A modern city is often thought of as a place of strangers, its denizens too absorbed in their hectic lives to connect with one another. But that isn’t the case with Indianapolis, the capital of Indiana. It’s a city of about 850,000 people—for comparison, about the same population as San Francisco—but still possesses the charm of a small town.

Biking along the Monon Trail, which goes through the Broad Ripple neighborhood. Jason Lavengood/VisitIndy.com