Historic Walking Tour of Victorian Louisville: Food, Bourbon, History & Architecture

Your ticket includes 5 generous food tastings representing Louisville’s culinary heritage, a bourbon tasting at the city’s oldest bar, a craft cocktail, a beer tasting, a knowledgeable local guide for 3 hours, a lightweight audio headset so you can hear every story clearly, digital tour photos taken by your guide and sent to your phone, and a 20% gratuity for the staff at every stop. Guide gratuity is not included but is appreciated. Mocktails are available at every stop for non-drinkers.

You’ll be eating quite a bit, so please arrive hungry! You’ll enjoy 5 delicious dishes representing Louisville’s culinary heritage across the tour. By the end you’ll be full, so plan to skip dinner or eat something light afterward. Unlike our other tours which feature more stops with smaller bites, the Highlands tour features fewer stops with larger, more generous portions.

You’ll enjoy a bourbon tasting at Louisville’s oldest bar, a craft beer tasting, and a handcrafted Old Fashioned cocktail at the final stop. If you’d like to try even more of Louisville’s top-shelf bourbon, you can add our Premium Bourbon Upgrade at checkout for 4 additional hard-to-find bourbon pours served throughout the tour.

Absolutely! Even without drinking, you’ll have a fantastic time with delicious food, gorgeous Victorian scenery, and fascinating stories about Louisville’s history. Mocktails are available at every stop. Just let your guide know at the start so they can make sure you’re taken care of throughout.

We can accommodate many dietary restrictions with advance notice. We cannot safely serve guests with celiac disease. Please indicate your dietary needs when booking and remind your guide at the start of the tour so they can work with each partner on your behalf.

This tour runs March through November, and every season offers something beautiful. In our opinion:

• April, May, and June are the most stunning. Spring flowers and trees are in full bloom, showering the streets with pink crab-apple and serviceberry, Kentucky yellowood and wisteria, and white dogwood blossoms, amidst azaleas, peonies, and daffodils. In this neighborhood, you’ll see more gardens than lawns, and spring puts on QUITE the show!
• September through mid-November is a very close second choice. The fall foliage in this neighborhood is absolutely spectacular. Hundred-year-old trees drape over the wide, historic streets, and residents of the Victorian homes decorate their stoops with colorful mums and pumpkins. Cave Hill Cemetery and one of the most haunted homes in Louisville bring a bit of spooky Halloween flavor to the tour.
• July and August turns the neighborhood a vibrant green, scented with blooming roses, sweet lilac, and oak-leaf hydrangea. The towering trees add welcomed shade to our route.

If you want even more beautiful outdoor scenery, we highly recommend bookending your tour with a walk through the arboretum at Cave Hill Cemetery or a nature stroll through the gorgeous trails of Cherokee Park, and both are under 5 minutes from the tour’s start and end point.

The tour passes by Cave Hill Cemetery, stops at the grand entrance, and discusses the remarkable legacies of Muhammad Ali, Colonel Sanders, and other Louisville legends buried there. However, the tour does not go inside the cemetery to visit the gravesites. The cemetery is one of the largest in the country, and walking to each site would take as long as the entire walking portion of the tour!

We highly encourage guests to plan a walk or drive through the cemetery before or after the tour. You can use this map to locate the graves of Muhammad Ali, Colonel Sanders, and many other important figures from Kentucky’s history. The cemetery also offers its own tours (by golf cart or wagon) which dive into the fascinating history of the deceased residents of this gorgeous place.

Prohibition Craft Spirits is a distillery located just down the street from the tour, about a 15-minute walk down Baxter Avenue. And NuLu and Downtown are just a 5-10 minute drive away. We recommend booking The Bourbon Trolley, our unique trolley tour, which visits distilleries and tasting rooms in Downtown and the adjacent areas!

