Kansas City

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With its fiery barbecues (100-plus joints smoke it up), bubbling fountains (more than 200; on par with Rome) and blaring jazz, Kansas City is one of America's most appealing cities. It's certainly a don't-miss Great Plains highlight with world-class museums and quirky art-filled neighborhoods that jostle for your attention. You can easily run aground for several days as you tune into the local vibe.

5 Shops

Attractions

Must-see attractions

National WWI Museum
Kansas City
Enter this impressive modern museum on a glass walkway over a field of red poppies, the symbol of remembrance of WWI. Through detailed and engaging…
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Kansas City
Giant badminton shuttlecocks (the building represents the net) surround this encyclopedic museum, which has standout European painting, photography and…
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
Kansas City
This comprehensive museum covers the lesser-known history of African American teams, such as the KC Monarchs and New York Black Yankees, that flourished…
Union Station
Kansas City
Opened in 1914, KC's Union Station is a sublime example of the magnificent architecture that once was the hallmark of American train stations. Today it…
Kaw Point Park
Kansas City
A hidden-in-plain-sight park with an important history: Kaw Point is where the Kansas River flows into the Missouri River. Lewis and Clark stopped here in…
Country Club Plaza
Kansas City
Built in the 1920s, this posh commercial district (centered on Broadway and 47th St) boasts finely detailed, sumptuous Spanish architecture. It’s rich…
College Basketball Experience
Kansas City
Really a gussied-up basketball hall of fame, this interactive (and entirely overstimulating) exhibition lets you try free throws or pretend you're an…
Arabia Steamboat Museum
Kansas City
In River Market, this museum displays 200 tons of salvaged 'treasure' from a riverboat that sank in 1856 (one of hundreds claimed by the Missouri River).