Visiting Indianapolis in 2 weeks -- fun things to do?

WalteRose

Hi everyone --

 H and I are planning a Fri-Sun visit to Indianapolis in two weeks for a short weekend get away.  Does anyone have any recommendations on "must-do" things in Indianapolis?  I've heard the zoo is pretty nice -- any thoughts on that?  Any "must visit" restaurants? 

 Suggestions are welcome! Thanks!

juliagco

I am in the same boat and look forward to the responses.  I'll be in downtown INDY (W Washington) for basically the entire month of May for work.  We're planning on checking out the minor league baseball team and I signed up for the Geist Half Marathon.

Mrs.Palmison

Indy is a great city! The Zoo is great--I have not seen the new dolphin show, but I hear it is fantastic. Also, the gardens next to the zoo are an additional fee to get in, but are VERY cool if you like that kind of thing.

The Indians are a really fun game to go to--it is also the Month of May so if like racing there will be qualifications at the track, and the race museum is cool too!

If you are looking to stay downtown here are some of my fave restaurants:

• Scotty's BrewPub--a small chain here in IN. Big burgers, some nice pastas
  
• Bazbeaux Pizza (pronounced Baz-Bo) http://www.bazbeaux.com/  Unique pizzas (the quatro is awesome) and nice salads
• McNivens--Scottish food and one of the best scotch lists I've ever seen. Also in the cool Mass Ave Neighborhood which has lots of great shops to check out.
  
• St. Elmo's-- http://www.stelmos.com/ A legend in Indy. Famous for their steaks, and the shrimp cocktail is fiery but fantastic. It is also a place to see famous faces the month of may--the Andreti's are known to eat here a lot.
• Yatz---Cajun/Creole food. The owner Joe moved from New Orleans and the food is said to be super authentic. Take cash, I think they don't take cards. http://www.yatscajuncreole.com/
• Cafe Patachou--my husband says it is girly breakfast spot, but I love it and think it has some of the best chicken salad int he world!! I like the 49th and Penn location the best, but I think the menu is the same at any location. http://www.cafepatachou.com/

If have lots more food/bar suggestions for the Broad Ripple and Northside areas, but stuck with downtown for the most part. Indy is a pretty laid-back city, but there are tons of fun things to do!!

The NCAA museum is cool, but only takes about 1-2 hours to visit. the white river state park sort of wraps around the NCAA museum, and that and the canal are just really cool places to walk around. 

Have fantastic time in Indy, let me know if you have questions about anything I posted! 

 

munkii

Everything Mrs.Palmison said is good.  Also, the Eiteljorg is excellent if you enjoy Native and Western arts.  The IMA isn't too far from downtown and has a smallish but decent collection of art from different periods.  I think they had a new exhibit open this past weekend (???).

If you go to the canal, you can do more than walk: they have bike, boat, surrey, and kyak rentals.  If you want to walk, there's an excellent trail not far from the canal (across the Old Washington St Bridge) by the zoo entrance (you can find this stuff on a canal map). 

If you enjoy the symphony,the ISO has about another month left on their theatre season.

Food.  Yats on Mass does accept CC.  I also recommend BARcelona, Adobo, and Taste of Tango.

Actually, here's a good website to get idea of things to do and see and map things out: Discover Cultural Districts.

PUBoilerBride

Everything everyone else said If you have the time, you can also go to the Speedway and do the museum and a lap around the track.

The Chlidren's Museum is also great and not just for kids

I would also recommend taking some time to go visit the Broad Ripple area and even the Indy Art Museum.

In terms of restaurants, there are SOOOOO many, so it just depends on what you like. I love www.indyethnicfood.com as it gives out the restaurants by location, food category and tells you if it's a chain or not

WalteRose

Thank you all for your suggestions!! H and I are going to plan our itinerary for the weekend tonight, so feel free to keep the suggestions coming if you think of more. 

juliagco

Thank you for the suggestions!  I especially appreciate the restaurant suggestions; we aren't getting a kitchenette this time.

*BeachBride0410*

Downtown also has some great bars.  Cadillac Ranch is a new one, good food, drinks & music.  Plus a mechanical bull.

 Howl at the moon is a great bar too, dueling pianos, get there early for a table.