Although the bodies of former president Benjamin Harrison and Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley lie in the enormous Crown Hill Cemetery , at 38th Street and Michigan Road, the most visited grave belongs to 1930s bank robber John Dillinger , supposedly buried at Section 44 Lot 94 (though some researchers allege another man was killed in his place). Designated Public Enemy Number One, he completed thirteen bank raids - killing four policemen, three FBI agents, one sheriff and an undetermined number of innocent bystanders - in a single-year career. Something of a folk hero, he escaped from jail twice, but was eventually ambushed by the FBI outside a Chicago theater in 1934.

Opposite the cemetery at 1200 W 38th St, more than 150 lush wooded acres accommodate the capacious Indianapolis Museum of Art (Tues, Wed, Fri & Sat 10am-5pm, Thurs 10am-8.30pm, Sun noon-5pm; free; ). The main building, surrounded by a lake, botanical garden, sculpture courtyard and concert terrace, is fronted by the original of Robert Indiana's Pop Art sculpture LOVE . Inside, the exceptional displays include neo-Impressionist works, the Eiteljorg Collection of African Art, the largest collection of Turner paintings outside Britain and an array of paintings and prints from Gauguin's Pont Aven school.

The city's most offbeat museum, the Indiana Medical History Museum , 3045 W Vermont St (Wed-Sat 10am-4pm, or by appointment; $5; tel 317/635-7329, ), is housed in the old Pathology Building of what was once a huge psychiatric hospital. Pointing out the cabinets of preserved brains and similarly gruesome exhibits, the guides give a fascinating account of medical practice in the late nineteenth century.

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis , 3000 N Meridian St (summer daily 10am-5pm; rest of year closed Mon; $8, children $3.50; tel 317/921-4000, ), is arguably the best of its kind in the country. There's a carousel, an excellent exhibit on African American storytelling, a big-screen IWERKS theater, interactive gadgets, and a planetarium that mounts laser shows to a Lollapalooza soundtrack.

Out from downtown

• Out from downtown

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