All 3 of our daytime food tours explore Louisville’s history through its food, but they offer distinctly different experiences:

• Scenery: This tour features lush, tree-lined Victorian streets and grand historic mansions. The NuLu and Downtown tours have a more urban vibe – fewer trees, no historics homes, larger buildings.
• Focus: The Highlands tour places greater emphasis on architecture, immigrant history, and the neighborhood’s Victorian heritage. The NuLu and Downtown tours cover Louisville’s broader food and cultural history.
• Food: The Highlands tour has fewer stops with larger, more generous portions. The NuLu and Downtown have more stops with smaller bites.
• Bourbon & Drinks: This is our only daytime tour which includes beer, a bourbon tasting, and cocktails. The NuLu tour features just 1 craft beer, and then Downtown tour does not have drinks unless the add-on package is purchased.
• Age: The NuLu tour is all-ages and family-friendly. The Highlands tour is 21+ only for public tours (children are welcome on private tours).
• Dogs: The Highlands tour can be booked as a private dog-friendly experience, and is our only tour which offers a dog-friendly experience!

Many guests enjoy multiple tours on the same visit, to experience very different sides of Louisville.

Yes! The Highlands tour can be booked as a private, dog-friendly experience. You and your pup will enjoy outdoor patios at each stop, and your furry friend will even get to sample treats from a special doggy menu. The Highlands neighborhood is one of Louisville’s most dog-friendly areas, with a dog park, a dog bar, a little free dog library and a dog-friendly hotel all within walking distance. To book a private dog-friendly tour, visit our private tours page or get in touch.

The tour meets at 956 Baxter Ave, Louisville, KY 40204 in the heart of the Highlands neighborhood. Please arrive 5–10 minutes before your tour’s start time. Your guide will be there to greet you.

The Historic Charm tour runs Wednesdays through Saturdays at 1:30 PM and 2 PM, from March through November. The tour lasts approximately 3 hours. This tour frequently sells out weeks in advance, and we strongly recommend booking early, especially during spring and fall peak seasons. Check availability at our booking page.

The tour lasts approximately 3 hours and covers about 1.5 miles of flat sidewalks through the Original Highlands and Cherokee Triangle at a relaxed pace with frequent stops. Comfortable walking shoes are highly recommended. You’ll also want to wear weather-appropriate layers, especially in spring and fall when temperatures can vary throughout the afternoon.

The tour ends a few steps from where it begins. Your guide will make sure you know exactly how to get back to your car or your next destination.

There is a paid parking lot behind Epiphany Bar, where the tour ends. For free parking, we recommend the side streets nearby, such as Highlands Ave or Morton Ave. We do not recommend parking on busy Baxter Ave itself.

Yes, the public Highlands tour is 21+ only, as it includes bourbon, beer, and cocktails at every stop. If you’d like to bring guests under 21, the tour is available as a private experience with a family-friendly route option. Please get in touch to arrange a private tour for groups that include younger guests.

Yes, the Highlands tour follows flat sidewalks and is wheelchair accessible. All guests receive a lightweight audio headset so they can hear the guide clearly from any distance or in a noisy bar. Service animals are always welcome. If you have specific accessibility needs, please contact us before booking so we can ensure the best possible experience.

This tour typically sells out weeks in advance, especially during peak spring (April–May) and fall (September–November) seasons. We strongly recommend booking as early as possible. Check real-time availability at louisvillefoodtours.com/schedule.

Refundable tickets can be rescheduled or cancelled for a full refund up to 48 hours before the tour. Non-refundable tickets cannot be cancelled or rescheduled for any reason. To cancel or reschedule, call or text (502) 591-6155, email [email protected], or submit a contact form.

Yes! The Highlands tour makes a wonderful private experience, and the private version unlocks several special options not available on the public tour, including a family-friendly route for groups with guests under 21, a dog-friendly tour for guests bringing their pups, and full menu customization for dietary needs. Visit our private tours page to learn more, or contact us for a custom quote.

Guide gratuity is not included in the ticket price and is always deeply appreciated. Most guests tip between 5–20%. You can pre-tip during booking, or in person after your tour. (Note: your ticket already includes a 20% gratuity for every restaurant and bar we visit, so you do not need to tip anywhere we go.)