48 Hours in Indianapolis, Indiana

If you follow me on Instagram (follow me @_thepinkchickadee), you likely have seen photos from my AMAZING August trip to Indianapolis, Indiana & Chicago, Illinois with my influencer best friend Lindsay of @sunshineandstairclimbs on Instagram (GO FOLLOW HER!!!). Lindsay currently lives in Indianapolis and has also lived in Chicago, and I had such a GREAT TIME getting to see both cities from Lindsay’s perspective. I am SO SO SO grateful that my fellow influencer best friend and I have formed such a close bond and have NOW both visited each of our hometowns. Lindsay is such a BLESSING! In this post, I am going to be sharing specifically about my lovely 48 hours Indianapolis, Indiana where I ALSO got to add state 24/50 to my bucket list of visiting all 50 states (with a post on Chicago to come soon, too!!!).

For more United States travel inspiration, check out my Exploring 50 States expedition page.

Getting There:

First things first, I am going to share about how I got to Indianapolis. “It is SOOOO green here” – me to Lindsay when she graciously picked me up at the airport – LOL! I flew into Indianapolis International Airport (IND) via a direct flight on United Airlines (aka my airlines of choice and for points!) out of Washington, DC’s Dulles International Airport (IAD) (the airport I personally prefer as people are SOOO friendly there despite it being much farther from me and not the best for Metro travel from my house). Initially, I was going to fly on a connecting flight out of Washington, DC’s other airport Reagan National Airport (the airport I also love for its Metro-accessible and much closer to home proximity) and on a different airline, but decided to pay a few extra bucks for the convenience and less of a hassle of not having a connecting flight. Personally, I prefer to not have a connecting flight and value paying those extra dollars to worry less when traveling. My flight had the most kind flight attendants who happened to all be Indianapolis-based and gave me such a sweet taste of Indianapolis (which residents proudly call Indy!). I gate-checked my carryon and it got mixed up with the other bags going to baggage claim upon landing and the flight attendants and airport crew were SO kind and brought my bag to me just a few minutes later. Needless to say, the greener space of Indiana and the kind souls helping ensure me and my flight made it there safely and with all of our belongings provided me with THE BEST welcoming to my 48 hours in Indianapolis, Indiana and where Indiana proudly calls themselves as “the crossroads of America”!

What We Did:

Friday: I arrived to Indianapolis around 6pm (I think?) Indianapolis time (which is Eastern time despite being in the Midwest) and headed with Lindsay to her apartment to get settled in. Lindsay has a GORGEOUS and super adorable and veryyy Lindsay apartment near her workplace outside of downtown Indianapolis. Her apartment looks out over a STUNNING lake, which was SOOO nice to watch the sunset and much more peaceful than back at home in the Washington, DC area. We, then, went out to dinner at a restaurant near her house (more on dining in the next section!!!) before heading back to her apartment to catch up *even more* after doing so a bit over margaritas.

Saturday: In the morning, we hung out at Lindsay’s gorgeous apartment and enjoyed some Starbucks while taking in the lakeside view via her deck. It was SUCH A NICE way to restfully enjoy the morning! Early that afternoon, we went to Carmel City Center in the gorgeous and well-known in America suburb of Carmel, Indiana to have brunch at The Cake Bake Shop By Gwendolyn Rogers (more on that here in my review!), window shop at some of the many shops there, and check out the gorgeous and very historic (rather, Washington, DC-like) Hotel Carmichael. And then, that evening, we checked out Indianapolis’s Broad Ripple Cultural District which was such a fun area. We got wine flights and popcorn at a spot there, before admiring ALLL that Broad Ripple has to offer – the rainbow bridge, a canal full of geese, the Indianapolis Arts Center, and many stunning (and VERYYYY green) walking trails.

