Indiana Convention Center – Experiences

Indianapolis is Indiana’s capital and the largest city in the state. You might know Indianapolis for its fast cars, but there is so much more to it than that. This city continues to thrive throughout the years, fostering its culinary and brewery scenes, improving neighborhoods, and learning from its cultural institutions.

In a city as large and bustling as Indianapolis, it can be tough to decide how to break up a day of sightseeing. If you’re visiting the Indiana Convention Center, you’ll want to see the surrounding Downtown Indianapolis area. This one-day itinerary for downtown Indianapolis will keep you in the vicinity of the Indiana Convention Center while providing a good scope of what Indy has to offer to its guests, giving you the perfect dose of that Hoosier hospitality.

Thanks to the Indiana Convention Center, there are a number of skywalks available that make the downtown area even more walkable. However, if you feel that you need to take a break from walking city blocks, make use of public transportation, like IndyGo buses.

 

Morning

Noon

Night

 

Morning

Your first stop, Café Patachou, is a four-minute walk from the Indiana Convention Center and has very interesting beginnings and a wonderful mission. The owner of Café Patachou, Martha Hoover, never wanted to bring her children to any food establishments in Indianapolis in the late ‘80s because there were few truly healthy options. Hoover started using farm-to-table practices before it became more popularized. With no restaurant experience, she started Café Patachou, utilizing ingredients right from Indiana farms. Years later, Café Patachou is doing better than ever with a very hands-on and passionate owner.

Indiana Convention CenterCafé Patachou’s menu is filled with ingredients that are locally sourced from farms and producers within a 100-mile radius, and there are gluten-free and vegan options. Many dishes on the menu can be changed into vegetarian options as well. On the menu, you will find omelets, oatmeal, fresh fruit and yogurts, soups, and salads. Additionally, there are various egg dishes, as well as classic french toast, waffle, and pancake options. They even have their own blend of coffee for your morning pick-me-up.

After breakfast, you will be off to the Indianapolis Zoo. It is located almost two miles from the Indiana Convention Center. To get here, either drive or use a taxi or rideshare service because it will only be a five-minute drive rather than a 30-minute walk. You’ll want to opt for the car anyway because you will probably be walking around this rather large zoo for close to two hours.

Themed exhibits split the zoo up into geographic sections. These exhibits are Oceans, Forests, Flights of Fancy, Orangutan Center, Deserts, and Plains. Just a few of the animals you will be able to see include tigers, lions, penguins, dolphins, sea lions, flamingos, wildebeests, zebras, rhinos, and elephants. Some animals can be fed by guests. These animals include the flamingos, budgies, lorikeets, and giraffes.

There are different attractions at the zoo as well. If you’re traveling with children, there are playgrounds and treehouses. Families can also make use of the family nature center. Guests can also try the Race-a-Cheetah and get up close and touch a shark at the shark touch pool. A carousel, train ride, skyline, and family roller coaster are rides that can also be found in different areas of the zoo.

 

Noon

When you finish seeing all of the animals at the zoo, you will want to, again, either get in your car or call a taxi or rideshare service to get over to the Market Catacombs. The entrance to the catacombs is actually found in the City Market. These aren’t your typical catacombs filled with bones. Instead, these catacombs are of Tomlinson Hall, which burned in January 1958. You can buy tickets for a 30-minute tour to get the history of the hall. However, tours are only available on select days. If you are there on a day that does not have a tour running, don’t worry because there is still plenty to fill your day in the rest of this itinerary.

Regardless of whether or not you are able to catch a tour of the catacombs, you will be staying in the City Market for lunch. Originally opened in 1886, this was the prime spot in Indianapolis to sell and buy meat and produce. Today it is still a major location to get food. In this renovated market, you will find over 25 locally owned and operated small businesses. A large majority sell ethnic cuisines and snacks. Some provide services like phone repair.

Split up into four major areas, you’ll want to peruse the market before deciding on what place you want to buy your lunch. Vendors include The Tamale Place, Mambo’s Cheesesteak Grill, Ameer Middle Eastern Cuisine, Gomez BBQ, Days in Paris, and Three Carrots to name just a few. Once you do decide, there are dining areas for you to sit down and eat.

Once you’re done with lunch, you will head out to some famous monuments in Indianapolis. The first monument, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, is a five-minute walk from the City Market. This was originally built to honor veterans from Indianapolis who fought in the Civil War. Now it also honors all those who fought in wars prior to WWII. This has come to symbolize the city of Indianapolis.

There is an observation deck you can visit in the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, but to reach it you have to either climb all 331 steps or take an elevator up 90% of the way and climb the last 31 steps. From the top of the observation deck, see if you can spot the Indiana Convention Center or some of the skywalks you may have walked through.

Indiana Convention CenterNow, head to the Indiana World War Memorial, which will be a 10-minute walk. You also have the option to pass through University Square Park on your way to the memorial. Built to honor those from Indianapolis who fought in WWI and the service men and women of the Revolutionary War, the Indiana World War Memorial is considered a crown jewel for the historic district at 210 feet tall with over 400 battle flags.

Indiana Convention CenterOn your way to the American Legion Mall, you will pass through Veterans Memorial Plaza, which has a 100-foot obelisk in the center. The walk to American Legion Mall will take five minutes. The entirety of the park spans two city blocks. Various monuments fill the park and will provide you with information about WWII and the Korean and Vietnam War. This is a nice area to sit, reflect, and relax for a bit before heading out to your nighttime destinations.

 

Night

There are two options you have to start your night. The first option is shopping around the City Centre Mall. This mall is actually attached to the Indiana Convention Center via skywalk. From the American Legion Hall, you can either take a 19-minute walk or three-minute drive. The mall is four levels and has over 100 retailers. Those of you who love shopping should absolutely stop here during your stay.

If you don’t want to go shopping, the other option for the night is going to the Sun King Brewery. You are able to tour the facility and hang out and drink craft beer. There are over 36 beers for you to pick and try. This brewery is a twenty-minute walk or six-minute drive from the American Legion Mall.

For dinner, we suggest heading toward “Mass Ave,” the artistic district, and eating at The Eagle Mass Ave. This is a three-minute drive or 15-minute walk from the Centre City Mall. If you are going there from Sun King Brewery, it will be around the same time for both the walk or drive. The Eagle specializes in fried chicken and Southern-style sandwiches.

There is no dessert at The Eagle, so to end your night and satisfy that sweet tooth, walk three minutes over to the Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream shop. Liquid nitrogen instantly freezes the ice cream so it becomes more flavorful, creamy, and smooth. You can customize your ice cream with a ton of flavors to try and ingredients mixed in.

Ending the night at the Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream shop will put you just over a mile away from the Indiana Convention Center. The Indiana Convention Center has plenty of clubs and bars attached if you want to continue your night.

This guide does not explore all of Indianapolis because that would take multiple days! But, with this day itinerary, you will be able to gain great knowledge about Indianapolis while having a great time.