Though spacious and unhurried, downtown Indianapolis lacked a nerve center until the opening of the relatively tasteful Circle Centre shopping and entertainment complex in 1995. That year also saw the completion of the spectacular Indianapolis Artsgarden , an eight-story glass rotunda illuminated with fairy lights and suspended over the busy Washington and Illinois intersection. A performance and exhibition space, it also acts as a walkway to Circle Centre and several downtown hotels. One block north, streets radiate from Monument Circle , the starting point for a lengthy series of memorials and plazas dedicated to veterans. After climbing 32 flights of steep stairs to the top of the renovated 284ft Soldiers and Sailors Monument (there are often queues for the tiny elevator) you are rewarded with an unspectacular view of the city (daily 10am-7pm; free).

Five blocks east, the serene tree-shaded Lockerbie Square Historic District , starting at New York and East streets, is a small enclave of picturesque charm. Small wood-frame cottages, once home to nineteenth-century artisans, line the cobblestone streets. Many of them are painted in bright pinks, blues and yellows, with ornately carved porches. The nearby Indiana State Museum , 202 N Alabama St (Mon-Sat 9am-4.45pm, Sun noon-4.45pm; free), gives a useful insight into the state's history through exhibits on everything from geology to sport.

The spectacular Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art (June-Aug Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm; rest of year closed Mon; tours at 2pm; $6) is housed in a stone, wood and adobe building on the western edge of downtown at 500 W Washington St. Harrison Eiteljorg, an industrialist who went West in the 1940s to speculate in minerals, fell so deeply in love with the art of the region that he brought as much of it back with him as possible. The work on display ranges from Georgia O'Keeffe to Frederic Remington and Andy Warhol. Tribal artifacts from all over North America are displayed on the upper level, while a 38ft Haida totem pole stands in the grounds. There are also frequent displays of beading and basket weaving, superb touring exhibits and a gorgeous gift shop. The Eiteljorg stands amid the rolling greenery of White River State Park , which is also home to the sizable Indianapolis Zoo and the lush new White River Gardens (Mon-Fri 9am-4pm, Sat & Sun 9am-5pm; $13; ). In the park's southeast corner stands the superb new Victory Field , home of the Indianapolis Indians (tel 317/269-3545), the farm team for the Cincinnati Reds.

Downtown

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