The City of Fountains

I love the small town feel of this full service city. With it's hundreds of fountains, interesting architecture, and unique places to visit, Kansas City is a fun place to spend some time in!

The Plaza, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Arabia Steamboat Museum, the City Marketplace, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Toy and Miniature Museum of KC ---- are just a few of the attractions of Kansas City.

You don't have to fill your day with trips to museums or shopping to have a great time in Kansas City. With a pro football team (the Chiefs) and a pro baseball team (the Royals), there's also plenty for the sports fan to see.

If you're not into sports or museums, just driving around in this city is a lot of fun. There are so many interesting fountains and architectural details throughout the city that you're sure to see something of interest around every corner.

Quick Tips:

You could also relax in one of the 600 parks (the largest being SWOPE PARK: (1,769 acres)--- it is the country's second largest urban park and houses the Starlight Theatre, the Kansas City Zoo, two golf courses and a braille trail). There's also a large amusement park there --- WORLDS OF FUN: which has 170 acres of more than 140 rides, shows and attractions.

Best Way To Get Around:

I preferred being chauffeured around by my daughter who was living there for the 1st 2 years she was in college. She learned her way around quite well and loved this city.

Kansas City does have an airport 20 miles northwest of downtown. Kansas City International Airport (MCI) is rated among the most user-friendly airport in the nation. The maximum distance from aircraft to curb is less than 75 feet. My daughter was able to get through the airport quickly and easily the few times she flew from there.

The River Market Brewing Company is a micro-brewery, bar and restaurant located a short walk from market square in downtown Kansas City. Here you can order from a wide selection of home-micro brews, burgers, barbecue, and sandwiches for lunch; plus steaks, pork chops, salads, chicken, etc. for dinner. It is a full service restaurant with a very nice selection of entrees. The food is excellent.

The inside of the bar/restaurant has a glass wall at one end which permits you to see the brewing tanks. The overhead piping is also revealed throughout the restaurant and nicely painted. The restaurant was clean, nicely decorated -- complete with flowers on the tables and walls, and had an assortment of booths and table. There is also a small bar in the area where you enter the building. From there is a step down into the dining area. The restaurant seating area is quite large compared to the bar, so don't be afraid to bring the family here. I would consider this a sports bar/restaurant---good place to go and have dinner and catch a ball game on tv.

They brew a heifenweiser, pale ale, a stout (similar to guinesse), (and maybe more). Although last time we were there, they were cleaning the tanks and only the heifenweiser was available.

They also have pool tables if you're looking for a game.

This is a chain restaurant which originally started out as a family run cheesecake business in 1940. By 1978, the business grew into a full fledged restuarant. Now there are over 50 of these restuarants throughout the states.

The menu is several pages with around 200 items on it--- ranging from omelettes, pizza, hamburgers, seafood, steaks and even more than 40 varieties of cheesecake. Reservations are not accepted, so be prepared for a long wait. But the portions are large and the food we had was very good (grilled sub-sandwich and cheesecake).

It's hard to miss The Cheesecake Factory in Kansas City. It sits prominently at the entrance to The Plaza. It's architecture is old world with a high tower and ornate walls. Inside is tastefully decorated and has a pleasing atmosphere.p> The day we went it was quite chilly, but we sat outside to avoid a long wait for inside seating. There are several portable heaters on the outside porch. They looked somewhat like a light pole with heat radiating out of where the light would be. It was enjoyable sitting outside and watching the people wander around the Plaza.

The museum is not huge, but has plenty of intimate rooms with interesting diplays in them. One of their biggest draws is it's great Asian collection---particularly the China one. But it also has a nice collection of European and American art.

The sculptures both inside the museum and outdoors in The Kansas City Sculpture Park are interesting. The Sculpture park features the country’s largest collection of monumental bronzes by the British sculptor Henry Moore as well as works by other modern masters. Several of these bronze sculptures remind me of large blobs. Others are quite abstract in a geometric way. There are also some really nice ones that realistically represent figures. The giant 18 feet birdies are the most intriquing sculptures to me. There are 4 of them on the grounds. They're positioned in both the front and back of the museum to depict a game field with the building acting as a net. The sloping "yard" is very large and beautifully landscaped. A great place to sit and contemplate your next destination.

Being close to the Art Institute of Kansas City, there are usually lots of students here with their pads of paper and art supplies trying to recreate the works of the masters.

It's also just a couple blocks northeast of The Plaza, a couple blocks south of downtown, and a couple blocks north of UMKC---a convenient stop to or from any of these places.

Even if you aren't a shopper, this is such an extraodinary 14 square block area that everyone ought to at least drive through it once. It was designed in 1922 as the nation's first suburban shopping district. It reminds me of the shopping in London---lots of fountains, statues, nice store fronts, people everywhere. There is plenty of free parking---along the streets and in parking garages.

It can be quite a mess to drive through, though---especially around Christmas! There are no stop signs in this several block area. Around Christmas, there are a lot of horse drawn carriages and limos that also cruise this area. It's beautiful at all times, but the way it's lit up for the holidays is a sight to behold! I have heard that in order to get a shop there, you have to submit proposed Christmas lighting. Don't know if that's true, but all the buildings were lit up beautifully. More than 200,000 lights, spanning 75 miles, outline the towers and buildings on the Plaza from Thanksgiving through early January. There are even carolers wandering around the plaza then. In the summer months May through Sept., there are free weekly concerts (every Thursday and Friday night and Saturday and Sunday afternoon in the Plaza courtyards.) If you're there in Sept., check out September on the Plaza. That is the Plaza Art Fair---its a nationally known show that features the works of 230 top artists from around the country (exhibits ranging from painting and sculpture, to jewelry and basketry. There's even a Kids Art workshop then where kids can create artworks to take home.)

There are all kinds of stores in here---Armani and Saks Fifth Avenue to Eddie Bauer and Abercrombie & Fitch. In all, 180 shops. Plenty of restuarants, too, somewhere around 60 of them----everything from private dining, to little specialty shops, to restaurants. There's even a historic 1920's theatre (Plaza Theater) where you can catch a first run movie. Kansas City's only Four Star/Four Diamond Hotel is here, too--the Fairmont; as well as 4 other hotels and/or suites.

KC developer Jesse Clyde Nichols declared "no inspiration ever came from a city of ugliness.'' Without mountains or oceans, he said, Midwesterners had to create their own beauty. So he tore down 30 old houses and built European-style fountains and Spanish-tiled restaurants, theaters, department stores, hotels and galleries. He styled this area after the European shopping districts he visited while in Europe. "The Plaza" IS the city's shopping district.