Traveling with your partner is a great way to continue to connect and build on the relationship. Couples can get a bit stir crazy, especially during the fall and wintertime. Setting out on a drivable getaway from Louisville is just the cure, though! If you’re a local getting out of town, these itineraries will give you new ideas and Mint Julep Experiences is always happy to help plan, coordinate and book tours for you. For visitors, if you’re still in the planning phase and thinking of places to stay in Louisville and weekend or day trip ideas, this is also your answer! There are a lot of places to road trip to from Louisville, but these are Mint Julep’s top picks for a getaway from Louisville.
Most of these destinations, and stops along the way, can be included in a customized tour with Mint Julep, so if you’re interested in a road trip and immersive experiences along the way, contact Mint Julep Experiences to work with an expert tour facilitators to help create an experience geared specifically to your needs and road trip wish list.
Day Trip to Cincinnati, Ohio
Travel Time: 90 miles, or about 1.5 hours
Stops to make on the drive from Louisville to Cincinnati
Covington, Ky.
Covington is a charming northern Kentucky city that sits right across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. It’s got an abundance of locally owned bars and restaurants, many located in the German-themed MainStrasse Village area of town. A few highlights include the Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar, Wiseguy Lounge and Otto’s Restaurant.
Newport, Ky.
Also located across the river from Cincinnati, Newport is a quaint northern Kentucky town that boasts bars, restaurants and live music venues. Newport is home to an aquarium as well as the world-famous Hofbrauhaus.
New Riff Distillery
New Riff, which is located in Newport, is an independently-owned craft distillery that makes bourbon, rye whiskey and gin. It’s a featured Kentucky bourbon distillery on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® Craft Tour. Tastings and tours are offered daily. And if you’d like to make a journey to northern Kentucky to New Riff, Mint Julep Experiences offers custom bourbon trail tours that’ll take you there and back in VIP bourbon trail transportation — plus many more distillery, horse farms, and sightseeing stops in between!
The B Line
Speaking of distilleries, northern Kentucky has created a fun way to explore both bourbon distilleries and bourbon bars with The B Line. It’s a passport of sorts that you get stamped after visiting a handful of suggested distilleries, bars and restaurants. Included on the B Line are distilleries like New Riff, Neeley Family Distillery, Old Pogue Distillery, Boone County Distilling and Second Sight Spirits; and bars and restaurants like Wiseguy Lounge, My Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar, Prohibition Bourbon Bar and more. Mint Julep Experiences can also put together a custom itinerary geared toward the B Line.
Known as the “Queen City,” Cincinnati is a quick road trip from Louisville, and it offers a wide variety of things to do — from interesting and unique restaurants, quirky bars, live music venues, museums, art galleries and so much more. Catch a Reds baseball game in the summer, or attend a Bengals football game in the fall or winter.
Mint Julep often takes guests on custom tours to Cincinnati, Covington, Newport and more. Work directly with experience coordinators at Mint Julep Experience to craft a custom experience and road trip from Louisville to Cincinnati with the stops above and other Kentucky Bourbon Trail attractions. Contact Mint Julep Experiences today to start planning your road tripand immersive experiences along the way! — REQUEST CUSTOM BOURBON TRAIL TOUR
Don’t Miss in Cincinnati: The Over the Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati, known as OTR by the locals, is a trendy new area to check out. With more than 100 restaurants, bars, shops and other businesses to boast, the neighborhood is a bustling part of town you won’t want to miss. Highlights include Japps Since 1879, Bakersfield, Rhinegeist Brewing, and the Findlay Market.
Day Trip to Nashville, Tennessee
Travel Time: 171 miles, or about 2 hours (It’s a 3-hour drive, but you gain an hour because Nashville is in the Central Time Zone.)
Stops to make on the road trip from Louisville to Nashville
Bowling Green, Ky.
This charming southern Kentucky city sits off Interstate 65 on your way down to Nashville. Home of Western Kentucky University and the National Corvette Museum, there is lots to see and do here, including Gerard’s 1907 Tavern and Smokey Pig Bar-B-Q.
