The Best Staycation in Every State

Indianapolis, Indiana

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ADDRESS
Indianapolis, IN, USA

 

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Downtown Indianapolis is seeing a revival, starting with the $300 million renovation of the city’s historic Coca-Cola bottling plant into a 12-acre food and drink, art, and entertainment district.

 

Drop your bags off at the newly opened Bottleworks Hotel—a 139-room, Art Deco-style boutique housed in the top two floors of the plant’s former administration building—before exploring the best the city has to offer. Indy’s gastronomic scene has garnered national attention in recent years, with Milktooth frequently cited as having one of the best brunches in the U.S., and chef Abbi Merriss (of Bluebird acclaim) and local restaurateur Martha Hoover (with Cafe Patachou kicking off her rise to culinary fame), both six-time semifinalists in the 2020 James Beard Awards.

 

The Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library, which first opened its doors in Nov. 2019, is a must-visit for bookworms and features the author’s typewriter, drawings, and first editions of each of his novels. Art lovers should hit up Newfields, a 152-acre campus housing a public art park, gardens, and the Indianapolis Art Museum, the latter set to debut THE LUME—a 30,000-square-foot exhibit that transforms paintings into a 3D, multi-sensory experience—in June 2021.

 

Meanwhile, the 8-mile Indianapolis Cultural Trail takes cyclists and pedestrians through White River State Park and past the city’s historic buildings, memorials, and public art. If you have kids in tow, be sure to visit the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the largest in the world. —Elizabeth Preske

Iowa City, Iowa

Pixabay / Leonardo Marchini

ADDRESS
Iowa City, IA, USA

 

WEB :Visit website

Bookworms and writerly types gravitate to Iowa City—a UNESCO-designated City of Literature—thanks to its powerhouse reputation as a landmark that attests to the power of the pen. Buzzing with its own distinctive brand of intellectual energy, this college town is home to the prestigious University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, the famous Prairie Lights Bookstore and Café, and a self-guided Literary Walk that directs visitors through a series of open-air bronze book panels honoring writers with local connections.

 

Conveniently close to Cedar Rapids and within two hours of Des Moines, the “Athens of the Midwest” also maintains intriguing museums, chic shopping boutiques, live music venues, historical sites, miles of bike trails, and gorgeous natural topography like the 375-million-year-old Devonian Fossil Gorge to discover. Get into the college spirit for a UI football game or wrestling match by fueling up on an old-school burger with fries and a milkshake or a crispy pork tenderloin. —Amy Lynch