This Kentucky Downtown Is Made For Strolling

In central Kentucky, about 40 miles south of Louisville, Bardstown has one of the state’s most walkable downtowns because it was built long before cars mattered. Court Square places the old courthouse, restaurants, bourbon bars, and local shops within a few minutes of one another, stitched together by short blocks and red brick sidewalks. Over 200 historic buildings remain in use across the downtown district, many dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. You don’t plan a route here. You cross the street, turn a corner, and arrive. For a town shaped by bourbon, religion, and trade, the roads still work the way they always have: close, direct, and meant for foot traffic.

A Walkable Downtown

Bardstown’s downtown is compact enough that walking becomes the obvious way to get around, despite needing a car to get out to some of the famous bourbon distilleries on the town's edge. Court Square sits at the center, with shops, restaurants, museums, and bourbon tasting rooms clustered within a few short blocks. It's home to the striking Old Courthouse, which now serves as the visitor's center.

Over 200 buildings in this area are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, giving the streets a continuity that comes from extended use rather than preservation alone. The Old Talbott Tavern, built in 1779, still serves meals a short walk from the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History and the historic St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral. Locally owned stores line Third Street, where residents browse, meet, and spend time without crossing busy roads. Larger distilleries across Nelson County connect to downtown through tasting rooms, festivals, and events that keep the downtown core active year-round.

There are multiple walking tours to enjoy in Bardstown, each offering unique ways to take in downtown. Among them is the Bardstown Ghost Trek, which takes people through some of the most historic and 'haunted' spots downtown.

A Brief History Of Bardstown

Bardstown grew up around its downtown, and it still shows. The town took shape in the late 1700s after brothers William and David Bard surveyed and plotted the streets, creating a compact center that has remained largely intact for more than two centuries. As settlers moved west, Bardstown became a religious hub, home to the Diocese of Bardstown in 1808 and St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral soon after, both rooted just steps from Court Square.

An incredible bourbon culture also established itself in Bardstown, where Elijah Craig introduced aging whiskey in oak barrels in 1789. By the early 19th century, bourbon had become both an industry and a social anchor. Inns like the Old Talbott Tavern served travelers passing through on foot or by horse, while homes, shops, and civic buildings filled the surrounding blocks. Today, hundreds of downtown structures remain preserved and in use, allowing Bardstown’s story to unfold within a few walkable streets that still function much as they did generations ago.

A Bourbon Tour Of Downtown Bardstown

Downtown keeps its most storied bars and newer cocktail rooms clustered close together. Court Square sits at the center of it all. The Old Talbott Tavern anchors the cocktail scene and downtown’s best historical sites, having stood since 1779 and is one of the oldest taverns in Kentucky. Inside, thick stone walls and original wood details frame a bar that has poured bourbon for generations, now offering hundreds of labels without losing its sense of place. Also around the circular ‘square’ is Circa 1856 Bardstown, a more modern spot to enjoy some bourbon.

From there, walking north along South Third Street brings a different side of Bardstown’s drinking culture into view. The Blind Pig Bourbon Market blends retail and tasting, while Oak and Grape leans toward wine and casual pours. Nearby, the 3rd Street Tap House adds beer and local flavor to the mix, keeping the street lively well into the evening. A few doors away, Liam Ash Cocktail Emporium pushes the boundaries of what a downtown bourbon town can be. Its cocktails arrive with smoke, bubbles, or flame, turning classic techniques into something playful without drifting into novelty. Back toward East Stephen Foster Avenue, Neat Bourbon Bar and Bottle Shop is another ‘must’ with its cozy, reclaimed wood interior and array of bourbons.

Restaurants And Shops

Downtown Bardstown goes beyond bourbon with an inviting mix of places to eat and spots to browse just a short walk apart. Along North Third Street and Flaget Avenue, you’ll find casual dining like Bardstown Burger for hearty, no‑fuss meals and Pat’s Place, known for comfort food and classic diner fare.

A few steps away on Flaget, Big Wally’s Ice Cream & More serves sweet treats that make a midday stroll even better. Small shops line the same streets, from gift and décor boutiques like Barbara's Etc. to locally owned specialty stores like Christy's Collections and Three Generations Beautique & Gifts.

Downtown Historical Attractions

Starting at the old courthouse on Court Square, it’s just a short walk west along West Stephen Foster Avenue to reach the Basilica of Saint Joseph Proto‑Cathedral, completed in the early 1820s and known as the first Catholic cathedral built west of the Allegheny Mountains. Nearby, behind the basilica, is Spalding Hall, a Federal‑style building that now houses both the Bardstown Historical Museum and the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History, where you’ll find extensive bourbon and local history collections.

Returning to the old courthouse and heading north up North Third Street, a right on East Broadway Street brings you past the Bourbon Ball Inn before reaching the Civil War Museum of the Western Theater and the Women’s Museum of the Civil War, part of a cluster of military and social history attractions known locally as Museum Row. A block north on North Second Street sits the Bardstown‑Nelson County African American Heritage Museum, which preserves and interprets African American history in the region.

Back on East Broadway and continuing east brings you to the historic Cobblestone Path and the Old Bardstown Village, where reconstructed log cabins and other structures offer glimpses into 18th‑ and 19th‑century frontier life.

If you choose to extend your walk north along Third Street for about 15 minutes, you’ll pass the My Old Kentucky Dinner Train before turning left on West Halstead Avenue to reach the Bourbon Manor Bed & Breakfast Inn, a Greek Revival‑style home dating to the 1820s.

Kentucky Downtowns Like Bardstown

Bardstown is not alone in Kentucky when it comes to downtowns that still reward walking. Elizabethtown’s South Main Street offers a similar experience, with shops, restaurants, and history circling the Public Square and packed into a compact stretch that locals call Etown. Independent stores like The Bug’s Ear sit near longtime gathering places such as the State Theater and the Brown-Pusey House, keeping daily life and local history very close together. Even small details, like the preserved Civil War cannonball embedded downtown, give the street a sense of lived-in continuity.

La Grange shares that same closeness, though with its own rhythm. Main Street stays busy with cafés, shops, and the Railroad Museum, while the AlleyLoop walk connects side streets and alleys into a single, easy circuit. Trains still pass through downtown, reinforcing how closely the town’s historic story and streets remain connected, much as Bardstown’s enduring core does.

Downtown Bardstown’s walkability matters because of what sits within those few blocks. Bourbon history, preserved churches, museums, and restaurants all share the same brick-lined streets. You can step from the Old Talbott Tavern to Court Square, wander past the Basilica and Spalding Hall, then end up at the Oscar Getz Museum or a downtown cocktail bar without even thinking about your car.