Things to do in Indianapolis, splurging
Art, cocktails, and dinners worth dressing for across the best of Indy.
This itinerary is built for someone who wants the best table in the room and knows what good coffee tastes like. You'll move between downtown landmarks, the Newfields campus, and Broad Ripple without ever compromising on where you eat or drink. Bring an appetite and a card with no foreign transaction fees.
Day 1: Mass Ave, the Monument, and a Steakhouse Night
Start with Café Patachou's eggs and serious coffee, spend the morning at the Eiteljorg's quietly excellent galleries, eat a legendary breaded pork tenderloin at Loughmiller's, then climb the Soldiers and Sailors Monument before a proper steakhouse dinner at 1933 Lounge and a nightcap at Ball and Biscuit.
- 9:30 AM
Café Patachou
Indy's homegrown breakfast café: the broken yolk sandwich and a big mug of coffee, near the Circle.
Map - 10:30 AM
Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art
Native American and Western art, from frontier painting to contemporary Native work, rarely crowded.
Map - 12:30 PM
Loughmiller's Pub
Downtown tavern praised for breaded pork tenderloin sandwich, pounded wide as dinner plate, fried on small bun.
Map - 2:30 PM
Monument Circle and Soldiers & Sailors Monument
Climb the 1902 Soldiers & Sailors Monument for skyline views, free observation deck, central and walkable.
Map - 7:30 PM
1933 Lounge
St. Elmo's upstairs lounge: start with the horseradish-fierce shrimp cocktail, then a steak.
Map - 9:30 PM
Ball & Biscuit
Ball & Biscuit on Mass Ave is the local insider cocktail bar, perfect nightcap close to home.
Map
Day 2: Newfields, RH, and Latin Dinner in Meridian-Kessler
Spend the morning inside one of the best mid-size art museums in the country, take a long lunch at The Dining Room at RH Indianapolis where the setting does half the work, circle back through the Lilly House, then head north for cocktails and dinner at Delicia.
- 10:30 AM
Newfields (Indianapolis Museum of Art + Gardens + Fairbanks Park)
152-acre campus with 54,000-piece art collection, 52-acre gardens, and the historic Lilly House, the heart of the whole day.
Map - 12:30 PM
The Dining Room at RH Indianapolis
Lunch under the vaulted ceilings of the old DeHaan mansion, now RH's gallery, a few minutes up Michigan Road.
Map - 2:30 PM
Lilly House
The Lilly family's château-style country house and formal gardens, on the Newfields grounds.
Map - 7:30 PM
Delicia
Latin American plates and agave cocktails on College Avenue; share ceviche and a few small plates.
Map - 9:30 PM
Upland College Avenue Tasting Room
Upland's College Avenue taproom for Indiana-brewed sours and pale ales, a few blocks from dinner.
Map
Day 3: Broad Ripple, Sakura, and the Jazz Kitchen
An unhurried morning on Holliday Park's trails, Japanese lunch at Sakura, a canal walk through Broad Ripple Park, then dinner at Bluebeard and live jazz at The Jazz Kitchen.
- 10:30 AM
Holliday Park
Stroll the wooded trails and sculpture garden at Holliday Park, a gorgeous, unhurried morning outing.
Map - 12:30 PM
- 2:30 PM
Broad Ripple Park
Broad Ripple Park sits right on the canal, a leisurely afternoon walk to earn dinner.
Map - 7:30 PM
Bluebeard
Bluebeard in Fletcher Place: seasonal plates and bread from the bakery next door, worth the drive.
Map - 9:30 PM
The Jazz Kitchen
Cap the night at The Jazz Kitchen, a serious jazz club and Indy Jazz Fest fixture hosting national acts, beloved by locals.
Map
Where to stay
Bottleworks Hotel
The coolest address in Indianapolis: a converted Coca-Cola bottling plant on Mass Ave with design and cocktail credentials that match this itinerary perfectly.
Conrad Indianapolis
Conrad-level finish and service in the heart of downtown, within walking distance of Monument Circle and a short ride to everything else on this plan.
Make Indianapolis your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum: weeks ahead
- The Children's Museum of Indianapolis: a few days ahead
- Newfields: a few days ahead
- Indiana Medical History Museum: weeks ahead
- Brickyard Crossing: weeks ahead
- The Fort Golf Course: a few days ahead
Skip these
- Circle Centre Mall and generic chain dining on Maryland St when Mass Ave and Virginia Ave are a 10 minute walk away.
- Expecting the Zoo to be a best in America zoo. It is good, but Newfields plus the Children's Museum is usually the stronger day.
- Planning lunch at Indianapolis City Market: the market house has been closed for redevelopment since March 2024 with no reopening date. Use The Garage Food Hall instead.
- Paying luxury hotel money for highway motels in May, and treating the Canal as a nightlife destination when it quiets at night.
The full Indianapolis travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around