A List of Must-Do Attractions When Traveling to Kansas City

Or here I went, should I say? My first time ever in the "City of Fountains" was a very pleasant stay. I visited in early June and the weather was perfect. Not a tornado to be found for the entire weekend. KC does boast over 200 fountains, so the name will probably stick.

As an avid architecture buff, I immediately fell in love with the eclectic mix of the downtown skyline. Tall, contemporary glass buildings and gothic art deco skyscrapers loom over vintage typical Midwest brick structures. All weekend I was constantly surprised at the "artsy-ness" of the town. Unique sculptures like a giant badminton shuttlecock or the large blue mounted head of Charlie Parker seemed to be randomly dropped by the gods onto the town landscape.

I was in town for a weekend event and so it was actual locals that took me on a couple different driving tours, one of which was through the newly renovated downtown. Most notably mentioned was the Power & Light district, which is the largest new development project in the Midwest at this time. It boasts 24-hour a day entertainment including retail shops, bars, restaurants and nightclubs to attract anyone looking for just about anything.

Another driving tour was through the older, more established neighborhoods with mansions built around the turn of the century that were kept so well they looked freshly built. On this tour, I couldn't help but start counting fountains. I lost track once I reached the 20s. They are just so randomly everywhere. It would make a great drinking game, if you weren't driving, of course. My hostess at this time mentioned that KC was recently names one of the top 10 most affordable places to live. Upon further research, I found that it was also named a "Destination to Watch" by smartertravel.com.

I was only able to sneak in a couple attractions, but I present to you the entire must-do list, even recommended by the locals, for when you visit:

The Home of Jesse James
Powell Gardens
The 1950s All-Electric House
Cliff Drive
Glore Pyschiatric Museum
Kansas City Power & Light District
Schlitterbahn Waterpark
Arabia Steamboat Museum
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Kansas City Zoo