Like a local: Indy 500

There are venues in American sports that extend beyond whatever sport it hosts. Places that have absorbed so much history, so much heartbreak, so much glory, and so much beer over so many decades that the ground itself feels different. Maybe it's all the beer, or maybe it's deeper. Hard to say. Either way, something we know to be true is that Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of those places. The city that surrounds it — Indianapolis, Indiana – is another. Together, they have hosted the Indianapolis 500 every May since 1911, with only one interruption, WWII. One hundred and thirteen years of the greatest drivers, the greatest machines, and the greatest spectacle the sport has ever produced, all returning to the same 2.5 miles of asphalt right in the mushy middle of America. Reputations like that of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are, and can only be built slowly, year after year. This is why the Indy 500 is truly the greatest spectacle in racing. 

Getty Images/ Michael L Levitt

On a total lizard-brain level, part of why fans love the Indy 500 so much is this track with these cars demands not only precision but a gut bucket that we mere mortals simply don’t possess. These drivers have to hit their marks and time their inputs with such tight thresholds or else they will surely dash themselves against the IMS’ merciless boundaries. All of these factors and more draw racing fans by the hundreds of thousands. If the drivers are what fuel the flame that draws the moths, the Brickyard, and its legacy is the light we moths see first, unable to deny its draw. 

As with any major historical race, the surrounding area of Indianapolis has evolved alongside the race, making the entire region full of a great many things for racing fans and non-racing fans alike to enjoy. Indianapolis is a living city teeming with art, music, food, and creative people of all flavors. To deny yourself the experience of seeing all that Indianapolis has to offer while you’re around for the race would be a mighty big shame. 

Market Street Catacombs

No, this isn’t the plot of an A24 movie; Indianapolis is actually hiding a network of catacombs beneath downtown. The Market Street Catacombs are the still remains of the Tomlinson Hall, built in 1886, an imposing building whose main hall seated more than 3,500 people in its day. Although the city took down the building in 1958, there is still an arch on City Market’s west plaza that remains above ground. These brick-lined tunnels were originally used for cold storage before refrigeration existed. Which, frankly, is a much more practical answer than “secret society headquarters,” even if it’s slightly less fun.

Michael L Levitt/Getty Images

This place feels strangely cinematic. The temperature drops, the city noise disappears, and suddenly you’re wandering through shadowy corridors lit like a noir film. It’s one of those places that reminds you every American city has layers underneath the obvious stuff. 

A fair warning to travelers: at risk of being a tease, the catacombs aren’t open to the public. There are tours available at certain times of the year. However, I included it in this list because locals claim that sometimes, if visitors know who to ask and can come up with a good reason to be down there, one of multiple entries into this underworld could be opened. Good luck. 

The Healer

The Healer feels like the kind of place you stumble into by accident late at night, wake up the next morning with hazy, wild memories. When you try to find it again, the place you remember is in a boarded-up tire factory that hasn’t been open in decades. 

Thankfully, that’s not the case. Equal parts cocktail bar, lounge, and fever dream, it leans hard into moody, kaleidoscopic lighting, creative drinks, and the kind of atmosphere that turns upside down and all around.

There’s a slightly secretive energy to it, like everyone inside collectively agreed to keep the secret. It’s stylish and maximalist without becoming exhausting, which is a surprisingly difficult balance. It's a perfect palate cleanser after a long day of walking around Indy pretending you totally understand suspension geometry.

Square Cat Vinyl

Square Cat is one of those places that should signal that you are in a cool city. This is a killer coffee shop and record shop in one cozy space. If you’re still in track mode and would prefer it, you can get a cold beer or cocktail here, too. Basically, the goal of Square Cat is to give you something great to sip on while you slowly thumb the corners of records you shouldn’t buy but must buy. This is a place that makes you feel good simply by being there. 

Michael L Levitt/Getty Images

Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park

Here’s another salve to the high-octane events at the Brickyard. The Virginia Fairbanks Art & Nature Park is a wonderfully creative and peaceful landscape devoted to large works of modern art installations and sculptures. Spread across 100 acres next to the Indianapolis Museum of Art (you should totally go here, too), it blends massive contemporary art installations with trails, ponds, and open green space.

