Indianapolis

The third-largest city in the Midwest, Indianapolis instantly strikes a chord with car-racing enthusiasts around the country, owing to the collective roar of the Indy 500, a race festival that takes the Indianapolis Motor Speedway by storm each summer. Founded in the early 19th Century, on lands previously populated by the Miami and Lenape tribes, the city was designed as a one square mile expanse intended to house the state's government offices. This planned city, also known as the 'Crossroads of America' for its incredible connectivity to state and national highways, is home to historic landmarks like the Indiana State Capitol, the Soldiers' & Sailors' Monument and the Indiana War Memorial. The world's biggest Scottish Rite Cathedral, exuberant in Gothic Revival architecture is located here as well. Its cultural districts are peppered with a host of bars, cafes and restaurants that feed the city's burgeoning culinary scene.