LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville’s downtown Visitor Center reopened last July, and nearly a year later, it expects to offer all of the tours and experiences it did before the pandemic.
What You Need To Know
- Louisville Visitor Center expects a return to "mostly" normal this summer
- "Whiskey Wednesday" free walking tours are back
- Volunteer tour guides love sharing their Louisville knowledge
The Kentucky Derby was a good indication that the Louisville Visitor Center should expect more and more out-of-towners to visit. Rose Caple, the visitor services manager, said, "I firmly believe we are going to get more visitors every week."
The center is located at 301 S. 4th St. and perfectly situated for a crowd favorite "Whiskey Wednesday" walking tour. There's no such thing as a free lunch, but this is a free tour. In fact, after 11 years with the Louisville Visitor Center, Caple can say free attractions have a big impact on drawing in new visitors, including locals.
“It invites them into our area. It allows us to share our story, our history of Louisville, whether it’s our textbook history or history on a specific subject, like the whiskey walking tours are," Caple explained.
Tours last anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes, "But we're not going to hold you hostage," Patty Morris said with a smile through her face mask. Morris is a longtime volunteer tour guide and a highlight of any visit to the center. Morris loves hitting the pavement, bringing tourists through downtown, along Whiskey Row and right up to the Ohio River.
“You’re out, you’re in the air and hopefully you’re picking information about Louisville. To me, it’s a refreshing thing to do if you’ve you been stuck inside for so long," she said.
Morris is a history buff, which isn't surprising since she's a retired JCPS teacher. She knows how to keep an audience, so no matter how long her tour, time will fly by.
“I can also talk about past history with the great flood of 1937 and people love to find out that in 1937, with the Kentucky Derby, the water was knee high at the finish line," Morris said.
These stories and much more await curious visitors. Tour and ticket information is available online.