

It’s Kentucky Derby time and the perfect month to sip a mint julep. But there’s much more to Louisville than running for the roses: garden and house tours, antiques fairs, steamboat cruises, museum blockbusters, shopping and dining—and Southern charm at no extra charge. (www.gotolouisville.com)

SEE: The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory is a must for baseball fans. Art lovers shouldn’t miss the impressive collection at the Speed Art Museum and the singular special exhibitions at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft. But don’t spend all your time in museums; the city boasts 18 landmarked parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, as well as the nation’s largest collection of Victorian homes in Old Louisville.

STAY: The Seelbach Hilton Louisville hotel is the city’s grande dame. Contemporary ambiance and artworks reign at 21c Museum Hotel, the newest hostelry for trendsetters.

DINE: Louisville boasts some 2,500 restaurants, but if you haven’t experienced the down-home vittles at Lynn’s Paradise Café, then you might as well stay home. Todd Richards is the AAA Five Diamond chef at the The Oakroom, the Seelbach’s elegant, go-to celebratory dining venue. Proof on Main, in the 21c Museum Hotel, was named by Esquire magazine as one of America’s best new restaurants of 2006.

SHOP: Grab your wallet and head to the Bardstown Road and Frankfort Avenue neighborhoods for art galleries, live music, one-of-a-kind boutiques where you can pick up some Kentucky handcrafts, and don’t-miss antiques shops, including Louisville Antiques and Derby City Antique Mall.

INSIDER’S TIP: Meet the ponies and get the scoop. After a visit to the Kentucky Derby Museum, go up close and personal with the sport of kings by taking the Barn and Backside Tour at iconic Churchill Downs.