Coming to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby? Here are 10 things to do while you're in town

Kentucky Derby Day has, over the years, swelled to become Kentucky Derby Week. The legendary Run for the Roses is preceded by the Kentucky Oaks on Friday and "Thurby" on Thursday. Now, with Churchill Downs tacking on "Champion's Day" on Wednesday and 502'sDay on Tuesday, you may as well just come to Louisville a whole week early.

And there are loads of landmarks you'll want to see while you're here.

"Louisville is a destination in hot demand for our affordability, walkability and centralized location within a day's drive of over half the U.S. population," Cleo Battle, Louisville Tourism president and CEO, previously told the Courier Journal. "We love welcoming guests to experience the city's unique brand of Southern hospitality, rich culinary scene, iconic attractions and of course Bourbon City’s local distilleries and Urban Bourbon Trail."

So, what should you do while you're in town? And what if this is your only trip to Louisville on the calendar? We made a list of some must-see sights and must-try food and drink outside of your hotel to sample, all before the Run for the Roses even begins.

Enjoy some of Louisville's best food

No matter your tastes or budget, there are dozens of restaurants in every category for you to try. There are Southern classics and Nashville hot chicken; a hundred takes on the famous Kentucky Hot Brown; bourbon-infused desserts and birria tacos; every kind of pizza imaginable and a thick network of barbecue restaurants. From burgers and burritos "as big as your head" to highly curated farm-to-table meals, Louisville has it all.

Venture outside your hotel with breakfast or brunch at Wiltshire on Main Street, the eggtastic Wild Eggs, the local chicken-and-biscuits chain Biscuit Belly, or CC's Kitchen, which also offers a drag brunch.

For local coffee in the downtown area, try Brew & Sip Coffee Bar, Heine Bros. Coffee, Blackbeard Espresso, Sunergos Coffee and, just a bit away in NuLu, Please & Thank You.

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For dinner, try a burger and a side of Brussels sprouts (trust us) at Grind Burger Kitchen, a steak and Southern sides at Jack Fry's, Italian fare at bar Vetti or a meal at the Derby-themed Black Jockey's Lounge on Fourth Street. You really can't go wrong with the flagship restaurant in a downtown hotel, either.

Taste something on the Urban Bourbon Trail

Bourbon is king in Kentucky, and downtown has loads to offer for a bourbon drinker besides a distillery tour. The Urban Bourbon Trail, a collection of bars and restaurants with the city's finest bourbon cocktails and culinary experiences, can be found online and many of the stops are located downtown, including 8Up Elevated Drinkery & Kitchen, Doc Crow's Southern Smokehouse & Raw Bar, and Bristol Bar & Grille.

Bristol Bar & Grille stars on many "best of Louisville" awards lists and includes an extensive wine line and beer selection in addition to a stellar collection of bourbons. Bristol's Executive Bourbon Stewards can guide you through mash bills, age statements and proofs as you make your selection, and master sommelier Scott Harper has crafted an extensive wine menu to pair with each dish for dinner.

More: This speakeasy in downtown Louisville serves up more than just creative cocktails

Visit the Muhammad Ali Center

144 N. Sixth St., alicenter.org

Before he was one of the most recognizable people on the planet and known as "The Greatest," Louisville native Muhammad Ali was known by his birthname, Cassius Clay, and was nicknamed "The Louisville Lip."

The Muhammad Ali Center, located in downtown Louisville, takes visitors on a journey that examines his life both in and out of the boxing ring. From his childhood in west Louisville to becoming an Olympic gold medalist in boxing and three-time heavyweight champion, the award-winning museum is home to artifacts from Ali's early life and his life after boxing as a political activist and humanitarian.

Prior to his death in 2016, Ali had a hand in designing the center's 14-minute film "If You Can Dream," which summarizes his accomplishments and influence. Various pavilions throughout the building focus on each of Ali's six core principles — confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, respect and spirituality. The Ali Center also includes an opportunity for visitors to train with "The Greatest" and even shadowbox him in a re-creation of his Deer Lake, Pennsylvania, training camp.

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Visitors can watch replays of some of Ali's most famous fights and relive his lighting the Olympic torch at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. For those who wish to visit the grave site of Muhammad Ali, it's a short 3-mile drive east of downtown to Cave Hill Cemetery, 701 Baxter Ave.

Visit the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory

800 W. Main St.; sluggermuseum.com

While you're on "Museum Row," stop by the iconic Louisville Slugger Museum, which just finished its first major renovation project in nearly 15 years. This factory started making bats in 1884, and factory tours have been happening for so long company leaders aren't even sure when they started. The museum expanded its "Women Play Ball" section, added more game-used bats to its displays, includes a space dedicated to a historic local team, and expanded the bat vault to accommodate more guests.

"We really love to connect with guests who obviously are baseball fans, but then who are maybe not baseball fans, so we really try to have something for everybody," curator and exhibits director Bailey Mazik previously told the Courier Journal. "That is what we're going to try to do in this space."

Don't forget to take a photo with the "Big Bat" outside the museum before you leave.

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Have a hot brown at The Brown Hotel

335 W. Broadway; brownhotel.com

No visit to Louisville is complete without at least a walk through the iconic Brown Hotel, which this year celebrates its 100th anniversary of opening. If you're here for the 149th Kentucky Derby, you can even get a custom tableside mint julep experience for $100 as part of the anniversary.

The Brown Hotel has been a Louisville staple of elegance since it was built in 10 months in 1923. The hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has a Four Diamond rating from AAA, and is part of Preferred Hotels and Resorts and Historic Hotels of America. While the guest rooms are up-to-date with contemporary standards, the lobby is dripping with luxury, historic décor, chandeliers and seating. The world-famous "Hot Brown" dish was invented here in 1926, and the hotel offers a delicious bourbon flight as part of its landmark location on the Urban Bourbon Trail.

