The Highlands is Louisville's most characterful neighbourhood, stretching along Bardstown Road south of downtown. This mile-and-a-half of Victorian houses, independent shops, galleries, music venues, and restaurants is the cultural heart of the city — the kind of neighbourhood that other mid-sized American cities wish they had.
Bardstown Road between Baxter Avenue and Eastern Parkway has the densest concentration of independent businesses: record stores, vintage clothing, bars open until 4am (Louisville's late-hours licensing laws are generous), coffee shops, and restaurants covering everything from Ethiopian to Himalayan to classic Louisville hot browns. The Baxter Avenue strip at the northern end is particularly notable for nightlife. On weekends the sidewalks fill from mid-afternoon onwards.