5 Indianapolis Museums A Former Local Loves That Visitors Shouldn't Miss

I'll admit, when I first moved to Indianapolis right after college, I was less than thrilled about the location. It wasn't Chicago or Atlanta or New York City, and both the ocean and the mountains were several hours away. What it did have, however, was a job, and I desperately needed one of those. So off I went, intending to put in a year or two before finding a better job in a better location. Instead, I stayed for eight years and keep coming back to visit friends and family, quietly appreciating everything I came to love about the city.

Turns out, Indianapolis is wildly underrated. It has many of the amenities and similar attractions you'd find in Chicago, Atlanta, or New York City, but with a more affordable cost of living and a Midwestern feel. It's both a sports fan's dream and a foodie's delight, with a diverse history and culture. History buffs like me will be pleasantly surprised to find many museums and historic sites to explore. My favorites are actually the smaller sites that get overshadowed by the zoo and the children's museum but offer a different look at Indianapolis and its history. Instead of another popularity contest, let's look at five museums I came to love while living in Indianapolis and still recommend to visitors today.

Only one U.S. president has been elected from Indiana, and that was Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president, who served from 1889 to 1893. He wasn't born here, but he moved to Indianapolis as an adult, living and working as a lawyer until moving into politics. He returned after his term and is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery. Today, his former home serves as a museum — Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site — where you can learn about his life, family, and career. It's chock-full of historic artifacts from the Harrisons. Guided tours are required to enter the house, and they keep groups small due to the size of the rooms.

If you've ever had a granny who collected trinkets on every flat surface and photos on every wall, that's about what you can expect here, but in a more organized, less cluttered fashion. Each guide has their own favorite stories to share, so the tour is never quite the same twice. It's always a unique look back at life in Indy in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The part that surprised me the most on my first tour was the recording of President Harrison's voice. Recorded sound was still relatively new technology in his time. It's very grainy but still remarkable that we can hear his actual voice from over 100 years ago.

The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site is about a 10-minute drive from Monument Circle, the center of downtown Indianapolis. The museum has a very small parking lot, but I've never found a free spot there. Free street parking is usually available along Delaware Street. You might have to circle the block a few times. Don't park in one of the resident parking lots unless you want to get towed.

Born and raised in Indianapolis, Kurt Vonnegut was a World War II veteran and prisoner of war who witnessed and survived the traumatic Allied bombing of Dresden. He returned home and had a prolific writing career, later drawing on his wartime experience in his most famous novel, "Slaughterhouse-Five." He was also a strong advocate for freedom of speech, and the museum and library today still fight against book censorship.

Indianapolis is proud to claim him as its own, and you'll find subtle and not-so-subtle nods to the famous author around town. Many visitors find the building-sized mural of Kurt Vonnegut on Mass Ave but miss the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library on Indiana Avenue near the canal, in a historic building along an avenue once known for its thriving Black businesses and jazz scene.

Take in the small museum at your own pace or show up for a guided tour at noon on open days (1 p.m. on Sundays) for a small upcharge. This museum is compact enough that you can pop in for a quick browse in between other activities, or take a few minutes and stop for a drink afterward at the bar. There's a free parking lot on-site, though spaces are limited.

The Eiteljorg Museum is one of the most centrally located museums in the city. It's across the White River from the Indianapolis Zoo, one of the best zoos in the Midwest, right next to the Indiana State Museum and its IMAX theater, within walking distance of the JW Marriott and the Convention Center, and a 15-minute walk from The Circle. With all that going on in the area, this museum can be overlooked, but that's to your advantage. I've never found it super crowded. It's a great option for getting out of the house on a cold winter day for a few hours while perusing the latest exhibits, and it's close enough to nearby restaurants that you can leave your car in the free underground garage most days and walk to lunch without losing all feeling in your nose or toes. Plus, there's a discount on admission if you can show a conference badge or downtown hotel room key.

The Eiteljorg focuses on Native American and Western art, and its Native American galleries underwent a massive renovation from 2019 to 2022 to acquire more art and incorporate more tribal members' stories. This is mostly an art museum, but you'll learn a little history while you're here through the descriptions of the art and exhibits. There's always so much feeling in the art, especially in the paintings, in my opinion, but the collections include masterpieces in several different media. The detailed beadwork, weaving, carving, pottery, and other handmade objects are all excellent. 

Every May, "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" takes over Indianapolis. The Indy 500 is basically a public holiday for the city, with various race-related events happening throughout May. Stand in the pagoda on Carb Day and feel the windows shake as the cars scream by, or run a lap around the Speedway and kiss the bricks during the Indy Mini Half Marathon. I've done both! May is a busy and more expensive time to visit, but you can still get a taste of Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) if you come any other time of year by visiting the IMS Museum.

It's one of the best family-friendly outings in Indianapolis, which is how I ended up visiting. It's not the same as visiting during a race, but the lack of crowds and noise is a big plus when you have shy toddlers in your group. Kids and adults alike love seeing all the historic cars and trophies, and they'll happily take photos with their favorite drivers' exhibits. For dedicated fans, sign up for a track tour and, depending on track availability, get the chance to kiss the bricks yourself or stand on the victory podium.

This fun museum is actually inside the track of the Speedway, about a 20-minute drive from downtown Indy, so I strongly recommend you don't visit during a race or event. You'll have to pay twice if you do, once to get into the event and again to access the museum. Save yourself the crowds and extra cost, and visit the museum when nothing else is going on at IMS so you can use the free museum parking inside the track.

Indianapolis is proud of its veterans, boasting the most acreage dedicated to remembering veterans in any American city and second only to Washington, D.C., in the number of memorials. You'll find memorials for different conflicts scattered about downtown and concentrated in the American Legion Mall, just a few blocks north of the Circle. The largest is the Indiana War Memorial, an elevated, columned neoclassical memorial surrounded by stairs. If it's a nice day, you'll probably see a few locals running up and down the steps, training just like Rocky Balboa did at those popular stairs in Philadelphia that have become a tourist trap.

At first glance, this stone block looks like a memorial and nothing more, but inside is a three-story museum with exhibits on everything from the Revolutionary War to modern conflicts. The showstopper is the Shrine Room, a beautifully decorated space with a large American flag hanging under a shining star in the center of the room. The museum is easy to miss if you don't realize it's there, but it packs a lot of history into a compact space. The exhibit plaques are geared more toward adults, but kids appreciate the exhibits featuring real cannons, mortars, uniforms, and even a Vietnam War attack helicopter.

While the museum covers a lot of ground, it doesn't linger on any one topic. I tend to read nearly every plaque when I visit history museums, and I still made it through here in a couple of hours, including time for photos. When you're done in the museum, don't forget to wander up and down the American Legion Mall and Veterans Memorial Plaza, formerly known as Obelisk Square, for more fountains, memorials, and green space in the heart of downtown.