Travel to Indianapolis, home of the Super Bowl

At its heart, Indianapolis is a sports town. You can't talk about auto racing without mentioning the Indianapolis 500. The NCAA has its national headquarters here; the NFL's Colts, the NBA's Pacers and the WNBA's Fever call it home. And in February, what is arguably the No. 1 sporting event in the world is coming to Indy.

Super Bowl 46, complete with celebrities, worldwide television coverage and millions of dollars, will descend on Indianapolis on Feb. 5. But you don't have to have a ticket to the big game to enjoy this city.

The thing you will first notice about Indy is that the downtown area is clean, easily accessible and full of fun things within walking distance. In fact, a skywalk connects much of downtown; you can go from hotel to mall to stadium without stepping outdoors.

The downtown area has the beautiful White River State Park, which includes the zoo, and connects green spaces with tall buildings. A 1.5-mile man-made canal that runs through the park is great for cyclists, runners, paddle boaters and people-watchers.

East of the canal you'll find Monument Circle and Memorial Plaza, which have majestic sculptures, fountains and the Indiana World War Memorial Plaza, built to honor the veterans of World War I and modeled after the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. Take a carriage ride ($50) around the sites at dusk for a memorable evening. And don't forget the Circle Centre mall, with seemingly miles of shopping right through the heart of downtown.

WHAT TO DO

The biggest draw for my family was the Children's Museum, consistently ranked as one of the best in the country by parenting and travel magazines. The fascinating Dinosphere features life-size dinosaur skeleton replicas, a dino dig area and even a working lab where paleontologists are happy to talk to kids. Other highlights included a National Geographic Treasures of the Earth archaeology exhibit, the Barbie Fashion Experience and a "trip" through Egypt.

FYI: $11.50-$16.50, childrensmuseum.org

• NCAA Hall of Champions: From the re-created 1930s-style gym to the interactive shoot-a-soccer-ball game, this facility in the NCAA national headquarters captivated my kids. My favorite: a game where you play umpire or referee, making calls on actual sporting events in a split second.

FYI: $3-$5, ncaahallofchampions.org

• Conner Prairie: Thirty minutes from downtown Indianapolis, in Fishers, is Conner Prairie, an interactive history park. You can visit a wigwam or throw a tomahawk in the Lenape Indian Camp, pet a duck or brush a cow at the barn on the old Conner homestead, make wax candles or dance a jig in the re-created prairie town. When the weather is good, you can even go up in a hot-air balloon. The newest attraction is the 1863 Civil War Journey: Raid on Indiana. The park has limited access in the winter; check the website for attractions and hours.

FYI: $7-$14, connerprairie.org

• Rhythm! Discovery Center: Tucked away in the lower level of the shopping areas in downtown Indy is this magical place where you can bang on a variety of percussion instruments. From tambourines to bongos to a full drum set, learn about the history of percussion and let loose in a sound-proof room.

FYI: $5-$8, rhythmdiscoverycenter.org

• Indianapolis Zoo: The zoo's aquarium hosts daily dolphin shows and features a huge shark tank where you can pet the sharks.

FYI: $10.25 to $15.25, indyzoo.com

• Indianapolis Motor Speedway: Visitors can pull into the 260,000-seat stadium and gasp at its size and tour the Hall of Fame museum to get a glimpse of Indycars and other historic cars and the Borg-Warner Trophy, which honors the winner of each Indianapolis 500.

FYI: $3-$5, indianapolismotorspeedway.com

WHERE TO EAT

When Indianapolis officials made their bid to become a Super Bowl host, one of the things they sent to the selection committee was the shrimp cocktail from downtown Indy staple Harry & Izzy's. The St. Elmo Starter ($14.95), deemed one of the spiciest dishes in America by the Travel Channel, is reason enough to visit Harry & Izzy's, which is co-owned by (injured) Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. The restaurant is hip and cool in an old-world gangster kind of way, and every dish we had was delicious.

If you are looking for a taste of Indy history, 100-year-old Iaria's serves Italian staples such as chicken piccata and manicotti. And even better, on the night we were there, every bottle of wine was half off.

For breakfast, Taste on the edge of David Letterman's old haunt, the Broad Ripple neighborhood, is a hip foodie place. Equally good is Cafe Patachou, where I had a divine omelet with avocado, sour cream, Cheddar cheese and jalapeños and served with yummy cinnamon toast. And the self-serve pumpkin spice coffee was just what my morning ordered.

NOTE: Hotel rooms for the Super Bowl are sold out within the city. But many are still available for the week before the game, when many of the activities will be going on.