Indiana

See

Your traditional sightseeing in Indiana belongs in Indianapolis, which is flush with big museums, an inordinate quantity of giant monuments and memorials, and a very nice canal walk with paddleboats and public art.

Outside the cities, and outside of the seemingly endless farmland in the plains, are a host of parks and outdoor recreation areas worth visiting. Without a doubt, the one to see, if you must choose, is Indiana Dunes National Park (and Indiana Dunes State Park). The dunes are enormous, the water crystal clear, the swampy forests beautiful, and the far-off industrial views intriguing.

Do

State parks

• Brown County State Park
• Chain O' Lakes State Park
• Charlestown State Park
• Clifty Falls State Park
• Prophetstown State Park
• Turkey Run State Park

Festivals and events

• Late April Thunder Over Louisville Clarksville and Jeffersonville. The opening ceremonies to Louisville, Kentucky's Kentucky Derby Festival. Thunder Over Louisville is the largest annual fireworks show in the country, and the best viewing is along the Indiana shore of the Ohio River. If you plan to get a good seat, prepare to come the day before and camp. In the afternoon, private and military aircraft provide a magnificent airshow. After sunset, the fireworks begin and last nearly half an hour.
• Early-Mid August Indiana State Fair State Fairgrounds, Indianapolis. The biggest summer event in the state. A trip to Indiana isn't complete without a trip to the fair. Animals, crafts, art, rides, dancing, education, environmentalism, Hoosier Pride and food. They also have live music and concerts. Prairie Home Companion comes every other year.
• Early September Valparaiso Popcorn Festival Downtown Valparaiso, Valparaiso. Named the "Best Festival of the Region" by The Times readers for 15 years, the Valparaiso Popcorn Festival continues to offer family-fun activities for all ages. Over 200 arts & crafts booths, 30 food booths, kids' games, the 5 mi Popcorn Panic, and the nation's First Popcorn Parade are only the beginning of the excitement of this incredible festival.
• Mid-September Lanesville Heritage Weekend Lanesville. A fall festival typical of many in southern Indiana. It is similar to a county fair, but later in the year. Local food and crafts are available, while rides and tractor and truck pulls provide entertainment.
• Early October West Side Nut Club Fall Festival Evansville. Called the second largest street festival in the United States after Mardi Gras. It takes place on several blocks of Franklin Street on the west side of the city during the first full week of October. The main attraction of the festival is its food booths which sell a large variety of foods including brain sandwiches and chocolate-covered grasshoppers. The festival draws over a hundred thousand visitors every fall.
• Early-mid October Harvest Homecoming Festival New Albany. The largest festival in southern Indiana brings participants from miles around. The festivities begin with a Saturday morning parade through the streets of New Albany. The festival lasts for several weeks, and includes vendor booths downtown and carnival rides.
• Mid October Feast of the Hunters' Moon Lafayette. The Feast re-creates early 18th-century life near the site of Fort Ouiatenon, a French trading outpost.

Sports

• College sports — Indiana is home to many NCAA Division I schools:
• Ball State Cardinals (Muncie)
• Butler Bulldogs and IU Indy Jaguars (Indianapolis)
• Evansville Purple Aces and Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles (Evansville, with the Purple Aces in the city proper and the Screaming Eagles to the west of the city limits)
• Indiana Hoosiers (Bloomington)
• Indiana State Sycamores (Terre Haute)
• Notre Dame Fighting Irish (South Bend)
• Purdue Boilermakers (West Lafayette)
• Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons
• Valparaiso Beacons (Valparaiso)
• Baseball – Indiana is home to a number of minor league baseball teams, including: Gary SouthShore RailCats, Fort Wayne TinCaps, Indianapolis Indians, South Bend Blue Sox, South Bend Silver Hawks, and Evansville Otters.
• Auto racing
• The Indianapolis 500 race, held on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend (with the holiday falling on the last Monday of May), is the most attended single-day sporting event in the world. The race is held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), located a little more than 4 mi from downtown in the separate town of Speedway (which is contained within the Indianapolis city limits). It's common to see many vendors and spectacular displays during the pre-race (most notably the singing of "Back Home Again in Indiana", formerly by the now-deceased Jim Nabors, and the overfly of the stealth bomber at the conclusion of the National Anthem). Also don't forget the Allstate 400 (formerly the Brickyard 400) NASCAR race held every summer at IMS.
• IRP (Indianapolis Raceway Park), located about 10 mi west north-west of Indianapolis in Hendricks County, also holds the grand nationals of drag racing at its facility.
• Salem Speedway. Home to many small-circuit races throughout the year, Salem is often called the "fastest half mile in the world." With only a chain-link fence separating the pit lane from the infield, Salem offers a more interactive fan experience than many larger tracks.
• Basketball – Indiana Pacers (NBA) and Indiana Fever (WNBA), playing at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis.
• NFL – Indianapolis Colts, playing in Lucas Oil stadium in downtown Indianapolis.
• Hockey – Indy Fuel in Fishers Indiana and Fort Wayne Komets

Eat

Cuisine throughout much of the state is typical Midwestern, with the occasional odd dish like Corn Casserole. Outside of the main cities most of the restaurants are diners or family-style, while in the bigger cities you can find all sorts of varied cuisine. Indianapolis, in particular, has a very cosmopolitan selection of ethnic restaurants from around the world, as do major campus towns (Bloomington, West Lafayette). Lake County, as in most everything, diverges from the norm in Indiana, and is a better place to find Chicago-style food like hot dogs and pizza.

Drink

Hoosiers know how to drink! Wherever you are, you would be hard pressed to not find a bar. The trendiest part of the state for a drink is probably Broad Ripple in Indianapolis, but you will find streets packed with bars and pubs throughout the cities of the state, especially near major universities in Bloomington, West Lafayette, and South Bend. Micro-breweries are present in all the major cities, Upland from Bloomington is especially popular and available throughout the state. Drink prices can be very low in Indiana—especially out of the Nine-County Region. It's not uncommon to find domestic bottled beer for $1 during the week, with other varying specials.

For dancing and nightlife, the main options are in and around Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, as well as by the major universities.

Liquor stores are open on Sundays throughout the state. Hours are noon to 8PM.

Bars and restaurants are allowed to serve beer, wine, and liquor seven days a week, between the hours of 7AM and 3AM (the following morning), local time. Hours for bars can vary by population density and owner preference, but the vast majority of full-service "chain" restaurants with alcohol sales will not remain open beyond 11PM or midnight. In most localities however, one can always find a neighborhood bar or nightclub that will serve drinks right up to 3AM. In all substantial cities, almost all bars will remain open until this time.

There have been many rumors about a liquor law in Indiana that prohibits the "take home" sale of cold beer. This is partially true. Under Indiana Code 7.1-5-10-11, holders of beer dealer's permits are not allowed to sell cold beer. Holders of liquor dealer licenses are. Throughout the state in any liquor store, Village Pantry service stations, and some grocery stores it can be purchased cold. Liquor stores that sell hard alcohol cannot sell pop or soda cold, rather it must be at room temperature.