A City in the Making
Indianapolis, Ind.
Our latest overnight is an ode to craft, creation and re-creation. It’s our first foray into the midwest (more to come, Midwesterners!), and there’s nowhere that showcases the art of making more tangibly than the self-reinvention on display in Indianapolis.
Stay the night in a somehow-luxe former bottle factory, take in the best of the on-fire cultural scene, and grab a seat at the chef’s counter for a close-up culinary experience.
As always, your hotel, meal and experience are bookable in a click.
Sat. Dec 13 - Sun. Dec 14, 2025
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Why here?
Cities become known for things.
Hear the words Nashville or New Orleans and you’ll call up instant broad-brush images of these places.
Unless you’re a local, it’s almost impossible for that first flash to be anything other than a neon-hazed honkytonk scene; or French Quarter balconies, or the other low-hanging conceptions of there.
The New Yorks and LAs somewhat beat this rap with their sheer breadth of offering. Some cities don’t seem to have much reputation clinging to them at all, so they’re freer to define themselves.
But if you’re Indianapolis, that reflex image is a motor speedway. With maybe the Colts and some nebulous industrialness mixed in.
Which is not an unattractive picture if you’re a race fan; but if the fame of a town is linked to a thing you are not particularly in touch with (ahem), it’s tough to find that want to go feeling that inspires travel. You’ve kind of got to be talked into it.
Well let us try.
There’s an unexpected Indianapolis that you should absolutely explore. And this weekend we'll celebrate the fame-worthy culture of creativity that’s now as much at the heart of this city as the checkered flag.
For the longest time, this side of Indy has been doing its thing in the shadow of the speedway.
But the word is getting out at last, and we’d like to help it along.
This weekend in Indianpolis, discover…
The stay.
Bottleworks Hotel
We have a weakness for beautiful hotel properties with rich past lives.
Bottleworks is exactly that: a former 1930s bottling factory that’s now a flat-out-gorgeous boutique hotel in downtown Indianapolis. In fact it gives its name to an entire zone of downtown — the Bottleworks District — that’s now known for it’s stand-out food and lively arts scene.
Especially interesting is the fact that many of the exquisite interior details of the hotel are not modern restoration efforts; they’re original. Hats off to the Yuncker brothers, the Bottleworks’ original builders, for insisting on an infusion of high style and character in a bottling plant of all places.
Rooms here carry a twinge of industrial inspiration, but not overly minimalist. Exposed white brick, interesting fixtures a view of downtown through your factory windows.
You’ve got reservations for two on Saturday night.
Newfields
Go here. It’s a sprawling 152-acre campus that not only houses the encyclopedic Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA), but also a roster of other incredible artistic and natural spaces including Lily House and the Fairbanks Art & Nature Park. Quite something.
One centerpiece is the Lume, a large-scale immersive surround-screen of sorts that transports visitors wholly into artistic worlds. The current exhibition in this space is very great.
We’re including tickets for two to see it all.
The day.
The find.
Artifacts
Operating as a showcase-slash-marketplace for local artisans and craftspeople for a half-century now, Artifacts is a tastefully curated shop and gallery in the indie-Indy Broad Ripple neighborhood.
There’s jewelry, mixed-media art, glassware and lots else, but the uniting thing is that it’s all handcrafted. Another part we love is their accessibility to artists: you (yes, you) can submit your own works for consideration to be included in the collection.
The food.
Beholder
”Beholder is a culinary wonderland where nothing is off-limits, and everything is on the table,” the restaurant proclaims.
Chef Jonathan Brooks and master sommelier Josh Mazanowski are jointly at the helm of this Indianapolis mainstay. There’s a rich and varied tasting menu, and a wonderful set of mains that includes, we note with admiration, a French Onion Patty Melt.
Beholder was twice-named as one of the top 100 wine restaurants in the country by Wine Spectator, and food and drink work in creative tandem here.
”Our tasting menu offers a unique food and wine journey unlike any other in the region,” they say. And you’ll experience the journey up close: you have reservations at the chef’s counter at 7:15 on Saturday evening.
Indianapolis Art Center’s Winter Art Sale
You’re timing this perfectly. You’ll be rolling into town just in time to to catch one of the rare appearances of the Winter Art Sale at Indy Art Center (it’s only a two-day affair).
Stop in for a thorough plundering of works from local artisans and students: ceramics, textiles, folk crafts, holiday-inspired creations and so much more. Pure makerdom; a wonderful gamut of wares, full of from-the-heart wares, and all pretty affordable.
You’ll be helping support a terrific local arts institution while you’re at it.
The tucked away.
Garage Food Hall
”We’re a marketplace for locals, transplants, visitors and everyone in between searching for an authentic taste of Indy,” says the Hall, which is just about twelve steps from your hotel door. You’ve already had dinner by this point, but it’s a great place for a drink and a little roaming.
We suggest Hard Truths, a distillery with an experimental mixology philosophy.
“Our goal is to create an ‘organoleptic’ experience—something that pertains to all senses,” says the company’s CEO. “And we feel Bottleworks is the perfect place to do that.”
The evening mood.
One-night stay for two at Bottleworks Hotel. Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025.
Pre-paid dinner at Beholder. You have reservations for 7:15 pm at the chef’s counter on Saturday night.
Tickets for two to Newfields: tour the Indianapolis Museum of Art on Sunday, including the immersive bedazzlements of the Lume.
You’ll receive a detailed itinerary after booking confirmation.
Book it all in a click.
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