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If you’re planning to bring your kids to Louisville, you’ve made a great choice. Kentucky’s largest city is big enough to offer lots of great memory-making activities, but still small enough to feel safe, warm, and welcoming for a family. Planning your vacation is simple — find the right hotel for you, plan your activities around your family’s interests, and be sure you have a few great restaurants to choose from.
Find The Right Hotel
Image via Flickr by Nathaniel Eldridge
What hotel amenities are most important to your family? If your kids are young enough to still nap, you’ll want a quiet space with room-darkening shades. Older kids usually want a pool, and if you have teenagers you might want a suite or adjoining rooms so everyone can have a little privacy. A kitchenette is useful, so the whole family doesn’t have to run to a restaurant every time someone is hungry. Use a site like HotelPlanner to find Louisville hotels that meet your family’s needs.
Find the Fun
Line up enough activities to keep your crew busy, but be sure to also build a little downtime into the schedule to prevent overstimulation, stress, or exhaustion. If your kids love horses, take them to the Kentucky Derby Museum and then visit the Louisville Equestrian Center for a kid-friendly riding lesson. Horse lovers might also want to stroll downtown and seek out the hundreds of beautifully painted horse statues sprinkled around the city.
The Louisville Zoo has an animatronic dinosaur walk that’s a big hit with kids of all ages, and the Kentucky Science Center and Louisville Slugger Museum are perennial favorites. Toddlers might find the dark environment scary, but older kids will love the Mega Cavern — a 16-mile man-made cavern beneath the city that offers tours and special events. Tram rides are available, or you can even enjoy the world’s only underground zip line.
Mom and Dad will love a river cruise on the Belle of Louisville historic steamboat. The ride is just interesting enough to keep the kids content for a while, too. When you want to relax together, visit Waterfront Park. This lovely place has views of the river, quiet spaces to relax or have a picnic, a small water park in summer, playgrounds, and a swing garden. It’s the perfect spot to rest and recharge as a family.
Dining Out
Keeping the whole family happy at mealtimes can be a real chore, but Louisville offers some interesting options. Mike Linnigs is a casual seafood restaurant on the river with picnic-style outdoor seating and a playground for the kids. It’s always a treat if Mom and Dad can enjoy a little quiet time after a meal while the kids blow off steam. Wild Eggs is another family favorite thanks to the all-day breakfast and friendly service. For local barbecue, Mark’s Feed Store Bar-B-Q is a family-friendly option that offers truly great food.
Your family is going to love Louisville. The city has a friendly vibe and a lot of kid-friendly attractions, hotels, and restaurants.
some genuinely interesting information, well written and broadly speaking user friendly.