South Bend: A guide to short-term rentals

South Bend is served by South Bend International Airport, one of the busiest airports in Indiana. The airport only has a dozen or so direct flights, but one connection should get you to just about anywhere else in the country.

If you’re coming from Chicago, you can take the South Shore train, an electric commuter train line that travels from Chicago to South Bend International Airport, making other stops throughout northwest Indiana along the way. If you’re coming from other Midwestern cities like Cleveland or Toledo, or even farther-afield cities like Pittsburgh or New York, you can take an Amtrak train to South Bend and watch the country race by out the window.

Once you’re in the city, you can take South Bend Transpo buses to almost anywhere you need to go, although it is typical for locals to rely on their cars. Biking is another great way to see the city, and South Bend has invested extensively in making the city bike-friendly, with miles of prioritized and protected bike routes, even winning some bicycling advocacy awards.

For a peek into South Bend’s industrial past and America’s transportation history, visit the National Studebaker Museum, with its exhibits featuring classic car models and military vehicles, as well as its collection of carriages used by U.S. presidents. One of the striking items in its collection is the barouche-style carriage Abraham Lincoln used to get to the theater where he was assassinated.

The University of Notre Dame’s campus, with its famous golden dome, is a wonderful place to walk around. The collegiate gothic architecture is imposing, and the grounds are immaculately well kept.

Art lovers should head to South Bend’s Museum of Art, with its strong regional collection.

For live performance, make your way to the Morris Performing Arts Center, a stunning building that hosts theater, music, comedy, and more.

On the Notre Dame campus, Basilica of the Sacred Heart is a notable Catholic church with intricate decorations and stained glass that’s open to the public.

Most of South Bend’s best restaurants are concentrated around downtown, within a few blocks of the St. Joseph River that bends north through the center of the city. You can find easy casual fare and upscale, white-tablecloth experiences separated by a short walk. The city’s food scene spread northeast from the city center toward Notre Dame, which has a student-friendly cluster of dining options, often focused on budget and speed, given their typical clientele. But there are tasty sit-down options here as well, great for parents visiting their student children or visitors interested in seeing another part of town. 

Exploring the banks of the St. Joseph River is a great way to get outside in South Bend’s metro area. The city’s downtown has a lovely waterfront, and just outside the city center in either direction, you can follow the river to a series of small and large parks that provide some peace and quiet. Potawatomi Park, on the north side of the river, is a great place for a picnic, and while you’re there you can visit Potawatomi Zoo, with its collection of hundreds of animals.

In 1870, the Olivet African Methodist Episcopal Church was established in South Bend. It was the first African American church in the city, and more than a century and a half later, it’s still active.

In World War I, the first American shells fired on Germany were fired by a sergeant from South Bend.

The University of Notre Dame’s golden dome really is made of gold. It consists of over 1,000 strips, each of them 23 karats. Some of them are so thin that they’re only three microns thick (three millionths of a meter).