Noble Bird, right, with Shaun Bridgemohan up, wins the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs on Saturday, June 12, 2015, in Louisville, Ky. (Mark Cornelison/Lexington Herald-Leader/TNS via Getty Images)

TNS via Getty Images

Churchill Downs

Louisville


Churchill Downs is the landmark racetrack that hosts the epic Kentucky Derby in May. But there's plenty of action besides that: warm-ups and other thoroughbred races take place from late April to late June and again in September and throughout November. Tickets start at $5. You also can go on a guided tour of the grounds year-round via the onsite Kentucky Derby Museum.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Louisville attractions

1. Kentucky Derby Museum

0.12 MILES

On the Churchill Downs racetrack grounds, the museum has exhibits on derby history, including a peek into the life of jockeys and a roundup of the most…

2. Speed Art Museum

1.04 MILES

Built in 1927 and revamped to the tune of $60 million in recent years, Kentucky's most important art museum – unaffiliated but on the University of…

3. Evan Williams Bourbon Experience

3.68 MILES

The first distillery to open on Whiskey Row, Evan Williams puts on quite a multimedia show. Exhibits transport you back to the 1780s when bourbon-making…

4. Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory

3.68 MILES

See how baseball's most famous bat is made. Hillerich & Bradsby Co have been manufacturing the Louisville Slugger here since 1884. Admission includes a…

5. Kentucky Science Center

3.7 MILES

Three floors of exhibits illuminate biology, physiology, physics, computing and more for families (kids love it) on historic Main St. For an extra $8 to …

6. Frazier History Museum

3.7 MILES

This state-of-the-art museum covers 1000 years of history with grisly battle dioramas and costumed interpreters demonstrating swordplay and staging mock…

7. Old Forester Distilling Co

3.72 MILES

A new Whiskey Row facility that opened in 2018, Old Forester itself is a classic brand, around since the 1870s. The distillery lets you view the entire…

8. Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co

3.76 MILES

This small distiller located downtown along Whiskey Row has an intriguing story. First opened in the 1880s, it closed during WWI to conserve corn. It…