Favorite Cities outside of Kentucky

There are so many great, short day trips you can take to other states all around Kentucky!  I could probably name a hundred if I tried, but I want to keep this kind of short and bring up a few that I love.

Starting south....  Tennessee has a TON of great towns that are simply poppin', and many that are small, and off the beatin' path, but still very interesting.  Nashville has it all.  Downtown is always active and fun.  There is nightlife, great restaurants, fun places to stay, AND history.  PLUS, there are some great towns in their own right close by (Franklin, Hendersonville, Smyrna, and other places come to mind).

On the Eastern side of the state is the Great Smoky Mountains area and Gatlinburg.  We simply can't get enough of this area.  You can take 10 extended weekend trips there and do something entirely different each time.

Leaving out of the eastern part of Kentucky, I find myself taking short trips through West Virginia here and there.  The state is a great road trip state....  with lots of random roadside attractions.  I took a friend to the cool and strange town of Point Pleasant the other day.  We stopped at Hillbilly Hot Dogs on the way home.  Well, a week later, he found himself craving HHD again.  He made a nearly 5 hour round trip just to drive out there again!  I did not make that up!  I was lucky enough to make it to the Flatwoods area recently too!  LOTS of strange activity has gone down in this state, if you are into cryptids and UFOs.

In Indiana, we find ourselves going to Indianapolis at least a couple of times a year.  As far as major towns go, Indy is clean and easy to navigate.  It is by far one of my favorite large cities.  AND, I always have to mention Keystone when I bring up Indianapolis.  This is a great area to stay in when exploring the area.  Oh, and a halfway point for us when we go to the Circle City is Madison.  This is a great town to explore too.

My dad and I have taken several short trips into Illinois.  Like West Virginia, there are just some nice small towns to drive through, and lots of great, rural sites.

Like I said, I could go on and on.  I would love to hear from anyone else who has some favorite cities just outside of Kentucky.