How to Have a Cool Time in Indianapolis

Indianapolis is a hotbed for auto racing, live music, restaurants and attractions. Whether it's a first date, a day trip or family vacation, try these ideas for cool stuff to do in Indy.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Transportation around town
• Spending money

1. The 360-degree view at the Indianapolis Zoo’s Dolphin Adventure. For an out-of-the-ordinary afternoon, look no further than the Indianapolis Zoo’s Dolphin Adventure, the world’s first totally submerged dolphin viewing experience. Located in White River State Park downtown, the zoo exhibit offers the only human-dolphin interaction program in the Midwest. The Oceans exhibit is also a sight to behold. The interactive, educational feature is the world’s largest shark touch tank, complete with a school of bonnethead shark pups.
2. Duckpin bowling in Fountain Square. The name might fool you, but duckpin bowling has nothing to do with animals. This is 10-pin bowling with smaller balls, around 6 inches in diameter, and smaller pins. In Indy, the place to go duckpin bowling is historic, artsy Fountain Square, where the décor is inspired by the 1930s and the fun is timeless.
3. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway If racing is more your speed, plan to attend the Indianapolis 500 in May. This Hoosier tradition can be a family affair or a cool way to hang with friends and bond with a date all day long. “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” takes place every Memorial Day weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, on the city’s west side.
4. Hoosier hospitality at St. Elmo Along with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, another Indy landmark is St. Elmo Steak House, open since 1902. This downtown establishment is famous for its shrimp cocktail with tear-jerking cocktail sauce made from fresh horseradish, as well as cooked-to-order steaks. Any visit to downtown Indy justifies a dinner at St. Elmo with a bottle of vino from the state’s largest wine cellar.
5. Slippery Noodle Inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After sizzling steaks and spicy cocktail sauce at St. Elmo, cool off with live blues at the Slippery Noodle Inn, Indiana’s oldest bar. On two stages, seven nights a week, the Noodle brings in blues talent anyone could shake their tail feathers to. The building has more history than Bo Diddley’s blues career. It was once a brothel, a hangout for gangster John Dillinger (who is buried in Indy), and a stop on the Underground Railroad. For live blues, “dis is it.”

Tips & Warnings

• When visiting Indy, stay downtown to be walking distance or a short cab ride from shopping, restaurants and attractions.
• If planning to attend the Indianapolis 500, buy tickets early. It’s a sell-out.
• At the Slippery Noodle, head upstairs for a bird’s-eye view of the main stage.
• St. Elmo's spicy shrimp cocktail sauce is not for the weak.