A little over an hour away down I-65 (or highway 52 to get away from traffic) lies Indianapolis. Indy is certainly not the culture capital of the world, but it does have some things to do not offered in Lafayette, and is much closer than Chicago. Here are a few ideas from those who have ventured to the heart of Indiana. For more info on what to do in Indy check out http://www.circlecity.com/.

• RCA Dome - Home of the Colts, just west of downtown. http://www.colts.com/
• Market Square Arena - home of the Pacers. They have been a resurgent team of late, making it to the post-season for the last few years. Just east of downtown. Check out http://www.nba.com/pacers/
• Shopping Triangle - consists of Keystone at the Crossing which has the Fashion Mall which is one of Indy's nicer shopping places. Located at I-465 and Keystone Rd. Next is Castleton which is a large shopping area and shopping center just down the road at I-465 and Allisonville Rd. On 62nd Street near Keystone is the third leg - Glendale Mall.
• Children's Museum - a fun spot especially if you have some kids along. Even big kids like us can enjoy it. It's just off of Meridian Street (actually Illinois Street) at 30th Street. There is some really funky art. You'll love it. Call them at (317) 924-5437
• Broad Ripple - a section of Indy centered on Broad Ripple Avenue (alias for 62nd Street is this area) east of Meridian with a few art shops and lots of restaurants and night life spots.
• Castleton Square - You can hardly go wrong for food and shopping along 86th Street from the Westside to the far-east area called Castleton. Castleton Square Mall area is Indiana's most congested shopping area. No wonder. It boasts several shops exclusive to the city, such as Designer Shoe Warehouse, 8510 Center Run Dr., with enough shoes to please Imelda Marcos, all at discount prices. The mall houses 125 speciality stores and six department stores, Lazarus, Sears, JCPenney, Kohl's, L.S. Ayres and Montgomery Ward.
• Circle Center - Indy's newest shopping area, this lavish Downtown mall opened Sept. 7, 1995. It houses more than 100 specialty stores (including such favorites as FAO Schwarz and Godiva Chocolatier) and features anchor stores Nordstrom and Parisian. A third-floor food court encompasses nearly a dozen restaurants, and a nine-screen movie theater dominates the top floor. Corner of Washington and Illinois streets (317) 236-1940
• Indianapolis Zoo - The Indianapolis Zoo is located at 1200 West Washington Street. Admission is $11.50 for adults and $7.00 for children. For additional information, phone (317) 630-2001 or visit http://www.indyzoo.com/. Kids love this place. It includes a new butterfly house, has elephant rides, and features a dolphin show. There are also gardens that you can visit, the admission price is only one dollar extra if you purchase a zoo admission.

The INDY 500, the event that made Indianapolis famous, is less than 70 miles from Purdue. The race is held every year on Sunday of Memorial Day weekend beginning at 11:00 am. Tickets for next year's race go on sale the day following this year's race. You can't see the race too well from the infield but you can party. Race? What race? The partying begins several days before race day and continues until the approximately 300,000 fans and workers finally leave. On race day, scenes of happy people lounging in their recently-constructed beercan lawn furniture in front of their campers with recently-constructed beercan fences outlining their campsites give an indication to newcomers just what they may have missed. Everybody's got a homepage so for additional info, check out http://www.brickyard.com

Besides the race, various “500” Festival events take place throughout the month of May. Many fans say that the time trials, which take place the weekend prior, are better than the race itself.

The two-and-a-half mile oval track sits on 559 acres of ground located seven miles northwest of the center of the Hoosier capital. Besides the annual “500”, the Brickyard 400 is also held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Speedway Hall of Fame Museum (located inside the track between the No. 1 and No. 2 turns) is open 9am to 5pm year-round. Admission for adults is $2.00. Bus rides around the track are available for 50 cents, whenever the course is not being used for competition or test purposes. The 18-hole golf course outside the track and the 9-hole infield course are open April to October.