"I always look at it as if you're keeping the elegance of the old stuff and then (adding) some contemporary highlights to it as well," J. Graham's Cafe executive chef Dustin Willett said previously. "The hotel's been modernized in a lot of ways, but … it still has the same kind of vibe to it. … It's kept that charm of the old 1920s."

More: How the legendary Kentucky hot brown has made this café famous for nearly 100 years

Enjoy the view from Copper & Kings' rooftop bar

1121 E. Washington St., copperandkings.com

What better place is there to hang out than a rooftop bar or restaurant with a spectacular view? Copper & Kings Distillery just updated its rooftop bar and restaurant last February.

Copper & Kings' rooftop menu ties flavor profiles directly into Copper & Kings' brandy selection and bar program, which is filled out with barrel-aged grape and apple brandies, small-batch barrel selections and distillery spirits like gins, absinthe and brandies aged in different types of barrels. The cocktail menu also includes craft cocktails, alcohol-free cocktails, straight pours, wines and rotating beers. On Sundays, the rooftop bar and restaurant offers a brunch selection of salads, sandwiches, grain bowls, and breakfast dishes like sesame scallion pancakes, patatas bravas and sausage steamed buns.

"This is the only distillery in Louisville with a restaurant," Chef John Lehman previously said. "You can go on a tour, come upstairs and bring that knowledge with you, sit down and have some really thoughtful, well-curated food with thoughtful, well-curated brandies. It's a really unique experience."

Other nearby rooftop bars include 8Up Elevated Drinkery & Kitchen and the Hotel Genevieve Bar in NuLu, which opens its doors on May 3. Patrick O'Sheas at 123 W. Main St. also has a quiet rooftop space.

More: This Louisville distillery just opened a rebranded rooftop bar and restaurant

Walk across the Ohio River on the Big Four Bridge

Big Four Pedestrian Bridge (starting on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River), 129 E River Road, ourwaterfront.org

As popular with locals as it is for out-of-town guests, a stroll (or bicycle ride) across The Big Four Pedestrian Bridge is always free and a unique way to enjoy a breathtaking view of the Ohio River, downtown Louisville, Southern Indiana, and Waterfront Park. On the other side of the river is historic Jeffersonville, Indiana, packed with ice cream at Pearl Street Treats, pizza and beer at Parlour, outdoor games at Union Restaurant & Gameyard, or a warm beverage at Pearl Street Coffee and Games.

On select summer Wednesdays, Waterfront Park also hosts free music events. There's also an adventure playground, a splash park, and plenty of nature and park benches to go around.

The Ideal Bartender at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience

528 W. Main St., Louisville, evanwilliams.com/plan-your-trip

The Evan Williams Bourbon Experience was one of the first distilleries to open in downtown Louisville, and there's a reason "experience" is part of its name. The traditional tour and tasting are innovative from a technology standpoint as it virtually transports you back to the 1800s when Evan Williams himself lived along the Ohio River.

The Ideal Bartender Experience at Evan Williams Downtown lets you sip bourbon while being served by an actor, who takes visitors back to the final days of Prohibition when Louisville native Tom Bullock was mixing drinks. Bullock was the first Black bartender to publish a book on cocktails, and he worked at the prestigious St. Louis Country Club.

During this unique experience, you're served by an actor, who stays in character the whole time. There's also a "Speakeasy Tour" where you'll be served by an in-character Prohibition-era bartender, too.

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Shop for a last-minute Kentucky Derby hat at downtown hotels

A wide-brim hat or a fascinator is without a doubt the most popular accessory at the track during the Kentucky Derby. Trust us, you'll be in the minority if you show up without one. Plus, wearing a hat to the races is considered to be good luck!

Whether you're heading to Churchill Downs or celebrating with friends elsewhere, pairing your Kentucky Derby outfit with the perfect headpiece is a rite of spring in Louisville and a process made simpler by the sheer fact that there are more milliners (that's a hatmaker!) than you can shake a feather at in the city the week of the Kentucky Derby. Gorgeous ready-made hats and fascinators are available at malls, boutiques, hotel stores and online if you thought of it ahead of time.

The Hat Girls, Rachel Bell and Kate Smith, suggest doing online research before going to a store. Narrow down whether you want a big hat or a fascinator and go from there. Local milliners often set up in the lobby of downtown hotels like the Omni Louisville Hotel and Marriott, so that's a good place to start if you're lost.

More: Hats, dresses, and hemlines: Here's what to know about dressing for the Kentucky Derby

Check out the art gallery, and restaurant at 21c Museum Hotel

702 W. Main St.; 21cmuseumhotels.com/louisville

This 91-room boutique hotel doubles as a multi-venue contemporary art museum and includes one of the highest-rated bourbon bars and restaurants in town. You'll spot it easily by the double-size golden replica of "David" by Michelangelo outside the hotel. Once inside, explore the current exhibits, then stop at Proof on Main for a bite or drink.

Proof on Main offers more than 100 bourbons and in 2022, was included on The Bourbon Review's list of “Best Bourbon Bars in America." Kentucky native Jeff Dailey, the executive chef at Proof on Main, is known for his unique dishes including locally sourced ingredients. The dinner menu includes items like sheep's milk ricotta cavatelli, local mushroom bok choy tofu, a Kentucky bison burger, and cast-iron skillet cornbread.

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Reach food reporter Dahlia Ghabour at dghabour@gannett.com. Reporters Kirby Adams, Rae Johnson and Maggie Menderski contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Derby 2023: Things to do in Louisville before race time