Dueling Grounds Distillery
This quaint Kentucky distillery is also right off Interstate-65 in Franklin, Ky., about 40 miles from Nashville. A certified stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® Craft Tour, Dueling Grounds makes both single barrel and small batch bourbon, gin, moonshine and a spirit called Kentucky Apple Pie. Tastings and tours are offered daily.
Country Music Hall of Fame
A must-see museum for music lovers, this Nashville hotspot holds the largest collection of country music memorabilia, exhibits, publications and more in the world. Since its beginning in 1964, the Country Music Hall of Fame’s mission has been to collect, preserve and interpret the evolving history and traditions of country music.
Grand Ole Opry
Now celebrating 95 years, the Grand Ole Opry celebrates country music of the past, present and future. From its first broadcast in 1925 to its current home on a 45,000-square-foot stage in Nashville, its legacy continues to thrive.
Nashville is for lovers, especially lovers of all things country music. With hundreds of local restaurants, honkytonks, museums and tour opportunities — including Mint Julep Nashville — Music City offers nonstop entertainment for couples looking to get away from Louisville. Whether it’s live music off Broadway, a studio tour, finding the best Nashville hot chicken or visiting Jack Daniel’s Distillery and hometown of Lynchburg, Mint Julep Experiences Nashville can plan the ultimate couple adventure in Tennessee.
Mint Julep Experiences operates in both Louisville and Nashville, meaning you can take a multi-day road trip from Bourbon Country to Music City and everything in between! — REQUEST CUSTOM NASHVILLE TOUR
Don’t Miss In Nashville: Nashville is chock-full of unique and colorful murals painted by artists known locally, nationally and even internationally. If you’d like to see them all without having to drive, Mint Julep offers the Sweet Start Mural & Mimosa Tour. This tour has been featured as one of Food Network’s top picks for bachelorette parties visiting Nashville.
Nashville — and beyond — is also home to several Tennessee whiskey distilleries, including Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery and Corsair. Plus, Jack Daniel’s and George Dickel distilleries are just 90 minutes away! Mint Julep Experiences can also put together a couple’s adventure to these top destinations, talk with an experience coordinator today to plan your trip!
Day Trip to Indianapolis, Ind.
Travel Time: 117 miles, or about 2.5 hours.
Stops to make on the road trip from Louisville to Indianapolis
Huber’s Winery & Distillery
Only about a 40-minute drive north from Louisville, this sprawling winery and distillery in Starlight, Ind., is home to dozens of award-winning wines, bourbons, brandys and more! You can stop in to pick pumpkins, peaches or strawberries (depending on the time of year), and enjoy a wine tasting and farm-made cheese and ice cream. Mint Julep Experiences can include a stop at Huber’s Winery & Distillery on a custom tour, especially if you’d like to taste everything this winery offers up!
Bloomington, Ind.
This picturesque Indiana city is home to Indiana University and the cozy bed-and-breakfasts of Brown County. From eating, drinking and shopping your way through the streets of downtown Bloomington to sipping on tastings at wineries dotted throughout the county, there is plenty to do here for a small-town adventure.
Broad Ripple Village
Broad Ripple is one of seven cultural districts in Indianapolis that is a must-visit. Between locally owned pubs and restaurants to art galleries, specialty shops and boutiques, this is an area you can spend a lot of time exploring. Be sure to check out Sun King Brewery and Broad Ripple Brewpub.
Indianapolis is the perfect place for couples because it offers many upscale dining options and welcoming dive bars, and it’s home to handfuls of museums, sports venues — Indy 500 anyone? — and breweries, truly offering up something for everyone.
Don’t Miss In Indianapolis: No matter what age you are, you’ve gotta stop by the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis for an immersive experience in history, science and fun. And speaking of museums, be sure to check out the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Indianapolis Zoo and the Eiteljorg Museum, which houses a large collection of both Western and Native American art.
Request Custom Tour with Mint Julep ExperiencesCustom Tours with Private TransportationWork directly with an experience coordinator to craft your tour itinerary, single-day or multi-day options. As a full-service experiential tourism and destination management company, Mint Julep Experiences combines deep expertise, long-term partnerships and complete hospitality services to help you experience the richness of Kentucky culture. Enjoy immersive and elevated experiences that take you behind the scenes.
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