What To Do and Where to Go in Kansas
Come to a place as diverse as its taste in music, culture and cuisine; come to Kansas, the largest city in the state of Missouri. From Jazz to Blues, to Kansas City style barbeque, you will find things that enthrall both new and old, over at Kansas City.
Nicknamed the City of fountains - with the city claiming 200 of them - it holds the distinction of being the only city with enough fountains to rival Rome. As another challenge to other more historic cities - it also claims to have more boulevards than any city, save of course for Paris - garnering it another nickname: “Paris on the plains.”
Finally, since it is situated near both the geographic and population centers of the United States, it is colloquially referred to as the Heart of America. Kansas City can be found in Tornado Alley, a place where air from the Rocky Mountains and Canada collide with air from the Gulf of Mexico - creating intense stormfronts/ storm structures. Ice storms and flooding also plague the region, with Kansas being part of the Great Flood of 1993 and the Great Flood of 1951.
Notable places include: Downtown, the urban core of the city, and marked with numerous historical points of interest, such as Westport, the Crossroads Arts District, 18th and Vine Historic District, Pendleton Heights, Quality Hill, the West Bottoms and the River Market. The 39th city Street District is known as Restaurant Row and features one of Kansas City’s largest selections of independently owned restaurants and boutique shops.
It is a center of literary and visual arts and bohemian culture. Need a quick gift, coupled with a nice sentiment? Crown Center is the headquarters of Hallmark Cards, and has become a major downtown shopping and entertainment complex. For the upscale folks, the Country Club Plaza serves as an outdoor shopping and entertainment district; it was the first shopping area of its kind to accommodate shoppers arriving by automobile, and is surrounded by a number of high rise buildings.
Kansas City also holds its attention with people because of its spacious parkways and numerous parks. One of the best examples is Ward Parkway on the west side of the city, near the Kansas state line. Originally designed for aesthetics and minor automobile/horse and buggy traffic, many parkways were drastically altered to accommodate more and more vehicles, becoming minor freeways. Swope Park is one of America’s largest in-city parks, boasting a land area greater than New York’s central park; a zoo, two whole golf courses, a full ampitheatre, and numerous picnic grounds serve as testament to it.
Another distinguishing mark of Kansas is its famous barbeque. With more than 90 barbeque restaurants in the metropolitan area, Kansas calls itself a world capital of barbeque, along with Texas, Memphis, and North Carolina.
Kansas has everything for everyone. Drop by, shop, visit museums, meet people or enjoy a good meal– and Kansas will make sure you have an experience you’re not likely to forget.