Bardstown is a wonderful place to visit! Besides the shopping and excellent restaurants we highlight a few of the area attractions below:
Bourbon Country
Bardstown is home to several of the world’s top bourbon producers including Jim Beam, Barton 1792, and Heaven Hill. These distilleries each have visitor’s centers where you can view interactive displays and learn about how the world’s best bourbons are made. They also offer fascinating tours of the facilities.
Each September, Bardstown is host to the Bourbon Festival, a six day event that can only be described as a celebration for the ages. Enjoy bourbon tasting, black-tie parties, excellent music, bourbon cooking demonstrations and much more!
Water Fun
The Bardstown Boaters are a whitewater paddling and water conservation group based in Bardstown. If white water kayaking and other types of boating are of interest to you, you are in good company! Boating and fishing fun are also available on Sympson Lake which is a reservoir just a few miles east of Bardstown. What could be more fun than cruising the lake with a skier in tow and music playing on your marine stereo and waterproof speakers? And don’t forget your rod and reel!
Historic Trains
No visit to Bardstown would be complete without a visit to the Kentucky Railway Museum! The museum is a recreation of the old L&N line train depot from days of yore. Check out the 5,000 square feet of train related artifacts and displays. There is an incredible collection of model train railroads, and of course, you must catch a ride on the restored steam locomotive as it meanders along the scenic Rolling Fork River!