One minute you’re looking at a giant sculpture rising out of the trees, the next you’re wandering through quiet woods wondering why every city doesn’t have something like this. It’s calm without being sleepy, artistic without pretension, and an excellent place to reset your brain after too much traffic and beer. The best part of all is that admission is totally free. Enjoy. 

Museum of Psychphonics

This one might not be exactly what you expected to see on this list, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s worth seeing. Not unlike the Healer, the Museum of Psychphonics is difficult to explain in the best possible way. Imagine a bizarre art installation collided with a sci-fi radio station and then gained sentience. Built around the work of artist and inventor Frank Jones, the space is packed with bizarre handmade instruments, glowing machines, and enough visual chaos to overload human brains.

It feels deeply personal and wonderfully strange, like stepping directly into someone else’s imagination. Even the entrance is exciting. Guests must enter the museum through a tiny record shop in the Fountain Square neighborhood, find the heavy red curtain, and pass beyond it to enter an intimate collection focused on the often-overlooked stories of Indianapolis history and the city’s deep ties to African-American music, alongside broader explorations of Afrofuturism, according to founding director Michael Kaufmann. 

Indianapolis has plenty of polished attractions, but this place proudly zigzags in the opposite direction, which is exactly why it rules.

Car museums aplenty

Instead of picking one from the bundle of amazing car museums around the Indianapolis area and across Indiana, I’m recommending you take a shot at multiple. Obviously, the IMS Museum is right there at the track and is sweet, but low-hanging fruit. Indiana, at large, is home to a plethora of car museums of all varieties. There’s a dedicated Studebaker museum, Model T museum, the Stutz Museum, the International Monster Truck Museum and HOF… hell, they even have a dedicated RV museum (way cooler than you think). Pick your flavor and enjoy. 

Getty Images/ Jake Galstad

The Garage Food Hall

What’s not to love about a food hall? It’s all the fun and variety of the mall food court, but with alcohol and arepas. This food hall, in particular, was nominated to be named the best food hall in the country. When you check out the Garage’s lineup, you’ll understand why. 

Once you have had your fill of fried track-side snacks, the Garage will supply you with all the variety and culinary excitement you could want. I’m talking about lobster grilled cheese, Poke, Brazilian chimichuri fries, wild cocktails, BBQ, burgers, dumplings, Greek sandwiches, and it just goes on like this forever. 

Mecum Auto Auctions

It’s one thing to watch Mecum on the screen; it’s another thing entirely to be there. Now this one comes with a caveat: the 2026 Mecum auction at the Indianapolis fairgrounds is running from May 8-16. You may have noticed that it is not the same time as the Indy 500, and you’d be correct; however, if Indy fans plan to come for practice and qualifying, that overlaps with the Mecum festivities. 

Photo courtesy of Mecum Auctions

The auction will host cars that you will likely never have the chance to see again: La Ferrari, Enzo, 1965 GT350R, Miura, 250 GT California, F40, 959, EB110, and just so much more. If seeing multi-million-dollar cars in the steel is something you’re into, this ought to be a good week. 

More racing

The Little 500 at Anderson Speedway is equal parts endurance race, short-track brawl, and an Indiana racing favorite. The Little 500 is unlike anything else in American motorsports. The 500-lap sprint car race trades pit strategy and polished glamour for chaos, attrition, and local-racing energy. It’s loud, scrappy, and deeply beloved, with drivers climbing in and out of cars during pit stops like a motorsport version of a relay race. If the Indy 500 is a sit-down dinner, the Little 500 is the sticky bar you hit beforehand.

If you still want more, the Carb Night Classic is your huckleberry. Once home to the legendary Hoosier Hundred dirt race, Carb Night has evolved into one of the best racing events of Indy 500 weekend. Today, the show is headlined by the thunderous USAC Silver Crown cars, alongside future IndyCar hopefuls from the USF2000 Championship and USF Pro 2000 Championship. It’s a perfect reminder that Indianapolis doesn’t just celebrate racing history for one weekend a year.

Coffee Shops

Nothing is quite as comforting when you are traveling as a good coffee shop. That said, I recognize that no one wants to read about coffee shops. So here is a short list of some killer options while you’re in Indianapolis: 

• Amberson Coffee

• Parlor Public House

• Coat Check Coffee

• Calvin Fletcher’s Coffee Company

• Foundry Provisions

• Neidhammer Coffee

• Square Cat