Louisville, US

The first Saturday in May, ladies don their whimsical hats and sip mint juleps as the rituals and revelries of the Kentucky Derby unfold at the fabled Churchill Downs. But, there’s more to Louisville than ‘The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports.’ In a picturesque location, on the southeast banks of the Ohio River, Louisville has shed its lassitude and come into its own as a vibrant city with a flourishing art, music, and culinary landscape. Apropos of Louisville’s cool nonchalance, the 21c Museum Hotel, one of the world’s hippest hotels, has made the city its home and proved a healthy stimulus for gentrification. The restored cast iron facades of ‘Whisky Row,’ and the antique stores and galleries of the East Market District (which goes by the moniker of NuLu), have proved a paradigm for urban revitalization projects the country over. The Bardstown Road-Baxter Avenue corridor ruffles its feathers with vibrant new galleries, funky cafés, lively bars, innovative restaurants, vintage clothing stores and knick knack emporiums. Louisville’s deepest passions find their expression through the city’s stellar museums: the Slugger Museum & Factory, the Derby Museum, and the Muhammad Ali Center which invokes the inspired story of the city’s legendary native son. For all its inspired overtures to cosmopolitanism, Louisville retains a carefree, classic Old South vibe that formidably honors its blue grass roots. The city’s greatest pleasures can be distilled into an hour or two of idle chat, ensconced in a snug tavern, a smooth bourbon in hand, a plate of grits on a wooden table, and a mellifluous soundtrack courtesy of Carl Jackson.

*This is just a sample. Zephyr provides access to aircraft at every end of the spectrum, from luxurious VIP airliners, to ultra long range business jet, helicopters, and economical turboprops.