Bloomington, Indiana, USA, is a medium-sized town in the American Midwest containing one of the larger universities in the country. The town is small enough that it doesn't have the aggravations of a much larger city, while being just an hour's drive south of Indianapolis. Bloomington is a great place to live and an interesting place to visit if you're just passing through.

Indiana University, Bloomington

Bloomington is home to a branch of Indiana University, a state school campus 35,000 strong of both undergraduate and graduate students. Probably best known for athletics, it also has a very strong music school and excellent academic programmes.

IU Athletics

IU at Bloomington is probably best known to non-Indiana residents for its college basketball programme. Formerly headed by infamous coach Bob Knight, IU's basketball team has distinguished itself in the Big Ten athletic conference over the years.

Music School

IU has one of the leading music schools in the US. It's not quite the best music school in the country, but it's right below schools like Juliard. For such a small town, Bloomington supplies the States (and the world) with a significant quantity of classical music.

General City Layout

It's pretty easy to get around town on foot or bus if you're a visitor. Most of the places that you'll want to visit will be between the university and the downtown area, and they are all easy to walk to. The commercial areas farther out can be driven to or you can take a bus.

Unlike some Midwestern towns, most of the streets in Bloomington run north-south or east-west. Numbered streets run east-west; streets running north-south don't have numbers, but are still usually called streets.

The main north-south streets in the centre of town are College and Walnut Avenues. College is one way to the south; Walnut is one block to the east and is one way to the north. The main east-west street is 3rd Street, which forms the southern border of the IU campus east of the downtown area. The part of 3rd Street by campus is one way going west; one block south is Atwater which is one way to the east in those areas.

Finally, state road 37 from Indianapolis wraps around the city on the west side. State road 46 goes across the north part of the city, around to the east side, and then heads off straight east from town.

Where To Go?

Courthouse Square

The block where the Monroe county courthouse sits is bounded by 6th Street on the north side, Kirkwood on the south (Kirkwood is the only street between 6th and 4th, but it's called Kirkwood), College on the west, and Walnut on the east. The courthouse itself dominates the square. Around the edges of the square are various shops and restaurants, and the city's only used book store, Caveat Emptor, on the east side. On Kirkwood, just west of the square, is a very nice pub, the Irish Lion.

Kirkwood

Kirkwood, from the south edge of the square, six or eight blocks east until it hits campus, is the centre for a lot of the nice stores in town. Along with 4th Street in the same area, this is the part of town with some really great places to eat and spend time.

There are two Tibetan restaurants in this area, Little Tibet and the Golden Lion (which is owned by the brother of the current Dalai Lama). There are many other good eateries in this area, too; Indiana, Italian, Moroccan, Thai, Chinese and others. It's quite a selection for a Midwestern town.

The Kirkwood area also contains lots of other shops, such as the excellent poster shop, a few music stores and a couple of coffee shops. In short, it's a great place to spend a long lunchtime.

College Mall Road

Follow 3rd Street east from the centre of town, and eventually you get to College Mall Road, which is a fair-sized commercial area that extends south several blocks from where it meets 3rd Street. College mall is here, two large chain book stores, and there's a theatre towards the south, too. There are lots of restaurants out there, mostly chains, but good quality ones nonetheless.

West 3rd Street

On 3rd Street just west of where it crosses state road 37 is another commercial area. There are a few restaurants and lots of stores. Note: to get there from the centre of town, head west from downtown on 'Kirkwood' (5th Street), not 3rd.

Where to Stay

On College Avenue a few blocks south from the square is a very nice hotel. On Walnut (north one-way) just south of the 46 bypass, there are a few cheaper hotels. There are a couple of hotels on 3rd Street just east of state road 37.

How to Get to Bloomington

Bloomington is in the southern part of Indiana. It's about an hours' drive south-southwest of Indianapolis and, as such, isn't on an Interstate. Here are basic directions depending on which direction you're coming from.

From North or East

You'll presumably be coming through Indianapolis. The beltway around the edge of Indy is I-465. Exit 4 on 465 is for state road 37. Take this south; Bloomington is about 50 miles away. SR 37 is two lanes each way, divided, but there are traffic lights along the way.

From the South

If you're coming from the south, you'll probably go through Louisville Kentucky. Take I-65 northbound from Louisville. Take exit 68 to state road 46. Take 46 west to Bloomington; it's about half an hour from there.

From the West

On I-70 - Exit 11 from Interstate 70 is state road 46. Take this south from the Interstate; it turns east about an hour's drive later you're in Bloomington.

On I-64 - Exit 86 on Interstate 64 is state road 37. Take 37 north from there to Bloomington; it's probably about two hours.