Entertainment

The Indianapolis metropolitan area offers some of the finest entertainment available, ranging from exciting professional sports to outstanding music and theatre. The downtown area is home to numerous museums, some of them world famous, as well as parks and observatories.

 

 

Indianapolis is very well-known for its attractions, including some world famous museums. The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is the largest of its kind in the world. The Indianapolis Firefighters Museum and Historical Society is dedicated not only to the history of firefighting in the city, but of firefighting in general. Other museums include the Colonel Eli Lilly Civil War Museum, Crispus Attucks Museum, and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, among others.

 

The Indiana State Capitol and the Indiana State Library are located right downtown, while several war memorials and parks also dot the surface of the area, including the world famous Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, which is over 100 years old and 284-feet tall. The homes of some of the city’s famous citizens have been turned into museum attractions, including Benjamin Harrison (23^rd President of the United States) and James Whitcomb Riley (famous author).

 

The Indianapolis Zoo opens daily at 9 AM and features the state’s largest aquarium along with 350 animal species and many different family and children’s activities. The city also offers an IMAX movie theater, offering the latest in audio/visual realistic technology.

 

 

Indianapolis is home to two major league sports teams, but the city is most famous for an individual sport: automobile racing. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located west of the downtown area, is the home of the world’s most famous car race, the Indianapolis 500. The Speedway, also known as “The Brickyard,” is one of the most popular tourist attractions in town, along with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.

 

If you happen to be in town anytime from September to May, there’s a good chance you could catch one of Indianapolis’ major league teams playing a home game. The Colts of the National Football League play their home games at the RCA Dome (although they are currently constructing a new stadium), while the Pacers of the National Basketball Association play their home games at Conseco Fieldhouse.

 

If you love sports but don’t care whether they’re major league or not, the city offers other quality professional sports teams, including the Indianapolis Indians (AAA International Baseball League), the Indiana Fever (Women’s National Basketball Association), FC Indiana (Women’s Premier Soccer League), and the Indianapolis Ice (United States Hockey League).

 

 

 

Indianapolis offers exciting opportunities to witness the performing arts, including theatre, music and dance.

 

There are numerous opportunities to take in good theatre in the city. The American Cabaret Theatre, called “the best live musical theatre in town,” offers cabaret-style fare, if that is your taste. Broadway in Indianapolis offers traveling Broadway shows at the Murat Centre and Clowes Memorial Hall. Indiana Repertory Theatre offers the best in many genres from professional performers.

 

The Buselli Wallarab Jazz Orchestra offers both new and classic jazz. The Capital City Chorus and Circle City Sound are barbershop choruses (women’s and men’s, respectively), and part of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America. The Indiana Wind Symphony, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Indianapolis Opera, Philharmonic Orchestra of Indianapolis, and The Ensemble Music Society all provide outstanding opportunities to hear world class musicians.

 

 

Whether your taste is for shopping at a traditional mall, shopping for arts and antiques, or simply for some souvenirs to remind you fo your stay in Indianapolis, there are plenty of places for you to be downtown.

 

Beauchamp Antiques has an enormous showroom where they display their antiques imported directly from Europe. The Indianapolis Downtown Antique Mall, open seven days a week, features two floors of over 40 stores featuring the antiques you seek. The Midland Arts & Antiques Market is a veritable treasure trove for the antique shopper, with over 125 vendors present. There are numerous other antique shops, both in the downtown area and throughout the metropolitan.

 

The city’s most well-known and centrally located mall is the Circle Centre, located right in the heart of downtown. Open seven days a week, it is an enormous complex for shopping, dining and entertainment, and it is within walking distance of nearly all the downtown hotels (you usually don’t even have to go outside…it’s connected to several locations by skywalk). Other area malls include The Fashion Mall (also known as Keystone at the Crossing), Lafayette Square Mall, and Broad Ripple Village. In all, there are eleven malls in the metropolitan.

 

Are souvenirs what you’re after? Besides the souvenir/gift shops in nearly every hotel and in the airport, there are plenty of other locations where you can pick up knick-knacks with a local flare. The Basile Gallery Gift Shop offers original arts and crafts done my local folks. If you’re seeking sports souvenirs, you can go to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Trackside Gift Shop, NCAA Hall of Champions Campus Corner Gift Shop, Pacers Home Court II, Brickyard Authentics, Colts Pro Shop, and the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Other souvenirs are available at places like Gardener’s Pride Gift Shop and Kipp Brothers Toys. Additionally, there are gift shops at most of the museums and attractions listed above.

 

Whether business or pleasure brings you to the fine city of Indianapolis, we hope this guide will assist you in deciding where you eat and how you spend your spare time!

 

http://www.indy.org