Things to Do in Louisville

While its performances of A Christmas Carol and A Christmas Story have few reviews, five Yelpers give Actors Theatre a 4.5-star average, and four TripAdvisors give an average of four owl eyes. The theatre has more than 6,000 Facebook fans:

Audiences enjoy the cultural euphony amidst the Spanish baroque themes of the Louisville Palace. In the lobby, a vaulted ceiling sculpted with historical faces looms above columns swirling with flashes of cobalt and crimson. Once inside, patrons can marvel at the deep-scarlet proscenium or pull out their collapsible telescopes to gaze at the simulated night sky above.

Sun rays and sweltering temperatures fill Bikram Yoga Louisville's colorful studio, bolstering minds and loosening muscles during daily Bikram yoga classes. Flexibility, balance, and focus grow as certified instructors guide groups through 26 challenging poses suitable for both beginners and seasoned yogis. The studio's heat makes muscles more pliable, deepening stretches and extracting submerged toxins. Deep breaths draw fresh oxygen into the lungs and expel pent-up stress, filling students with relaxation that lasts long past 90-minute routines, lingering pleasantly as they climb into bed or tickle piranhas in their dreams.

A solitary moan drifts across a 15,000-square-foot warehouse. Lights flicker, and performers with horns, tattered clothes, and fake wounds surge through The Devil’s Attic. Guests scatter in terror across cinema-quality sets populated by professional actors in makeup that lends to an environment reminiscent of a childhood nightmare or the time you got lost in the clown-art section of a museum. The scarred, bloody ghouls and sinister monsters offer scares suitable for humans aged 12 and older.

Built in Amsterdam, The Thirsty Pedaler’s 16-passenger bicycle moseys around the city during two-hour historical tours and pub crawls. For the Main/Market tour, riders choose up to three bars—some of which include drink and appetizer specials—to stop at during a ride through Whiskey Row and the Museum District, as well as the scenic Kennedy bridge and the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts. The Old Louisville tour focuses on sightseeing, as pedalers power past the University of Louisville, St. James Court, Central Park, and Victorian homes inhabited by creepy 1960s television families.

Each tour includes a pilot, who mans the bike as passengers run in to watering holes or hop off their seats to snap photos of landmarks. Twelve bicycle seats line the sides of the vehicle (10 of which actually pedal), and a bench across the back seats three additional riders. One final person can stand in the middle, dishing out nonalcoholic drinks and BYOB snacks that groups can tote in small coolers. Though the top speed is only about 7 miles per hour, riders should still anticipate the possibility of minor injuries such as falling and scraping knees or bruising their egos when smug turtles overtake them in the passing lane.

Having passed on their rug-cutting inclinations to local celebrities such as basketball coach Denny Crum, the sure-footed staff at Shall We Dance? continues to unleash an arsenal of graceful moves inside their two studios. Students of all skill levels step in time with the school's curriculum of Latin, nightclub, and American dance styles during private or group lessons, using their feet like metal detectors to scan the floor for long-lost grooves. Stately triple beats whirl waltzers across the floor, steamy struts abound in tango lessons, and fox-trot instructors bring students to their knees in classical hunting poses and many more dance styles. Neophytes can then show off their new steps during practice parties with whimsical themes.