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Indianapolis · Top 10 List

Top 10 Things To Do in Indianapolis

These are the ten things you do before you can claim you really know the city.

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Indianapolis doesn't always get the credit it deserves. People fly through for a race or a convention and leave thinking they've seen it. They haven't. Here are the ten things that actually show you what the city is.

10
Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Race Day
There is no experience in American sports quite like 300,000 people watching 33 cars take the green flag. The sound alone will change you. Do it at least once. Do it on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.
Bucket List
09
The Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
One of the top art museums in the country, attached to a 152-acre garden. The Lilly House. The 100 Acres outdoor sculpture park. The holiday lights. An embarrassment of riches in the middle of the city.
Underrated Gem
08
Walk the Cultural Trail
Eight miles of protected bike and pedestrian path connecting every major neighborhood. Fountain Square to Mass Ave to the Canal. The best way to understand how Indianapolis is stitched together.
Best Two Hours
07
Mass Ave on a Friday Night
Massachusetts Avenue has become the city's creative corridor. Galleries, restaurants, live music, a movie palace. Walk it on a Friday and you'll wonder when Indianapolis got so good at this.
Must Do
06
A Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
One of the best arenas in the NBA, in a city that actually loves its team. The sightlines are perfect. Bankers Life hasn't existed for years but whatever they call it now still delivers.
Game Night
05
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
The largest children's museum in the world. Even if you don't have kids, the Dinosphere alone is worth an afternoon. The permanent collections are genuinely world-class.
World Class
04
Fountain Square on a Weekend
The neighborhood that time forgot and then remembered in the best way. Roller skating. Duckpin bowling. Live music. Restaurants that punch above their weight. The city at its most itself.
Local Favorite
03
Canal Walk at Sunset
The downtown canal is two miles of water, walking paths, and views of the city skyline that make you feel like Indianapolis earned its skyline. Rent a paddleboat. Walk it with a coffee. Either works.
City Classic
02
Indiana State Fair
Two weeks every August where Indiana shows up in full. Midway rides. Livestock competitions. Fried everything. The butter cow. It is not ironic appreciation — it's just good and it's ours.
Annual Ritual
01
Catch a Colts Game at Lucas Oil Stadium
One of the best stadiums in the NFL. Retractable roof. Downtown location. And now, a fan base that knows what a national championship season looks like. This is a different city than it was.
New Energy