Kentucky is best known for horse farms, bourbon distilleries, mountain hollows and moonshine stills, fried chicken, bluegrass music and the famous Kentucky Derby. Lexington is the horse-breeding centre and many of its surrounding farms welcome visitors on free tours.

Louisville was founded by General George Rogers Clark in 1778 as a base from which to harass British troops during the American Revolution. Today, restored historic sites sit side-by-side with modern structures and visitors can wander through the quaint streets in Old Louisville.

The state is a mixture of hundreds of lakes and streams, underground caves, prosperous horse country and poor mining towns nestled in the Appalachian Mountains. Reelfoot Lake, in the northwestern corner of the state, was formed when the Mississippi River flowed backwards during the Madrid Fault earthquake of 1812.