A Travel Guide to Kentucky
Kentucky is a State bordered by seven neighbours. Tennessee is the only state to occupy its southern border. The other six states reach like hungry hands towards Kentucky to relish the rich reserves of rivers, lakes and forests. Its capital of Frankfort is the 5th smallest in the United States. It may be small but it certainly packs a punch especially when it comes to bourbon, there are several distilleries in this city and there are also bourbon trails that meander throughout the state.
The nearest international airport to the capital is in the city of Louisville less than 50 miles away. Louisville is the largest and most populated city in Kentucky. Naturally it has many things to see and do, from museums/art galleries and recreational parks, including the famous Muhammad Ali Centre that honours the boxing legend to the sporting genius of baseball at the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory that sports a 120 foot baseball bat adorning the entrance. Louisville is also the home of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs race course which is the most attended horse race in the United States and the beginning of the prestigious Triple Crown. Folk celebrate before and after it and even dress specifically for this occasion.
However, it is not just Louisville that enjoys horses. There are many horse farms located throughout Kentucky. Due to its fervent landscape, they are rode regularly by locals and visitors as well as notable jockeys on thoroughbreds. If you are inclined towards equestrianism or are generally just interested in horses include a trip out to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky’s second largest city, which also hosts The International Museum of the Horse.
Both Louisville and Lexington are also great places for shopping, nightlife, and fine dining. Alongside the capital of Frankfort, they are located throughout the Bluegrass Region. The name of this region is also responsible for the birthroots of music that originated from the ballads of early British and Irish settlers who sang about their far away home. Bluegrass music then evolved with jazz elements influenced from African-Americans. It is enjoyed today by many North Americans with annual festivals held here and throughout the United States. If you follow the course of the Ohio River through the many states on the northern border it will bring you to Owensboro in the far west of Kentucky where a museum dedicated to the history of Bluegrass Music is held.
There are many parks, preserves and forests located throughout Kentucky. Two of the most popular are the Mammoth Cave National Park that has the largest known cave system, and the Daniel Boone National Forest named after a pioneer that was hugely responsible for the settlement of early Kentucky. Kentucky is a state that was also called home by the well-known 16th President Abraham Lincoln and the well-known fast food chicken entrepreneur Colonel Sanders.
There is a wide variety of self catering vacation rentals in Kentucky with lakeside cabins being particularly popular.
