Spend the Night in Bourbon County

Choose your favorite tour (or take two or three):

Behind the Scenes in Horse Country
Morning - take a guided tour of Claiborne Farm - Ky. 627 about a mile and ˝ from Paris (tours by reservation only - call 859-987-2330 to make a reservation).

Lunch - eat at Louie's - on the corner of 627 (10th St.) and Pleasant St., you will drive right by it on your way back from Claiborne. Many of the horse farm people eat here in a restaurant uniquely decorated with jockey silks from local farms. Afternoon - drive through the beautiful Bluegrass countryside, enjoying glimpses of horses in green fields bordered by stone walls or wood fences. Two of the farms were used to film some of the scenes in the movie Seabiscuit.

Dinner - enjoy dinner at any one of the great restaurants in the area including the Clay Family Steakhouse, Migdalia's, Perrico's, Paradise Café, 730 Main, Campbell's or any of the smaller restaurants or chain establishments located throughout town.

Spend the night - at the Paris Best Western (859) 987-0779; Country Charm Historic Farm Bed and Breakfast (866) 988-1006 or The Treehouse at Stoner Creek Bed and Breakfast (859) 987-6251.

Next day - drive back down the beautiful Paris Pike towards Lexington. Turn right on the Iron Works Pike and drive to the Kentucky Horse Park - spend the day, there's lots to see and do for all ages.

Parisian Arts, Antiques and More
Morning - spend the morning in downtown Paris checking out all the great shops in downtown Paris including Varden's, Paris Artworks, Frames on Main, Graham's Antiques, Loch Lea Antiques, Horne's of the Bluegrass, Artist Nancy Kleck, Ardery's Antiques and Sandwich Shop, Bear Necessities, New Leaf Florist and Gifts, Blandon M. Cherry Antiques, Lane's Antiques, the Paris Antique Mall, Bourbon Antiques, Horne's Ardery Drugs and Discoveries Antiques and Collectibles.

Lunch - have lunch at any one of the many restaurants on Main St. including Varden's Cafe, Specialty Foods & Emporium, Migdalia's,  the Chicken Ranch, Ardery Antiques and Sandwich Shop, La Esperanza or the Paradise Café.

Afternoon - How about some more enjoyable shopping or perhaps a round of golf at Houston Oaks Golf Course (859) 987-5600 or Shady Brook Golf (859) 987-1544.

Dinner - enjoy dinner at any one of the great restaurants in the area including the Clay Family Steakhouse, Perrico's, Paradise Café, Campbell's, Migdalia's or any of the smaller restaurants or chain establishments located throughout town. After dinner on summer weekends, you might take in a movie at the Bourbon Drive-in located on Hwy. 68 towards Millersburg.

Spend the night - at the Paris Best Western (859) 987-0779; Country Charm Historic Farm Bed and Breakfast (866) 988-1006 or The Treehouse at Stoner Creek Bed and Breakfast (859) 987-6251.

Next day - Take an enjoyable walk through the flower gardens and arboretum at the Nannine Clay Wallis House and Arborteum located at 600 Pleasant St., then walk down Pleasant a couple of blocks to the Hopewell Museum (800 Pleasant) and check out their current exhibits. The museum is open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 12 noon to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., February through December.

A Visit to a Bygone Era
Morning - Take a drive out in the country to visit the Colville covered bridge - one of only a handful of covered bridges left in the state that are open to regular traffic. The bridge is located north of Paris off KY 68, just before you get to Millersburg on KY 3118. On the way back, take KY 460 off KY 68 to the Cane Ridge Meeting House - built in 1791 of blue ash logs and now protected with a limestone superstructure. In 1801, one of the largest religious camp meetings on the frontier attracted thousands of people to Cane Ridge. Adjacent to the Meeting House is a small museum.

Lunch - Enjoy a picnic lunch at Cane Ridge at one of the picnic areas located on the lovely shaded grounds.

Afternoon - Spend the afternoon in Paris. Begin with the courthouse - built in 1905, it features lovely architectural details and murals inside the dome which show the four seasons of farming in Bourbon County at the turn of the 20th century. While at the courthouse, stop by the Visitor Center located on the main floor.  Next, check out Duncan Tavern, located at one end of the courthouse square. The stone tavern, built in 1788, is open for guided tours Wednesday through Saturday at posted hours. Call (859) 987-1788 for information. Also located at the back of the tavern complex is the John Fox Jr. Genealogical Library. It is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. usually from late March through mid-December. Then take a short walk down the hill from the courthouse to Hopewell Springs located off 2nd St. This is one of the first sites in Bourbon County where white frontiersmen camped while Kentucky was a part of Virginia. Finish off the afternoon checking out some of the Victorian buildings downtown.

Dinner - enjoy dinner at any one of the great restaurants in the area including Migdalia's, Clay Family Steakhouse, Perrico's, Paradise Café, Campbell's or any of the smaller restaurants or chain establishments located throughout town. After dinner in the summer, you might take in a movie at the drive-in located on Hwy. 68 towards Millersburg.

Spend the night - at the Paris Best Western (859) 987-0779; Country Charm Historic Farm Bed and Breakfast (866) 988-1006 or The Treehouse at Stoner Creek Bed and Breakfast (859) 987-6251.

Next day - Take an enjoyable walk through the flower gardens and arboretum at the Nannine Clay Wallis House and Arborteum located at 600 Pleasant St., then walk down Pleasant a couple of blocks to the Hopewell Museum (800 Pleasant) and check out their current exhibits. The museum is open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 12 noon to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., February through December.