The Top 5 Reasons to Visit Fort Wayne, Indiana Now
BY TRIPVEEL EDITORIAL STAFF | January 2020
Welcome to Fort Wayne, an All-American City and the cultural hub of Northeast Indiana. At the confluence of three rivers, Fort Wayne continues to flourish with its cultural offerings, historic architecture and culinary scene.
Image courtesy of Visit Fort Wayne
1. THE HIKING
Hiking in the city? Yes, if it's Fort Wayne! The Rivergreenway Trail is a 24-mile long park with trails along the banks of the St. Marys, St. Joseph and Maumee Rivers that features city views, miles of tall grass and beautiful wildflowers.
Image courtesy of Visit Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne and Allen County offers over one hundred miles of biking, hiking and kayaking trails for the entire family.
2. THE ART
Fort Wayne is exploding with new public art every day and is quickly becoming a haven for creative expression. First, you’ll want to explore the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, located in the heart of the Arts District. The museum features American art from the 19th-century, as well as modern pieces.
Image courtesy of Visit Fort Wayne
Art is everywhere in Fort Wayne. The city is being filled with beautiful murals that span whole alley walls and new innovative sculptures that are truly making this city a premiere art destination.
Click here to download a map of Fort Wayne’s sculptures and murals.
3. THE COCKTAILS
Tucked away in a century old house, Bird + Cleaver serves up consistently creative cuisine done right, with a touch of cutting edge. Offering a highly anticipated menu of carefully crafted cocktails, we recommend trying “Self Love” for your artisanal cocktail fix—concocted with gin, Earl Grey syrup and egg white, as well as the “High Noon” with Mezcal, orange curaçao, fresh squeezed lime, orange blossom and hibiscus bitters.
Favorites dishes at Bird + Cleaver include “Fried Chikn” with house-made seitan, fried grit cake, pimento cheez, tomatillo chow-chow, spicy sorghum and house hot sauce. This delectable vegan dish is served only during brunch. The “Wood Farms Short Rib” is prepared with consommé, pickled greens, roasted root vegetables, purple daikon, watermelon radish, pea shoots and fennel frond.
For those craving something sweet, end your experience with their rotating selection of seasonal pastries and desserts. Hungry yet?
4. THE GARDENS
Lakeside Park and Rose Garden features a unique sunken garden that features over 2,000 rose plants with at least 150 varieties. The original sunken garden design was created in 1920. The historic park was named a National Rose Garden in 1928, an honor it still holds today.
Image courtesy of Visit Fort Wayne
Surround yourself with nature at the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory. Experience the Showcase Garden with its lush seasonal displays, wander through the Tropical Garden where orchids and palms thrive in the shadows of a cascading waterfall or retreat to the quiet beauty of the Desert Garden.
Image courtesy of Visit Fort Wayne
The three indoor gardens cover over 25,000 square feet and showcase 1,200 plants (over 500 species) and 72 different types of cacti. Stroll through four outdoor gardens which feature a variety of ornamental grasses, rhododendrons, trees, shrubs and perennials.
5. THE ARCHITECTURE
In Fort Wayne, you can find private homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Michael Graves, Eero Saarinen and Louis Kahn. The Bass Mansion (now known as Brookside), on the campus of the University of Saint Francis, is a hand-carved 24,000 square-foot sandstone mansion built in 1902 that belonged to John Henry Bass, a wealthy industrialist.
Bass Mansion in Fort Wayne, Indiana
