Take in a play at the Wells-Metz Theater, or catch a show or exhibit at the Waldron Arts Center downtown. If your tastes run to the more expansive, the IU Auditorium plays several broadway shows a year, while the IU Opera highlights many standard works, and the Theater Series[4] puts on plays. For art, go to the IU Art Museum, designed by I.M. Pei.

For the kids, don't miss the Wonderlab[5], a science museum with two floors of hands-on activities.

By Air

• Indianapolis International Airport Indianapolis (IND) is the nearest commercial airport to Bloomington, located about 45 miles away. Scheduled bus service between the airport and Bloomington is provided by the Bloomington Shuttle Service, with departures starting at 6:40 a.m. and every two hours thereafter until 10:40 p.m. from the airport's Ground Transportation Center. Tickets are priced at $25, one way only.

• Monroe County Airport 972 S Kirby Rd, Bloomington, IN. 812-825-5406.

By Car

• S.R. 37 State Road 37 is the main highway through Bloomington. It goes through Southwestern Indiana and then reaches Indianapolis, where it becomes Harding St. Beware of speed traps on this road!

• S.R. 46 State Road 46 is a bit confusing, but essentially, it goes East into Brown County, past Brown County State Park, Nashville, IN, and Colombus, IN.

Bloomington Shuttle Service [2] offers shuttles to four destination points in town, charters, limousines, and service to and from Indianapolis Airport.

Bloomington Transit [3] is a full city-wide bus system with various routes to choose from.

Being a college town, Bloomington also has many bike paths to get around town.

Bloomington is not exactely the place to go to do some major shopping. Most locals do shopping trips to Indianapolis or even Chicago if they feel like spending money. But if you feel like buying yourself a little treat or two, you should start here:

• Kirkwood Avenue -- Kirkwood Avenue is the street leading from the Downtown Square to the Sample Gates, the main entrance into the beautiful Indiana University campus. It offers a couple of clothing shops, a souvenir shop as well as an Indiana University gift shop. It's usually packed with IU students, so take a stroll, find some grub, do some people watching, or some shopping.
• College Mall -- Located on the east side of town, College Mall is a typical small town shopping mall. It's nice to spend a few hours in it at one a rainy day but don't expect too much.
• The Westside -- Up and coming shopping/eating area with tons of shops and good eats.
• Fountain Square Mall -- The Fountain Square Mall is an upscale mall situated downtown just across from the courthouse. It has a game store and toy store as well as the traditional expensive clothing shops. Across the street to Caveat Emptor as well, a must-see for used book enthusiasts. You can barely get through the aisles for the stacks of books.

Visit 4th street between Kirkwood and 3rd for your choice of several good international restaurants; the exact list changes around depending on which ones have been bought and sold recently. Of note is the Snow Lion, a very good Tibetan restaurant owned by the Dalai Lama's brother!

All Bloomington restaurants and bars are non-smoking.

• Village Deli The perfect American breakfast. Over-priced, as with all breakfast foods, but do not leave without ordering Paxton's Potatoes (NOT Take 2). The home fries will win you over here.
• DeAngelo's Italian restaurant with a good wine list.
• Bombay House Excellent Indian cuisine, and quite affordable compared with typical high-class tablecloth Indian establishments.
• The International Market Gyros, spinakopita, & other Greek & Middle Eastern dishes. Very cheap & tasty. Experience the authentic deli experience with a dine-in order!
• La Charreada Family-owned & operated, the best Mexican in Bloomington by far. Try the Burritos Leon. Check out the ritzy bathrooms!
• Puccini's Arguably the best Italian in town. Awfully pricey, but serves quality food.
• La Torre Family-owned & operated, the bestest Mexican in Bloomington. Try the reasonably-priced Chimichanga accompanied with Dos Eqqis Beer.
• Laughing Planet Fresh, organic burritos with unusual daily specials. Chipotle is a block away, but don't let it distract you.
• The Runcible Spoon A wonderfully comfortable restaurant, converted from a house complete with living room furniture and bookshelves. Delicious entrées all around, with great coffee brews, very veggie/vegan friendly, cheap wine, good selection of beers, and a good (but pricey) breakfast. Definitely come for the ambience and pretty alternative girls.
• Lennie's Excellent pizzas; homemade crusts, desserts, bread, and beer. Love the focaccia appetizer.
• Little Zagreb Famous for steaks and all things meat. The ribs are unreal. Bring plenty of cash, though; entrees range from $10-40.
• Max's Place Small pizzeria/beerpub with some local drafts and unusual imported beers. Excellent pizza. Music is generally either live or being played on a turntable, and there is a poetry slam once a month.
• Mixed Greens [6] The Bloomington representative of a small chain of health food restaurants. Not much seating, but squeaky clean and with the usual assortments of smoothies and vegetarian entrees.
• Nick's English Hut The traditional place to eat in Bloomington. Food was a bit greasy last time I tried it, but have heard it has improved.
• Opie Taylor's Great burgers with an awkward atmosphere. There's always takeout.
• Roots Organic juice bar and vegetarian restaurant, with all the hippy ambiance that implies. The owners believe air-conditioning isn't environmentally friendly, so it gets warm in mid-summer.
• Scotty's Brewhouse Three large-screen TV's and a bar, suitable for late-night student partying, but family-friendly before 9PM. Kids eat free on Sundays.
• The Snow Lion Tibetian- owned by the Dalai Lama's nephew.
• Little Tibet Amazing Tibetian and Indian cuisine. Try the curries, the salad dressing (they do sell this), and the Pad Thai. The Indian Tea is amazingly good chai tea.
• The Trojan Horse Excellent Greek & American food with the best atmosphere, and usually the best servers, in Bloomington. Tavern upstairs. (corner of Kirkwood & Walnut)
• Cheeseburger in Paradise Easily the worst restaurant in Bloomington, especially with so many wonderful alternatives! Jimmy Buffet's chain of theme restaurants. Greasy food and bad beer; would be perfect for Buffet fans (whoever they are) if you didn't pay so much extra for the ambiance.
• Soma Cliquish hipster heaven, where anyone who's alternative, fashionably or otherwise, goes to be seen (everyone looks up at the door when it opens to see who's coming in). Don't forget to drop a few coins in the tip jar or be prepared for snide comments and dirty looks. Good coffee nonetheless.
• Moe's Expensive, bland chain of mediocre Mexamerican restaurants. Don't bother.
• TGI Fridays The eggplant parmesan sandwich is an interesting vegetarian option.
• The Chocolate Moose Very good ice cream at a great price. An old fashioned walk up ice cream stand that is a Bloomington tradition. Usually open from February through November. Located a few blocks south of the square on Walnut Street.
• Dagwood's Deli Amazing sub sandwiches, voted the best in Bloomington for over a decade running
• Malibu Grill
• Casablnca
• Anatolia's
• Texas Roadhouse
• Irish Lion Try the Guinness with shamrock art, and the fabulous Irish Coffee. Great ambience, great service, great people. Lots of dead things on the walls.
• Crazy Horse Home of the best international beer collection in town. Mostly loud drunken college students.
• Smokin Jack's Rib Shack
• Noodle's and Co.
• Esan Thai
• Shanti's
• Cafe D'jango Food is great, with cuisine from all over. Has live jazz weekly.
• Mikado's
• Bucceto's
• Yogi's Best place to go if you're in a group of four or more. Sometimes mixed drinks are watery and overpriced - stay away from love potion.
• Mother Bear's Pizza This place is ancient, a Bloomington tradition. BBQ Cheese pizza for one - Absolutely amazing
• Falafel's A middle eastern place in the same building as Jimmy John's and Uncle Fester's. Good food, small menu.
• Mandalay Burmese and South Asian. Try the Tilapia with tamarind. Located right next to Little Tibet

