A Weekend in Bowling Green, Kentucky
this post is sponsored by Visit Bowling Green
Last weekend we had the pleasure of visiting and exploring Bowling Green, Kentucky for a couple of days! Having lived in Kentucky my entire life, I have passed through Bowling Green many times, but had somehow never spent a lot of time there. I was delighted to discover how charming and bustling the entire city was, and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. I wanted to share some of our favorite stops, finds, eats, and more and highly encourage you to check this spot out for your next weekend trip!
One of the main reasons we chose this weekend was so we could visit the amazing vendor and artist barn sale, GypsyMoon Marketplace. I have been following GypsyMoon for years and was thrilled to finally see it in person and of course get to shop all the amazing vendors! I have to say, I was blown away by how well run and organized this entire event was from start to finish- they thought of every detail! They host this market twice a year, in spring and fall, and bring in the best vendors from across Kentucky, Tennessee, and the south. The venue is spectacular and a giant barn wedding venue that is immaculate and features all the amenities you could want in such a picturesque setting.
The market is pretty large and tickets are required so be sure to plan ahead! You can spend a good 2-3 hours here at least or even half a day! They have some amazing food and drink vendors throughout so you can definitely stay a full day if you’d like. The vendors are a great mix of antiques, vintage, handmade items, food items, children’s clothing and boutique items, clothing and accessories, and so much more! I found SO many amazing finds and loved meeting and chatting with all the different vendors. I will definitely go back to this market again- it was that good!
Find all the details on the market and upcoming dates here!
Besides GypsyMoon Marketplace, we found SO many other great treasure troves throughout the downtown and entire Bowling Green area. The downtown area of Bowling Green has some great unique shops- from boutiques to vintage and antiques to candy shops and more! I walked around the entire square and visited every spot and spent a good couple hours exploring! My favorite stops were the little record shop, Melodies and Memories, Mary Jane’s Chocolate Shop (and the little vintage shop next door, Becky Brooks Vintage), and the adorable boutique, Back Down South.
I had to do a few stops off the beaten path and if there’s ever a flea market in the area- I’m going! I saw that they had the largest flea market in Kentucky, Flea Land, in Bowling Green and knew it had to be a stop. Now if you’re not accustomed to what flea markets of this kind are like in the south, you may want to prepare yourself a little bit because it’s a true cultural experience! Most may consider a lot of the regular booths a little “junky” as they’re full of a lot of the same things- a lot of phone cases, knives, souvenirs, etc. Still it’s worth a walk through for the experience and you never know what you might stumble upon. Flea Land also has a good antique mall portion on the far left side. It had really great prices and a good variety of items!
We also visited the historic little town of Smith’s Grove on the way out of town which is about 15-20 minutes from Bowling Green and I was totally blown away by this adorable little area! It is a tiny little downtown like so many throughout Kentucky that are usually full of empty and abandoned buildings, but instead Smith’s Grove is full with amazing and unique little shops, mostly antiques and vintage. In particular I just loved visiting Foxhole in the Grove, it is such a perfectly cozy merchandised and decorated space full of unique finds. Again, the prices were great and I found a couple bags full of treasures! She has everything from furniture, to home decor, to clothing and accesssories. Definitely don’t skip over Smith’s Grove and all its lovely shops if you’re in the Bowling Green area.
We got to enjoy 1 breakfast, 2 lunches, and one dinner while in the area. Our first stop was Pastiche for lunch and it was SO delicious and cute. The space is laid out as more of a deli/sandwich shop feel with a modern French vibe. They also have coffee and wine and charcuterie to go! This is a perfect lunch spot and close to the downtown/campus area.
For dinner we enjoyed The Bistro, which also was in the downtown/campus area and serves a unique mix of classic American fare, with some French and Italian mixed in. They rotate their menu seasonally and also had some amazing cocktails (according to my husband who is usually very particular about his)! We enjoyed a delicious cheeseboard as an appetizer and I got an amazing chicken parmesan as my entree.
After dinner we walked around downtown for a bit and stumbled upon the Meltdown ice cream shop and soda fountain! I was in heaven as I love anything remotely close to an old fashioned soda fountain and this did not dissapoint- it was so cute! They have very unique flavors and rotate them often- we tried the Feta + Fig icecream and highly recommend! I loved seeing the history inside this historic building and they did a beautiful job of restoring the space. Don’t miss this little treasure right in the heart of downtown!
The next morning we enjoyed breakfast back downtown at Spencer’s Coffee! This spot kind of seemed like a hub for all things happening on a Saturday morning as it was a busy homecoming weekend and a game day- there were families, college students, locals, and travelers. Besides a full coffee menu, they also serve breakfast and some sandwich/lunch items. The space is huge and has plenty of room for larger groups, outdoor seating, and study spaces. I got a latte and a hash brown bowl which was really good! It’s a great stop for a quick breakfast or lunch in the downtown area.
For our lunch on the second day we made a trip to Chaney’s Dairy Barn, where they not only have ice cream and delicious desserts, but a full menu as well. The food offerings include basics like burgers, hot dogs, chicken fingers, chicken sandwiches, but also several different specialty sandwiches, grilled sandwiches, soups, and salads too. The Dairy Barn has an amazing outdoor play area for kids with an attached open barn full of seating, and they also give tours of the dairy operations throughout the week. The dessert offerings looked the most delicious including mini skillet cookies topped with their fresh ice cream, brownie sundaes, milkshakes, banana splits, and more!
There were even more stops we didn’t make it too that we thought looked like good prospects and will definitely check out next time:
G Dogs Hot Dogs
Anna’s Greek Restaurant (this was in an old church and looked so cool!)
Teresa’s Restaurant (good home/country cooking!)
The Bike Rack Bistro
Toro
Fifth Street Diner
Danny's Pasta Co & Focacciaria
Geno’s Italian Deli
As mentioned a little bit in the shopping section, I fell in love with the downtown area! I love a well-planned downtown and Bowling Green is perfectly laid out with the fountain square and park area in the middle surrounded by shops, restaurants, bars, and businesses on all sides. Everything was easily walk-able and there was a good variety of places to visit and all were open regular hours.
Be sure to check out these stops while in the downtown area!:
The Capitol Theatre
Mary Jane’s Chocolate Shop
Becky Brooks Vintage
Back Down South Boutique
Spencer’s Coffee
Melodies and Memories
Barbara Stewart Interiors
G Dogs Hot Dogs
Meltdown Icecream Shop and Soda Fountain
Golden Farley Menswear
Besides food and shopping, there’s also a lot of historic, parks, and unique stops throughout Bowling Green. We enjoyed stopping to see the very first Standard Oil Company Filling Station and the National Corvette Museum is the number one attraction in Bowling Green. Here are some other attractions in the area on my list to visit:
The Pie Queen
Jackson’s Orchard + Nursery
The Arboretum and Museum
Providence Coffee House and Marketplace
Riverview at Hobson Grove
The Historic Rail Park and Train Museum
Kentucky Museum
Aviation Heritage Park
Lost River Cave
The Reindeer Farm (only open seasonally so check their website for details)
Vette City Antique Mall
Drake Vintage Music + Curios
South Union Shaker Village
Overall we truly enjoyed are visit and could have spent even more time here seeing all there is to see! We will definitely be back and highly recommend Bowling Green, Kentucky for your next weekend trip!
xoxo
Emily