Best Things to Do in Indianapolis

A down-home roadside diner that serves breakfast and lunch plates. They’ve accumulated a few local awards for best pork tenderloin over the years. 

This 1950s throwback still offers carhop service and pours handmade root beer. 

This place is built on a cornerstone of hearth-baked, European-style bread, which put them on the map in the early 2010s. Now, Bluebeard plates up a rotating menu of experimental twists on hearty comfort food.

If you’ve never experienced the meat sweats, it’s time. It’s primarily a butcher shop, but they serve cut-to-order meats from Indiana farms and a rotating menu of piled-high sandwiches.

Some of the best, most go-for-it sandwiches in Indy. Enter the shrine of tender, crispy, smoked pork belly, a staple on their menu. They’ve also got some brunch ingredients that you won’t find anywhere else, like gizzards and beef tongue (don’t worry, they’re amazing).

Another brunch spot, and one whose star is rapidly rising among national food critics. It’s home to some truly inventive and Instagram-ready dishes. You have to try the grilled cheese. (I mean, come on, it’s got raclette cheese and black truffle honey, how could you not?) 

A short drive north of downtown, Broad Ripple is best known for its rousing nightlife. Liquor-slinging mainstays like Tiki Tiki and the Alley Cat are often student hot spots, while Broad Ripple Tavern is more laid-back and less “party the night away.” During the day, you can hit a handful of good lunch spots, like Fire by the Monon, Public Greens and Delicia. 

For a more funky, artsy scene, you want Fountain Square. Here you’ll find peculiar cafés (like Nine Lives, now with real cats!), boutique hotels, antique shops (try FLUX) and craft cocktail bars (like Hotel Tango).

The destination for independent art galleries, bookstores (see: Indy Reads Books), theaters, boutique shops and street art. It’s got a fair share of good restaurants too, like “Indianapolis-style” pizzeria Bazbeaux and The Eagle, a fried chicken bar.

One of the Indy craft beer spark plugs, Sun King is still going strong with locations in downtown Indy, Broad Ripple, Carmel, Fishers and Kokomo. Try their Sunlight Cream Ale if you get the chance.

A colorful brewpub in the Nora neighborhood where servers will help you pair beers with their diverse menu.

A cozy spot that makes small-batch, German-style beers.

The beating heart of Fountain Square’s live music scene. It’s where you’ll catch big-name indie bands and promising local talent.

Looking at the White Rabbit’s calendar is like watching a freewheeling variety hour. One night you’ll get a local headliner.  Next, you’ll find a burlesque show. And then an improv comedy group. 

Chatterbox fully embraces its dive-bar persona. And it books local jazz musicians for almost every night of the week. 

They’ve got 60 retro arcade games alongside 25 pinball machines, and they’re all free to play. And there are 16 rotating taps of local beer, so you can drink Big Lug while you play “NBA Jam,” or sip Sun King while mashing buttons on “Mortal Kombat.”

With more than 250,000 permanent seats, it’s the world’s largest spectator sporting facility, and a sight to behold all on its own. It’s even cooler when you’re down on the track.

It’s the definition of industrial chic. Exposed brick, dark wood, leather and a personality that says “I work with my hands, but practice cello on the weekends.” Plus, it’s got eight different restaurants, ranging from sushi to steaks. 

At first glance, it might seem like another all-business convention center-slash-hotel. But because it’s inside the historic Union Station, you have the option of staying inside a repurposed train car. 

The best (and only) place to go duckpin bowling in Indy. It gets busy, so make sure you call ahead.

It opened in 1886 as a place for farmers and more to sell their produce, and it’s still a thriving hub for local goods. Then, descend to the catacombs below to tour 20,000 square feet of space once used to transport and store goods.

Once the estate of famous Indianapolis businessman Josiah K. Lilly Jr., this 26-acre property is now open to the public. The house’s first floor has been renovated to reflect how it looked in the 1930s.

Wherever there’s a drum set, there are people who want to wail on it. At Rhythm! Discovery Center, that’s the point. The center has hundreds of percussion instruments from around the world for visitors to try, along with famous and historic pieces on display, like Neil Peart’s legendary set (sorry, you can’t play that one).

Indiana is pretty proud of its native satirist, and rightfully so. You can see his typewriter, drawings, first-edition novels and rejection letters from editors who must be kicking themselves now. 

A super-funky and quirky museum that highlights Indy’s historical connections to African American music and ponders Afrofuturistic themes.