Bardstown-Nelson Co. Tourist & Convention Commission

Bardstown is strong in spirit. A Southern spirit that welcomes you to the Most Beautiful Small Town in America; a religious spirit that’s appropriate for the home of the first diocese of the West; and a little spirit we call Bourbon. Our eclectic shops, locally-owned restaurants and cultural and historical heritage blend beautifully with that spirit. Come sample the spirits, sounds and flavors that are quintessentially Bardstown. Located in the heart of Kentucky Bourbon Country and situated at the trailhead of the famed Kentucky Bourbon Trail®, Bardstown is more familiarly known as the “Bourbon Capital of the World.” It is home to five distilleries, including Barton 1792 and Willett Distillery and these three Kentucky Bourbon Trail distilleries: Heaven Hill, Maker’s Mark and Jim Beam. Major attractions include the outdoor musical, “The Stephen Foster Story,” My Old Kentucky Home State Park, the highly regarded Civil War Museum of the Western Theatre, My Old Kentucky Dinner Train, The Kentucky Railway Museum and Whisky Magazine’s 2014 Visitor Attraction of the Year – the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History. Additionally, Bardstown has four 18-hole golf courses, three wineries, two haunted tours and numerous religious attractions which are part of the Kentucky Holy Land Tour. It was selected the “Most Beautiful Small Town in America” in the Rand McNally/USA Today 2012 “Best of the Road” contest and landed in the top 20 of “America’s Favorite Towns” chosen by r