Hotel Carmichael

Broad Ripple Cultural District

Indianapolis Arts Center

Sunday: Our last full day in Indianapolis!! We started our day on the early side with a trip to the Indianapolis Zoo – an award-winning zoo known for its conservation and extensive research and care of the animals. We grabbed lattes at a cafe along the way, before hitting the Indianapolis Zoo’s Sunday morning special known as Flamingo Mingle and then hitting up the Dolphin Show (both are open and complimentary with admission to ALL visitors!). Lindsay’s amazing friend Elias met up with us after the Dolphin Show and we continued to admire the lions, elephants, birds, and kangaroos. We also took a safari train around the zoo and then checked out the conservatory and gardens (AND met an adorable turtle!!) ALSO at the zoo. I LOVED getting to know Elias a bit more and look forward to getting to know him better more so over time! After the zoo, Lindsay gave me a driving tour of downtown Indianapolis, before we headed home for LOOONG afternoon naps. That evening, we headed back to downtown Indianapolis to have dinner and cocktails before walking a bit alongside the charming Massachusetts Ave downtown. We ALSO found one of many ‘Indy” signs that are all throughout the city (!!!) and danced with this automated “dancing woman” that brightens many people’s days.

Indianapolis Zoo

Mass Ave in downtown Indianapolis

Where We Ate:

Verde, Flavors of Mexico – Lindsay and I kicked off Friday night here and it was A BLAST. Both of us LOVE a good bar seat, so we took the two seats at the end of the bar. We got margaritas and chips and guacamole and simply took the time to catch up. Needless to say, I LOVED our time just catching up and reuniting after ~6 months since Lindsay came to visit me in Washington, DC for the cherry blossoms. It felt like brunch but Mexican edition!

The Cake Bake Shop by Gwendolyn Rogers – a magical magical magical experience!!! The Cake Bake Shop is ALSO coming to Disney Springs at some point, too. To be honest, Lindsay and I truly felt *just as if* we were at Walt Disney World within the magic of it all.

Just Pop In! – Just Pop In! is an award-winning gourmet popcorn company that ALSO does popcorn and wine flight pairings in the evening (!!!) via their gorgeous shop with a bar. SO, Lindsay and I *of course* got the popcorn and wine flight pairing which was SO MUCH FUN to try. A fun fact is that Lindsay got me a bag of Just Pop In!’s popcorn as a housewarming gift for me back in March – they are AMAZING. And, the bar/popcorn shop is SO SO SO cute. We had the bar to ourselves which was such a great way to wind down.

Foundry Provisions – A locally-owned Indianapolis cafe, Foundry Provisions strives to bring the Indianapolis community together. Lindsay and I grabbed iced lattes here on our way to the Indianapolis Zoo. While we didn’t spend much time here, Foundry Provisions comes HIGHLY suggested by the locals and had such a cute environment.

The Oakmont – Known as Massachusetts Avenue’s “favorite bar”, The Oakmont is a highly Instagrammable spot serving up brunch, bar snacks, and a highly distinguished list of cocktails. Lindsay and I *yet again* sat at the bar here and had a great time. I LOVED trying their delicious brisket nachos with a gorgeous cocktail. Here at The Oakmont is where I learned that truffle fries are THE thing in the Midwest – LOL! Lindsay ordered truffle fries and they were amazing, too. As I’m writing this post, I am CRAVING those brisket nachos (!!!!). Til next time!

Wrap-Up:

I had an incredible 48 hours in Indianapolis, Indiana and would LOVE to come back to visit again someday, too (perhaps another 48 hours in Indianapolis, Indiana?!?!). A few weeks before I jetted off to the Midwest, my coworkers and I shared on a team call where we were going for the summer. When I said Indianapolis, many of them, to my surprise, were SO SO SO excited for me. My coworkers LOVE Indianapolis and now I can see why. Indianapolis (just like many Midwest cities/states) is a highly-underrated city. Many people call the Midwest states the “fly over” states, but they are WAY more than that. There is a rich history, culture, and several kind souls there to meet and learn from.

I cannot wait to come back to Indianapolis sometime in the near-term future. As someone who wants to visit all 50 states in her lifetime, Indiana is definitely on my fly back to list, as there’s a lot to do, see, and learn about. I highly recommend that everyone spends 48 hours in Indianapolis, Indiana, especially if visiting all 50 states is on their radar! Until next time, Indy (and Lindsay!!)!

XOXO – Katie <3