Spend a day in the city enjoying nature at the Louisville Nature Center. Discover native wildflower gardens and a pond, butterfly gardens, bird blind, wildlife exhibits and hiking trails that lead you through the Beargrass Creek State Nature Preserve. Be sure to pack a pack a lunch and relax at the picnic tables under the gazebo.
Watch the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, a thoroughbred race track in Louisville renowned the world over. The annual event takes place on a one and a quarter-mile track for a race known as the "The Most Exciting Two Minutes of Sports" and is steeped in traditions like drinking ice cold Mint Juleps and women wearing one-of-a-kind fancy hats. The event is one of the most well-known attractions in the city.
Big entertainment stops at the Louisville Palace Theatre, located in the heart of the downtown Louisville theater district. The elegant and ornate theater is a historic landmark that seats 2,700 fans, hosts concerts from artists like B.B. King, and smash Broadway plays like Anatomy of a Murder.
The "fastest two minutes in sports" has turned into two weeks of festive celebration. Race over to the Kentucky Derby Festival for a two-week event commemorating the historic derby. The festival is loaded with more than seventy special events, including the nation's largest firework extravaganza.