Car Hire Indianapolis - Mini guide to Indianapolis
Synonymous with motor racing, the state capital of Indiana has replaced its industrial beginnings and is now a cultural centre bursting with exciting sporting entertainment venues and classy museums and galleries.
The renowned Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosts the Indianapolis 500 every May and the NASCAR Brickyard 400 each August, resulting in hordes of motor racing fans descending on the city and creating a great atmosphere.
There are also plenty of interesting automobile attractions available year round at the excellent Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. The city is home to two famous professional sports teams: the Pacers (basketball) and Colts (American Football). Additionally, amateur sporting events such as the US Olympic trials are regularly held here.
The city centre received a facelift in 1995, with the completion of the spectacular Indianapolis Artsgarden, an eight-storey glass rotunda illuminated with fairy lights and acting as a walkway to the Circle Centre shopping and entertainment complex and several downtown hotels. Nearby is the serene tree-shaded Lockerbie Square Historic District, featuring charming cobbled streets and small wood-frame cottages, once home to 19th century artisans.
The Indiana State Museum gives useful insight into the state's history through exhibits on everything from geology to sports. Other edutainment venues worth a visit are: the Museum of Art; Crown Hill Cemetery (John Dillinger’s grave); Indiana Medical History Museum; and Children's Museum of Indianapolis, arguably the best of its kind in the US.
On the western outskirts of the city lies the vast White River State Park, home to the spectacular Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art. The museum is housed in a stone, wood and adobe building and there are exhibits on Georgia O'Keeffe, Frederic Remington, Andy Warhol, and tribal artefacts from all over North America.
There are also frequent displays of beading and basket-weaving, superb touring exhibits and a gorgeous gift shop. The White River State Park is also home to the sizable Indianapolis Zoo and the lush White River Gardens.
The major suburbs in Indianapolis are: Beech Grove, Brightwood, Glendale, Irvington, Lawrence, Lynhurst, Mapleton, Warren Park, Williams Creek and Wynnedale.
