Louisville

Louisville is a city in northern Kentucky, on the south bank of the Ohio River at the Falls of the Ohio. The Kentucky Derby, the horse race run each May at Churchill Downs since 1875, is the main event of the year in the city.

George Rogers Clark set up a camp on an island at the falls in 1778, and the town that grew on the shore was named after King Louis XVI of France. Boats had to unload at the falls, and Louisville grew as a river port and trading town, later linked by a canal around the rapids. Tobacco, whiskey and pork were shipped from its wharves in the 19th century, and the railways made it a gateway between the North and the South. Muhammad Ali was born in Louisville and learned to box in a local gym.

Brown-Forman, based in Louisville, owns Jack Daniel's, Woodford Reserve and Old Forester whiskey. Yum! Brands, the owner of KFC and Taco Bell, has its head office in the city. UPS runs Worldport, its global air hub, at the Louisville airport, and GE Appliances builds refrigerators and washing machines at Appliance Park.

The Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory, marked by a giant baseball bat, makes wooden bats for professional players. The Muhammad Ali Center, on the riverfront, tells the story of his life in and out of the ring. Waterfront Park, along the Ohio River, has lawns and a pedestrian bridge to Indiana on an old railway bridge. The Speed Art Museum, beside the University of Louisville, holds European and American art.