This is a travel guide of Kentucky with cities and attractions from corvettes to caves and from horses to history. Louisville, Lexington, Frankfort and more.
The communities in Northern Kentucky are part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area and are therefore more closely related to Ohio than other Kentucky areas. The Cincinnati International Airport is located here so there is a wide selection of accommodations and restaurants. Attractions include the Newport Aquarium in Newport, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing, which gives free tram rides through the factory in Georgetown that makes Camrys, Siennas, and Avalons.
The Bluegrass Region lies in central Kentucky near Lexington, the commonwealth's second largest city. Georgetown, Berea, and Shelbyville are great antique shopping towns in this area. Major Lexington attractions include the Kentucky Horse Park, a 1,000 acre park with a variety of museums and activities relating to horses, and Keeneland, a historic race track in a beautiful setting that's a National Historic Landmark. Also in this region is Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, a 2,700 acre restored Shaker community. Tour 30 buildings, many with costumed interpreters, and make advance reservations for a delicious meal at the Trustees' Office Inn. Learn about bourbon whiskey by touring Maker's Mark Distillery in Clermont, Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, or Labrot & Graham in Versailles.
Louisville, the commonwealth's economic and cultural leader, is across the Ohio River from Indiana. The most noted attractions include Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday every May, and the adjacent Kentucky Derby Museum. The largest event in the city is the Kentucky Derby Festival which includes 70 community wide activities during the two weeks before Derby. Downtown attractions include the world class Frazier Historical Arms Museum, Louisville Slugger Museum, and Waterfront Park. Outstanding public parks designed by landscape architect Frederick Olmsted offer beautiful havens for outdoor activities in an urban environment.
About an hour north of the Tennessee border is the heart of Kentucky's cave country. The largest and best known cave is Mammoth Cave National Park, which contains more than 300 miles of underground passages. Bowling Green, which is the only place in the world where Corvettes are made, is home to the National Corvette Museum.
Landlocked Kentucky has three large lakes in the western part of the state near the Missouri and Illinois borders. A project designed by the Tennessee Valley Authority to control flooding and harness energy several decades ago has now given Kentucky some of its major geographical features and recreational opportunities. Popular Kentucky Lake has about 160,000 acres of water and 2,380 miles of shoreline. Barkley Lake has almost 58,000 acres of water surrounded by a thousand mile shoreline. Lake Cumberland offers outdoor enthusiasts and anglers a 63,000 lake surrounded over 1,200 miles of shoreline.