Bar and Pubs

• Bloomington Brewing Company 1795 E 10th St. 812-323-2112. Primarily available at Lennie's, a sophisticated gourmet pizza and beer restaurant. After you select your beer, you'll be asked whether you want it hand, nitro, or CO2 pumped. Choose hand pumped unless you really prefer your beer cold. [7]

• Bears Place (Bears) 1316 E 3rd St. 812-339-3460. Older crowd. Music student hangout. Loud obnoxious behavior not tolerated. Monday nights feature live comedy shows. Try the "hairy bear" (several different kinds of alcohol). [8]

• Bluebird 216 N Walnut St. 812-336-3984. 30 year-old bar across from Kilroy's Sports that features live bands, three bars, a dance floor, and good drink specials. Generally a more chilled out crowd. Cover is usually between $3 - $5. [9]

• Crazy Horse 214 W Kirkwood Ave. 812-336-8877. [10]

• Jake's 419 N Walnut Ave. 812-333-5253. A club near Kilroy's Sports (formerlly Axis) with a large dance floor and concerts. [11]

• Kilroy's on Kirkwood (Kilroys) 502 E Kirkwood Ave. 812-339-3006. Very typically a "college" bar. Lots of greeks, loud '80s music, and always packed. Great place to sit outside and have drinks during the spring/summer in the daytime. [12]

• Kilroy's Sports Bar (Sports) 319 N Walnut St. 812-333-6006. Features an upstairs and downstairs, with the upstairs usually being pretty packed. The upstairs is more 'club'-ish, it features more hip-hop music and dancing, with blacklights. There is also a patio area upstairs. The downstairs is more laid back and is similar to Kilroy's on Kirkwood. It's big and they have free popcorn. Cover is $5. [13]

• Nick's English Hut (Nicks) 423 E Kirkwood Ave. 812-332-4040. Nick's is the oldest bar in Bloomington and boasts tradition. Much of the bar is wooden and it displays mementos from IU throughout the years, including sports memorabilia, photos, greek paddles, etc. The crowd is typically at least somewhat older, as Nick's is notorious for not letting in students with fake IDs (unlike many other bars in the area). [14]

• Uncle Fester's [House of Blooze] 430 E Kirkwood Ave. 812-323-1023. A blues club with two levels that is connected to Upstairs and Jungle Room. Cover is generally $5. [15]

• Upland Brewery 350 W 11th St. 812-336-2337. Upland Wheats are available at most restaurants in town. Try the great pasta dishes made with beer. [16]

• Upstairs Pub 430 E Kirkwood Ave # 18. 812-333-3003. Literally an upstairs bar. It features darts and pool tables. Can get pretty crowded. Be sure to try its signature drink, the AMF (adios mother fucker), made from five types of alcohol but tastes like Kool-Aid.

• Video Saloon (The Vid) 105 W 7th St. 812-333-0064. Casual and low-key, the Vid is the indie-bar in Bloomington. There's a great pool-hall where many college students enjoy an evening away from the university with a beer nearby. Closes at 4AM.

Wineries

• Butler Winery 6200 E Robinson Rd., Bloomington, IN. 812-332-6660 Hours Mon to Sat: 10-6, Sun: 12-6. [17]

• Oliver Winery 8024 N SR 37 Bloomington, IN. 812-876-5800. [18]