South Bend: the football cathedral of Notre Dame

On the St. Joseph River in Indiana, South Bend is famous throughout the United States for the impressive campus of Notre Dame University.

The center is visited comfortably on foot, minutes from the stadium symbolizing Notre Dame football.

The campus of the University of Notre Dame, with its gilded basilica and historic university football stadium, remains the city's main attraction.

A short drive away, the Studebaker National Museum displays historic automobiles produced in the city, once America's capital for carriage and then motor vehicle manufacturing.

Walking along the river, you stroll on the East Race Waterway, an artificial canal for rafting and kayaking in the heart of downtown, among the few in the United States.

In the evening, the Eddy Street Commons district comes alive with restaurants and bars frequented mainly by university students.

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart, on the Notre Dame campus, houses the celebrated golden statue of the Virgin Mary visible from much of the city, a symbol of the university since 1859.

South Bend was for decades the home of Studebaker, a historic American automaker, before production ceased entirely in 1963, leaving behind a rich industrial heritage now preserved in the city museum.