Louisville

In the heart of Kentucky Bluegrass Country, Louisville is a city with real southern charm. It may be best known as the home of the Kentucky Derby and as the headquarters of the company that makes Louisville Slugger baseball bats, but Louisville also has a thriving gay community. Don’t believe us? Head here in June for the Kentuckiana Pride Festival, one of the region’s best pride celebrations.

Getting here

Louisville International Airport is just south of the city's downtown. Taxis are the best way to get into the city but there are TARC buses into town that depart from the island at the east end of the terminal building.

Getting around

While it’s possible to use public transportation with TARC to get around River City, it’s best to rent a car to see more of the whole area.

Neighborhoods

The gay bars are all clustered around the downtown area.

What to do

The biggest event of the year for this engaging city on the Ohio River is the Kentucky Derby, held the first Saturday in May. Bars stay open all night, so the party lasts until well into the next day. There's also the St. James Court Art Show in the fall, and the Breeders Cup in November.

Local Media

The Community Letter and the local edition of The Word have news and features about gay Louisville and environs. Leo Weekly has general news, events listings and reviews.

Nightlife

Boots (120 S. Floyd), side entrance at Connection, men's/leather bar, weekend dress code area.

Connection (120 S. Floyd), big dance bar complex, fireplace, drag and pageant shows, video lounge, erotic male dancers in weekend shower bar, full-moon butt parties; Sunday under-21 nights.

Hard Candy at Hotel (410 S 4th St) once-a-month gay dance event, check twitter.com/hotelnightclub for dates.

Magnolia Bar & Grill (1398 S 2nd St) a neighborhood locals' favorite, with mixed crowd, famed and acclaimed jukebox.

Teddy Bear's (1148 Garvin Place), intimate locals' neighborhood nook, strong drinks, pool tables, older crowd.

Tryangles (209 S Preston) mostly men, no-attitude neighborhood bar, dancing and erotic male dancers.

Sauna

Vapor, a men's "spa and health center" is promised to be coming soon from the guys at Connection. See their website for the latest news.

Shopping

Carmichael's Bookstore (1295 Bardstown Rd) Louisville's oldest independent bookstore, amid cluster of shops and restaurants, author readings.

Fourth Street Live (400 S 4th St), big downtown indoor shopping center, between Liberty Street and Muhammad Ali Boulevard, full of restaurants and entertainment venues; with free concerts too.

Wild and Woolly Video (1021 Bardstown Rd), over 20,000 too weird for mainstream DVD titles for rent and sale - standard, classic, obscure, and gay.