A great idea for a place to visit in Indianapolis (also known as Circle City) isthe Children's Museum of Indianapolis. The museum is the largest children's museumin the world and educational, fun experiences abound here. The format urges childrento touch everything as they participate in their physical journey through the fascinatingIndianapolis museum. There are exhibits featuring physical, chemical, and naturalsciences, as well as globally cultural inventions and arts through the ages, onfive interactive floors. There's so much to do in this top Indianapolis attraction,there's even a planetarium and a theater staging children's plays.

But if academia is not your idea of a wild vacation, then the Indianapolis MotorSpeedway Hall of Fame Museum, located on the site of the famous Indianapolis MotorSpeedway, is one of the most distinctive museums in the world devoted to automobilesand auto racing. The speedway is one of the most exciting things to do in Indianapolis.In 1987, the museum and Speedway received the designation of National Historic Landmark,in a proud moment for those connected to that aspect of the Indianapolis racingcircuit. The Wyoming quartz-built facility covers 96,000 square feet of museum andadministrative space. The museum space alone measures 30,000 square feet, and amagnificent glass canopy above the main floor allows year-round natural light forexcellent viewing conditions. There are two Speedway gift shops, and an officialphotography department for the speedway. About one-third of the museum's estimated250,000 annual visitors tour the museum during May, the month of the Indianapolis500-Mile Race. The air-conditioned snack shop and surrounding site will be swarmingwith eager visitors to this Indianapolis wonder, which is centered around an historic2.5-mile oval.

Every city has its hipness hotspot and it's cool person's hangout. In Indianapolis,culture, expression, and attitude merge in Broad Ripple Village, an Indianapolisentertainment center referred to as Indianapolis' version of Greenwich Village.There are galleries, boutiques, and restaurants, amid the city's wildest nightlife,in this Indianapolis riverfront district. Among the chief attractions in Broad RippleVillage are The Indianapolis Art Center and the unique jewelery center at ArtifactsGallery. If you feel thirsty or need a good slab of pub lunch, the Broad RippleBrewpub has plenty of brews on tap and a hearty menu. The Vogue, a dance club andlive performance venue, is a great place to rock the night away, as big name musicianscan often be seen there. All in all the Village is a non-nonsense Indianapolis entertainmenthotspot.

The Indiana State Capitol Building houses the Indiana General Assembly, the Governorof Indiana, the state courts and other state officials, and is an excellent placeto visit and tour when in town. The Capitol is located at 200 West Washington Street,and is an impressive looking structure, with its large dome, pillars, and gleamingwhite stone. The building was designed by Indianapolis architect Edwin May, anda cornerstone was laid on September 28, 1880. In between attending concerts andshows in Indianapolis, you should really try to see this wonderful structure duringyour visit to the city.

If you're traveling into Indianapolis for the first time, check out this quick overview of tourism and transportation in Circle City.

If You're Traveling Into Indianapolis...

Some helpful information from the Wikipedia:

Indianapolis has designated six official Cultural Districts. They are Broad RippleVillage, Massachusetts Avenue, Fountain Square, The Wholesale District, Canal andWhite River State Park, and Indiana Avenue. These areas have held historic and culturalimportance to the city. In recent years they have been revitalized and are becomingmajor centers for tourism, commerce and residential living.

At the center of Indianapolis is Monument Circle, a traffic circle at the intersectionof Meridian and Market Streets, featuring the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument. (MonumentCircle is depicted on the city's flag, and is generally considered the city's symbol).Monument Circle is in the shadow of Indiana's tallest skyscraper, the Chase Tower.Up until the early 1960s, Indianapolis zoning laws stated that no building couldbe taller than the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. Each Christmas season, local electriciansstring lights onto the monument. It is lit for the holiday season in a ceremonythat attracts tens of thousands of Hoosiers to downtown Indianapolis on the dayafter Thanksgiving. The "Circle of Lights" festival celebrates the lighting of thecity-proclaimed "World's Largest Christmas Tree" which, in reality, is just themonument decked out in lights.

Beginning in 1999 the city became host to the annual Indy Jazz Festival. The festivalis a three day event held in Military Park near the canal. Past stars have includedB.B. King, Aretha Franklin, Bruce Hornsby, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, Kool andthe Gang, Ray Charles, The Temptations, Dave Brubeck, Emmylou Harris, Chris Isaak,Jonny Lang, Norah Jones and regional and local favorites. Every May Indianapolisholds the 500 Festival, a month of events culminating in the Indianapolis 500 FestivalParade the day before the running of the Indianapolis 500. The Festival was begunin 1957 and the first Queen of the Festival was Ann Lawrie who was named in 1959.The Circle City Classic is one of America's top historically African-American collegefootball tournaments. The football game is the showcase event of an entire weekend.The weekend is a celebration of cultural excellence and educational achievementwhile showcasing the spirit, energy and tradition of America's historically blackcolleges and universities.

Indianapolis International Airport, identified as IND, is the largest airport inIndiana and serves Indianapolis Metropolitan Area. In addition to a recently completedair traffic control tower, the airport is currently undertaking the building oftwo large concourses, a new airfield, two new parking garages, and apron improvements.The new terminal is being built with the intent of cutting traveling time at theairport in half, and is being constructed between the two existing runways. Theold terminal will be demolished after the new terminal opens. The current projectis slated for completion in late 2008. Many air services utilize Indianapolis International.FedEx, an Air Freight company, is currently expanding it's largest hub in the countrylocated at Indianapolis International. Indianapolis is also a focus city for NorthwestAirlines.

Five major Interstates serve the Indianapolis area including I-70, I-74, I-65, I-69,and the I-465 Beltway. The I-865 Connector contains part of U.S. Route 52 and connectsI-65 to I-465, on the northwest side of Indianapolis. Future interstate plans includepossibly extending I-69 southwest to Evansville. Major U.S. highways serving theregion include U.S. Routes 31, 40, 52, 36, 136, and 421.

Indianapolis's transit provider is the Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation,also known as IndyGo. The Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation was establishedin 1975 after the city of Indianapolis took over the city's transit system. Before1997, IndyGo was called Metro. In 1953, the last streetcars ran in Indianapolis.Trolleybuses made their last run in the city four years later in 1957. Since 1957Indianapolis has had an all-bus transit system. Central Indiana Commuter Services(CICS), funded by IndyGo to reduce pollution, serves Indianapolis and surroundingcounties.

The Clarian people mover connects the Indiana University School of Medicine, RileyHospital for Children, Wishard Hospital and IUPUI & Indiana University School ofMedicine facilities at the north end of the Downtown Canal with Methodist Hospital.The Clarian People Mover is available for public use. Plans for a more expansivesystem are being considered that would operate throughout downtown Indianapolis.The existing people mover is sometimes inaccurately described as a monorail, butin fact rides on dual concrete beams with the guideway being as wide as the vehicle.