Louisville: A guide to short-term rentals

Come for the bourbon and the Kentucky Derby, stay for the museums and the Mega Cavern. A short-term rental is the best way to explore all that the city has to offer.

Kasa's short-term rentals in Louisville

With short-term rentals in the city’s most exciting neighborhoods, Kasa offers comfortable and convenient accommodations no matter what brings you to Louisville or where you need to go.

Discover Louisville

After booking your short-term rental in Louisville, here's everything you need to know for your trip.

Kentucky’s largest city, Louisville is located on the Ohio River along the Indiana border, right by a once-treacherous stretch of rapids. These rapids were so difficult to navigate for inexperienced river travelers that a settlement arose in the area so that local experts could assist boats trying to portage the Falls of the Ohio, as they were known. Before European colonization, the site was a hunting grounds for the Shawnee and Cherokee tribes, and before that it hosted multiple older indigenous settlements.

The city was founded during the American Revolution and named after King Louis XVI of France to honor the French-American alliance against Britain. Originally part of Virginia, Kentucky became a state in 1792, and in the mid-nineteenth century, Louisville became the founding site of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, which would ultimately cross 13 states and encompass as many as 6,000 miles of tracks. As it had in its early days as a portage site, Louisville became a transportation center, connecting the industrialized cities of the north to the south, and providing a gateway from the population-dense east to the west. During the Civil War, Louisville was a Union stronghold, but after the war Confederate veterans seized civilian power, angry about the Union’s abolitionism.

In 1875, the first Kentucky Derby was held at the horse-racing track that would later be called Churchill Downs. And as the nineteenth century came to a close, the city continued to rise, although in 1890 a massive tornado leveled more than 700 buildings and killed up to 120 people. During the Great Migration, Louisville became known as the “Gateway to the South” because of a surge of African-American newcomers, setting off decades of conflict with white residents and officials.

During World War II, the city became a military manufacturing center, furthering its growth. Today, the city is known as the home of Muhammad Ali and as the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Louisville’s biggest draw, though, is its bourbon. About a third of all American whiskey comes from the city, and a rich culinary scene has sprung up around the city’s distilleries. There are great short-term rental options near all that the city has to offer.