Sights—Soldiers and Sailors Monument, especially the views from the observation deck at the top; the myriad attractions in White River State Park; the downtown canal; the series of war memorials in public parks stretching from the 1905 Federal Building on the south to the library on the north.

Museums—The Indianapolis Museum of Art; the Indiana State Museum for its distinctive, artsy limestone exhibit, IMAX theater and reconstructed department-store tearoom; the Eiteljorg Museum for its western and Native American art; the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum; the Indiana History Center, especially for its music rooms; Indianapolis Art Center, for its Michael Graves-designed building.

Memorable Meals—St. Elmo Steak House for steaks and fine dining alongside Indy's who's who; Sakura for sushi; 14 West for downtown dining; Rathskeller and Scholar's Inn for ambience; Iaria's for homemade pasta; Yats for the best low-cost meal in town.

Late Night—Barhopping in Broad Ripple Village; blues at the Slippery Noodle Inn; punk rock at the Melody Inn; sports celebrity-spotting at Seven.

Walks—The intersecting greenways of the Indianapolis Canal Walk and the Monon Trail; Butler University's Holcomb Gardens and the nearby grounds and gardens of the Indianapolis Museum of Art; the footpaths of Eagle Creek Park.

Especially for Kids—The world-class Children's Museum of Indianapolis with its Dinosphere and exhibits that inspire young and old alike; living history at Conner Prairie; the Indianapolis Zoo.

Andrew Ralston, who worked with Pierre L'Enfant on the street layout for Washington, D.C., imposed diagonal streets on the typical midwestern city layout when designing the plan for Indianapolis. He plotted a square with mile-/kilometer-long sides named North Street, South Street, East Street and West Street.

At the center of the original plat is a circle, intended to enclose the governor's mansion on a slight rise in the flat topography of the city but now the location of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. Meridian Street, which bisects Monument Circle, is the city's major north-south road. It also divides east and west addresses. The city's major east-west street is Washington Street (a block south of the Circle), and it serves as the dividing line between north and south addresses. Washington Street also marks the original location of the National Road when it came through town in the late 1820s.

The White River meanders through the city from the northeast to the southwest, eventually joining the Wabash River at the border with Illinois. The major suburbs on the north are Zionsville, Carmel, Noblesville and Fishers. To the south are Greenwood and Franklin, with Greenfield on the east and Plainfield, Avon, Danville and Brownsburg on the west. The Indianapolis International Airport is located between Plainfield and Indianapolis.

Modern-day Indiana is dotted with former towns and ceremonial sites constructed by ancient tribes, but at the time of colonial expansion, the native peoples there were nomadic hunters. Rivers were a principal mode of transportation for both the natives and early settlers. During the early days of the white migration into the area, most newcomers arrived via the Ohio River on flatboats. They settled in towns not far from its banks.

The first state capital was Corydon, but by 1820, legislators decided that a modern state should have a capital closer to its geographic center. A group rode north on horseback, eventually choosing a site at the confluence of the White River and Fall Creek. Although neither waterway proved navigable for commercial traffic, the center of the state became an early transportation hub, with the National Road (now U.S. Highway 40) and, later, railroads, airports and interstate highways connecting Indianapolis with the rest of the U.S., earning the city the nickname "Crossroads of America."

The automobile industry shaped the city's early history, as it produced such famed brands as Stutz and Marmon. The industrial base has subsequently changed, but its legacy lives on in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Speedrome and the Indianapolis Raceway Park.

In 1969, Indianapolis became one of the first municipalities to experiment with consolidating city and county governments, an effort now entering its second phase. The city's public-private partnerships—business and civic leaders working with politicians to spur economic growth—have added energy to this midwestern city. From the push for amateur-sports development in the 1980s to the current effort to develop cultural tourism, the city remains a top innovator.

From 1910 to 1998, every Indiana high school basketball team played in one state tournament, regardless of enrollment size. Almost always, the larger schools won. The mostly fact-based movie Hoosiers depicts one school overcoming the impossible, and the man who made the memorable shot to give tiny Milan High its improbable state championship in 1954 owns a tavern in Broad Ripple. Appropriately enough, the bar's name is Plump's Last Shot. Pull up a chair and listen to Bobby Plump relive a moment that Indiana sports fans still celebrate. (Hint: Locals pronounce it MI-lun, not mah-Lawn.) A few miles/kilometers from the bar is Hinkle Fieldhouse, the famous gym where Plump and thousands of others celebrated championships.

You want 10 reasons to visit Indianapolis? David Letterman could tell you. He graduated from Broad Ripple High School in 1965. The late Kurt Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis and also frequently referred to the city in his work. Oscar Robertson grew up in Indianapolis and was the star of the first all-black basketball team to win a state championship (Crispus Attucks in 1955). Jane Pauley also was born there, and before the world knew him as "The Great One," Indy knew him as Wayne Gretzky, Indianapolis Racer.

The fastest drivers in the Indianapolis 500 can reach speeds up to 240 mph/386 kph along the straightaways. If a driver blinks at that speed, he misses 50 ft/15 m of track.

Indiana Avenue, on the northwest side of downtown, became a jazz incubator during the years between World War II and the mid-1960s, and many musicians, including guitarist Wes Montgomery, honed their skills there.

The Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls and their stories were created by Indianapolis newspaper cartoonist John Gruelle.

Elvis Presley played the last concert of his career in Indianapolis in 1977 in Market Square Arena, now demolished.

Some 70 gallons/265 liters fuel the largest water clock in North America. At 26.5 ft/8 m tall, it resides in the lobby of the Children's Museum of Indianapolis.

More than half the population of the U.S. lives within a day's drive of Indianapolis.