This self-guided walking tour makes a loop of about 1.8 miles from the old courthouse on Court Square, taking in 12 stops: the 1779 Old Talbott Tavern, the 1819 jail, the Pioneer Cemetery, the frontier cathedral of St. Joseph, Spalding Hall, the shops of North Third Street, the farmers market, the 1812 Union Church and the Civil War museums on Broadway. The walking alone is about 45 minutes; with a museum, lunch and browsing, give it a morning or a full afternoon. It costs nothing unless you go inside the paid museums.
Before you start
Park in the public lot at 113 E. Flaget Ave. or on the street along South Third Street and Stephen Foster Avenue (the parking guide has more). Then walk to the center of the square. The old Nelson County Courthouse, built in 1892, holds the Bardstown Visitor Center, open weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. per Visit Bardstown. Pick up the free printed map, or download the walking tour PDF (a 2016 edition, so treat its business listings as dated).
What you are walking through: the Bardstown Historic District, listed on the National Register in 1983, covers 26 blocks and 279 properties, with Georgian and Federal buildings from the 1780s to 1850, according to its Wikipedia entry. Our architecture guide explains what to look for: Flemish-bond brick, fanlights, stone lintels.
Best timing: start around 9:30 on a weekday or Saturday between March and October, when every stop is open. Many museums and shops close Sundays or keep short Sunday hours, and the Civil War museums close from December through February.
The route at a glance
Distances are approximate walking distances along the streets between stops.
| # | Stop | From previous stop | Open |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Court Square and the John Fitch monument | Start | Always |
| 2 | Old Talbott Tavern | About 200 feet | Daily from 11 a.m. |
| 3 | Jailer’s Inn and Old Pioneer Cemetery | About 120 feet | Exterior always |
| 4 | Bardstown Art Gallery (Jim Cantrell) | About 0.2 mile | By chance or appointment |
| 5 | Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral | About 0.15 mile | Between Masses |
| 6 | Spalding Hall and the Getz Museum | About 300 feet | Daily, free |
| 7 | Scout & Scholar and Hadorn’s on W. Flaget | About 0.2 mile | Lunch or morning |
| 8 | North Third Street shops | About 0.1 mile | Most Mon-Sat to 5 |
| 9 | Farmers market pavilion | About 0.1 mile | Tue, Fri, Sat mornings in season |
| 10 | Union Church (African American Heritage Museum) | About 0.2 mile | Thu-Sat 10-3, Apr-Nov |
| 11 | Civil War Museum Row | About 0.15 mile | Daily 10-5, Mar-Oct |
| 12 | Circa 1856, then back to the square | About 0.4 mile, then 0.1 | From 11 a.m. |
Stops 1 to 3: the square, the tavern and the jail
1. Court Square
Start at the courthouse and walk around it to the monument to John Fitch. Fitch’s steamboat made its first successful run on the Delaware River in 1787; he died in Bardstown in 1798 and was reburied here in 1927 under a monument that includes a replica of his first boat. About 1,000 people came to the unveiling.
2. Old Talbott Tavern, 107 W. Stephen Foster Ave. (about 200 feet)
Cross to the southwest corner of the square. The tavern’s stone section dates to 1779, with walls two feet thick, and it bills itself as the oldest western stagecoach stop in America. Daniel Boone gave a deposition here in 1792, per the tavern’s history. The tavern also claims Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, John James Audubon and a young Abraham Lincoln among its guests, and Louis-Philippe, the future king of France, stayed in 1797. Step inside for a look at the bar; the bullet holes in the mural upstairs come with competing legends.
3. Jailer’s Inn and the Old Pioneer Cemetery, 111 W. Stephen Foster Ave. (about 120 feet)
Next door is the old Nelson County jail. The front jail was built in 1819 with thick limestone walls, and the county used the complex until 1987, per Jailer’s Inn; it is now a B&B. Behind it lies the Old Pioneer Cemetery, established in 1789, with above-ground chest tombs. Fitch lay here before his move to the square.
Stops 4 to 6: the Catholic frontier
4. Bardstown Art Gallery, 214 W. Stephen Foster Ave. (about 0.2 mile west)
Jim Cantrell has kept a studio here since 1971, alongside books on Thomas Merton. Hours are “by chance or appointment,” so call (502) 348-6488 before you count on going in.
5. Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral, 310 W. Stephen Foster Ave. (about 0.15 mile)
The first Catholic cathedral west of the Alleghenies, begun in 1816 and in use by 1819, with a columned Greek Revival front. Inside hang European paintings long said to be royal and papal gifts; experts have since reattributed several. It is an active parish, so time your visit between the Masses listed on the basilica’s site and keep your voice low. Our basilica guide tells the painting story.
6. Spalding Hall, 114 N. Fifth St. (about 300 feet)
Turn up Fifth Street to the big brick building behind the basilica. Built as St. Joseph College and rebuilt in 1839, it served as a hospital in the Civil War. Today it houses the Oscar Getz Museum, free, with Abraham Lincoln’s liquor license among its exhibits (Monday to Friday 10 to 5, Saturday 10 to 4, Sunday noon to 4). The Rickhouse restaurant occupies the basement. See our Getz Museum page.
Stops 7 to 9: lunch, shops and the market
7. West Flaget Avenue (about 0.2 mile east)
Walk back toward Third Street along Flaget. Hadorn’s Bakery at 118 W. Flaget (closed Mondays) sells its Yum Yums from 7 a.m. until they run out, usually by early afternoon; Scout & Scholar Brewing Co. at 112 W. Flaget opens for lunch Thursday through Sunday at 11. This is your break.
8. North Third Street (about 0.1 mile)
Turn left onto Third, the main shopping street. Hurst Drug Store at 102 N. Third has an old-fashioned soda fountain (closed Sundays, cash preferred). Bardstown for the Arts, a 40-artist co-op, is at 110 N. Third, and At Mary’s gift shop is at 116 N. Third. Farther up the block, Kreso’s Restaurant at 218 N. Third fills the old Arco and Melody theater building, a reminder that this was the town’s main street for entertainment as well as errands. A milkshake at Hurst runs about $9 and comes with the extra from the tin, which makes it a fair trade for the walking. Browse the 100 and 200 blocks as long as you like; our shopping guide covers each shop.
9. Farmers market pavilion, 200 E. Flaget Ave. (about 0.1 mile)
Walk east on Flaget to Second Street. From spring through October the Bardstown Farmers Market fills the pavilion on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday mornings from 8 a.m.
Stops 10 to 12: the east side
10. Union Church, 315 N. Second St. (about 0.2 mile north)
Built in 1812, it is described as the first two-story brick church west of the Appalachians. After the Civil War it became a Black Baptist church, and it now houses the Bardstown African American Heritage Museum, founded in 2017 by Bill Sheckles, the town’s first Black mayor. Open Thursday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., April through November. More on our museum page.
11. Civil War Museum Row, 310 E. Broadway (about 0.15 mile)
One ticket, $15 for adults, covers the Civil War Museum of the Western Theater in the old icehouse and waterworks, the Women’s Civil War Museum, the Hal Moore military museum and Old Bardstown Village, a cluster of early log buildings. Open daily 10 to 5 from March through Oct. 27, last tickets at 4:15, per the museum’s admission page. Allow two hours if you go in.
12. Circa 1856 and home (about 0.4 mile, then 0.1 mile)
Head back south and west to the “big yellow house” at 103 E. Stephen Foster Ave., the old Harrison-Smith House, now Chicken Cock Whiskey’s tasting room. If it is past 11 a.m. and you are 21, a flight here makes a good finish. The square is across the street.
Shorter and longer versions
Short on time? Do stops 1 to 6 and back, about a mile. That covers the tavern, jail, cemetery, basilica and Spalding Hall in an hour or two.
Want more? From Court Square, My Old Kentucky Home State Park is about a mile east along Stephen Foster Avenue, with hourly mansion tours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It makes a strong add-on, or drive it. Our one day in Bardstown plan folds it in.
Prefer a guide? Taste of Bardstown Tours leads small-group food and drink walks downtown; book on its site and wear comfortable shoes.
Tips for the walk
- Wear comfortable shoes; several stops involve steps.
- Carry water in summer; July afternoons average about 87 degrees.
- Weekdays are quieter at the basilica and museums. Saturdays have the market and full shop hours.
- Downtown is the Bourbon Capital District, where drinks from licensed businesses can go along marked sidewalks during set hours. Enjoy responsibly; this route ends where your car is.
