Indianapolis
Indiana's capital lives to the rhythm of a 4 km oval of brick and asphalt, home of the Indianapolis 500, raced every late May since 1911 in front of more than 300,000 spectators. The rest of the year, people come for the largest children's museum in the world, a canal lined with museums, a compact downtown around an 87-metre obelisk and one of the finest war memorials in the country.
By PierrickLocal Guide ★8 · 14M+ views on Google MapsBy PierrickLocal Guide ★8 · 14M+ Maps views
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Indianapolis · Photo K / Pexels
Things to do in Indianapolis in 5 days
Day 1
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The 1909 Brickyard oval, the world's largest sporting venue and home of the Indianapolis 500, with a museum of race-winning cars, the Borg-Warner trophy and tours down to the yard of bricks.
💡 The museum opens every day from 9am to 5pm; add the Kiss the Bricks tour, 30 minutes by coach to the yard of bricks, or the 90-minute golf-cart tour with a lap of the oval, from April to October. Avoid May if you are not coming for the race, as practice sessions take over the track. Price: museum admission to be bought online; Kiss the Bricks $15, about €13, extra, golf cart $55, about €47.
Michael Barera / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 2
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A 61-hectare campus on the White River combining the 1883 art museum, strong in Neo-Impressionism and home to Robert Indiana's LOVE, with gardens, the Lilly House and a woodland art park.
💡 Newfields is closed on Mondays and opens from 10am to 5pm Tuesday to Sunday. On the first Thursday of the month, visitors pay what they wish, even nothing. Price: $23, about €20, $15, about €13, ages 6 to 17, free up to age 5.
Mike Steele / CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 3
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The world's largest children's museum, founded in 1925, with the Dinosphere's complete skeletons, a 13-metre Chihuly glass tower, history and science galleries and an outdoor sports experience.
💡 The museum opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm and is closed on Mondays, except during certain holiday weeks in spring. Tickets are dated and their price varies with the season and the day: book online, and aim for the first Thursday of the month, from 4pm to 8pm, at $6, about €5. Price: varies by date, carousel $2 per child.
Dan Keck / CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 4
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A limestone memorial inspired by the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, whose soaring marble Shrine Room holds a blue crystal star chandelier above a huge flag, with a museum of Indiana's wars below.
💡 Go up to the Shrine Room, on the top floor, the heart of the building. Combine the visit with a walk along the plaza to the obelisk of Veterans Memorial Plaza and the old Central Library. Open Wednesday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm. Price: $10, about €9, $5, about €4, ages 5 to 18 and over 60, free for military personnel and veterans; the ticket gives same-day access to the interior of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument.
Daniel Schwen / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Learn moreMore
The city's exact centre since 1821, a cobbled circle around the 87-metre Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument of 1902, which becomes a giant Christmas tree with the Circle of Lights.
💡 Come in the evening to see the circle lit up, and in December for the Circle of Lights, switched on since 1962 on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Downtown can be explored on foot from the circle. Price: free around the monument; the interior, with the Civil War museum and the observation platform, opens only on Fridays from 10am to 4pm, for $10, about €9, on a combined ticket with the Indiana War Memorial.
Deb Nystrom / CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Learn moreMore
A diagonal avenue of early 20th-century brick buildings filled with theatres, galleries, bars and restaurants, the city's liveliest evening district, ending at the Art Deco Bottleworks District.
💡 Come in the late afternoon and stay for dinner; book the best-known restaurants at weekends. Hire a bike-share bike on the Cultural Trail to reach Fountain Square, another nightlife district to the south-east. Price: free.
Day 5
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On the canal, one of the great collections of Native American and Western art east of the Mississippi, from beadwork and pottery to contemporary Indigenous artists, Remington and O'Keeffe.
💡 The museum opens from 10am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and from noon to 5pm on Sundays. It is in White River State Park, to be combined with the canal and the neighbouring Indiana State Museum. Price: charged, prices and concessions posted on the official website; free for members of Native American nations.
Sailko / CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Learn moreMore
A 5 km promenade loop along the 1830s Central Canal leading to the city's great urban park, with museums, the zoo, the ballpark and pedal boats or kayaks on the water.
💡 Hire a pedal boat or a bike at the canal landing in summer, then head up to the park at sunset. The promenade is lit in the evening and popular with joggers. Price: free, hire and museums charged.
Deb Nystrom / CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)"Book" (hotels) and "via GetYourGuide" (activities) are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide). Prices, times and distances are approximate.
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Good to know before you go
🍽️ Must-try food
Burgers and barbecue
brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl
the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
Mexican food
tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
Pancakes and weekend brunch
a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
Dishes to look for in the good places: Indianapolis.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
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The little details that make all the difference once you're there.
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