what to do in indianapolis

What to Do in Indianapolis Stroll along the Canal Walk, a 3-mile loop running through the heart of downtown, between 11th Street and the White River. On leisurely tours of the area, gondoliers serenade photo-happy passengers while plying the waters of the 1830s Central Canal. If you're feeling energetic, rent a bike or kayak and do a bit of exploring on your own.

Spend the afternoon at White River State Park , one of the focal points of the Central Canal. Here are urban lawns, walking paths, cultural and sports museums, a zoo, a baseball stadium—plenty to entertain the whole family, rain or shine. Don't miss the Indiana State Museum , jam-packed with fun exhibits ranging from a hands-on naturalist lab to a re-created pioneer log cabin.

Pay tribute to Indiana's veterans at the Soldiers' & Sailors' Monument , the centerpiece of Monument Circle. Check out the Civil War museum on the lower level of this imposing structure completed in 1901, then climb 330 steps (or take the elevator) to the observation deck.

Step into the past at Lockerbie Square, the oldest surviving residential district in downtown. The seven-block district, with its cobblestone streets, brick sidewalks and charming Victorian houses, is a mile northeast of Monument Circle. James Whitcomb Riley, who wrote such poems as “Little Orphant Annie” and “The Raggedy Man,” lived here at the height of his career; the James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home and Visitor Center is the preserved Italianate-style edifice in which the Indiana-born writer resided for 23 years.

See the city by night on a romantic horse-drawn carriage ride. Companies are stationed along Illinois and Maryland streets, or you can arrange for hotel pickup.

For a shopping bargain, look for fresh produce, flowers, cheese and pastry at the historic City Market, open since 1886. If designer labels are more your style, the glass arcades of Circle Centre enclose department stores, movie theaters, restaurants and the Indianapolis Artsgarden, a showplace for live performances and exhibitions.

Take a grounds tour of Indianapolis Motor Speedway . Get your adrenaline pumping on a bus ride around the famed 2.5-mile oval, then make a pit stop at the Hall of Fame Museum, where everything from equipment to winning Formula One cars to racing trophies are displayed. If you won't be in town for the celebrated Indianapolis 500 —a Memorial Day weekend event first held in 1911—don't rule out that trip to the grandstand yet. Another exhilarating annual race takes place here, too: NASCAR's Brickyard 400 in late July.

Explore The Children's Museum of Indianapolis , the largest of its kind in the world and one of Indy's most fun places to go with kids. Dinosaur bones, a giant water clock and a vintage 19th-century carousel are a few of the highlights at this 400,000-square-foot playground.

Admire the genius of Vincent van Gogh, Georgia O'Keeffe and Louis Comfort Tiffany at the Newfields (Indianapolis Museum of Art) , which has a permanent collection of more than 50,000 treasures. Situated on the former estate of J.K. Lilly Jr., a pharmaceutical industrialist whose family started Eli Lilly and Company, the museum complex includes the 100-acre Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park as well as Lilly's 22-room mansion, built in the early 20th century.

Find some perspective at Crown Hill Cemetery, where such notables as James Whitcomb Riley, Depression-era gangster John Dillinger, President Benjamin Harrison and three vice presidents—Charles Fairbanks, Thomas Hendricks and Thomas Marshall—are buried.