| Indianapolis, the capital city of Indiana offers a wide variety of opportunities to visitors and locals alike. Not only is it the official amateur sports capital of the U.S. Indy also offers a number of wonderful places for children. The Children's Museum is the largest in the world and offers many wonderful activities for children and adults, and that’s only the beginning. Indiana's capital, once home to many of America’s early carmakers until Detroit overtook it, the city was left with the legacy of a rectangular test-track, et voila - the Indianapolis 500 was born. For two days during the last week of April, admission is free to the Indy 500 Speedway to watch the race cars test out the track and their cars in preparation for the Indy 500. Usually only the locals know this but now you can too. However there's a lot more to this city than screaming wheels - as its museums, architecture and James Dean memorial prove. For example, the labels of The Amateur Sports Capital of the World, and The Racing Capital of the World, have both been applied to Indianapolis. The city has hosted the 1987 Pan American Games, both Men's and Women's NCAA Basketball Tournaments, the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, the United States Grand Prix (2000-2007). However Indy is perhaps still most famous for the annual Indianapolis 500. Even if you’re not a racing fan, you will be astounded by the magnitude of this Memorial Day race. The enormous attendance at both the Indianapolis 500 and the Allstate 400 makes them the largest two single day sporting events in the world, with well over 250,000 fans in attendance at each. For attention to urban planning and beautification Indianapolis is one of the best in America boosting the second most monuments inside city limits, behind only Washington D.C. Indianapolis, also called the Circle city or simply Indy, is also famously the home for the Indianapolis Colts, the IndyStar newspaper and much, much more. So the next time your thinking about getting away from it all think about Indianapolis, a city on the move. Indiana is a quintessential Midwest state that embodies all the region stands for in terms of hospitable, patriotic, down-to-earth, hard-working, hard-playing, family-oriented Americans. If it’s good enough for a rocker like John Cougar Mellencamp, who has called Indian home most of his life, it’s good enough for the rest of us. Here, visitors can enjoy its many small towns, shop at family-owned stores, and dine at locally-owned-and-operated, one-of-a-kind restaurants, with food that is absolutely out of this world. But that’s not all. City slickers will love the city lights and nightlife of Indianapolis, particularly Broad Ripple, and maybe even catch an Indiana Pacers game. And if touring northwest Indiana, it’s only a hop, skip, and a jump, or for most a quick train ride, over to one of America’s finest and largest cities, Chicago Illinois. Given its proximity to this powerhouse city with its heavy Italian influence, it’s no wonder that many Indiana restaurants serve up tasty deep-dish pizzas, spicy Italian beef hoagies with your choice of sweet or hot peppers, savory sausages, flavorful pastas, and Chicago-style hot dogs. Wow! Its border with Lake Michigan, one of the five Great Lakes, offers residents and visitors alike a waterfront respite from everyday life, where they can while away the hours boating, fishing, waterskiing, swimming, or just taking a nice, relaxing stroll down the beach. It’s also home to both Purdue and Indiana University. And though we don’t quite know where the term originated, like they say in Indiana, “Go Hoosiers!” Indiana, Midwest,Indianapolis, John Mellencamp, Broad Ripple, Pacers, Great Lakes, Lake Michigan, Purdue, Indiana University, Hoosiers : Indianapolis Museum of Art, Children's Museum of Indianapolis, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indiana Medical History Museum, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Hall of Fame Museum, Slippery Noodle Inn, Colonel Eli Lilly Civil War Museum - Soldiers & Sailors Monument, White River State Park, Crown Hill Cemetery, Brickyard Crossing Golf Course, Chatterbox Jazz Club, NCAA Hall of Champions, Indiana State Museum, Medal of Honor Memorial, Indianapolis Zoo, Conseco Fieldhouse, Fort Golf Resort, Coffin Golf Club, The Murat Centre, Eagle Creek Golf Club, Broad Ripple and College Avenues, Garfield Park Conservatory and Public Gardens, Fountain Square Theatre Building, President Benjamin Harrison Home. Indianapolis 500, Amateur Sports Capital of the World, and The Racing Capital of the World, James Dean memorial, the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, United States Grand Prix. |
