Discover Kansas: a Self-Guided Tour

Kansas City Union Station opened October 30, 1914 as the nation's third-largest train station, welcoming 679,000 soldiers through its 850,000 square feet during WWI, before falling into disuse and being restored through a $250 million bi-state tax initiative in 1999. The Grand Hall's 95-foot coffered ceiling, 3,500-pound brass chandeliers, and polished Mediterranean marble floors now house Science City, Extreme Screen theater, and the Kansas City Rail Experience. Directly south rises the 217-foot Liberty Memorial completed in 1926 as the nation's official WWI memorial, with the National WWI Museum below containing 75,000 artifacts and 300,000 documents.

GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium hosts six 2026 FIFA World Cup matches after opening August 12, 1972 with 76,416 capacity and setting the Guinness World Record for loudest outdoor stadium crowd at 142.2 decibels. The stadium has hosted the Kansas City Chiefs through their 1970 Super Bowl IV victory and the Patrick Mahomes era championships of 2020 and 2023, plus concerts by Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, and Garth Brooks. The $375 million renovation added 10,000 parking spaces, 48 luxury suites, and video boards measuring 58 by 122 feet. World Cup matches expect 1.2-1.5 million visitor economic impact of $400 million.

18th and Vine was the center of Kansas City's African-American community and jazz scene from the 1920s-1940s, producing Count Basie, Charlie Parker (born August 29, 1920), Mary Lou Williams, Big Joe Turner, and Jay McShann's Orchestra that nurtured Parker's early career. The district today contains the American Jazz Museum, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum commemorating the 2,600 Black players excluded from MLB before 1947, and the Blue Room jazz club hosting nightly live music. The Gem Theater from 1912 screens classic films, and the Mutual Musicians Foundation holds weekend jam sessions.

The Country Club Plaza opened in 1923 as America's first planned shopping center, designed by J.C. Nichols as a 55-acre Spanish Colonial destination featuring 15 fountains, over 30 sculptures imported from Spain, and 100 shops in terra-cotta-tiled buildings reminiscent of Seville. The iconic Country Club Plaza Lighting Ceremony on Thanksgiving night lights 80 miles of multicolored bulbs outlining every building, drawing 100,000 spectators. Horse-drawn carriage rides through tree-lined streets pass Kansas City's most luxurious retailers, with annual events including the Plaza Art Fair drawing 300,000 attendees each September.

The Nelson-Atkins Museum's 45,000-work encyclopedic collection opened December 11, 1933 with strong holdings in Asian art (considered one of America's top 5), European paintings (including Caravaggio and Monet), photography, and the 22-acre Kansas City Sculpture Park featuring the iconic 48-foot shuttlecocks added in 1994 by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. The original Neoclassical building by Wight and Wight opened free to the public and remains free today, with the 2007 Bloch Building addition by Steven Holl featuring 24 white glass lenses creating translucent gallery spaces along the sculpture garden.

n since 1958), becoming the most famous barbecue restaurant in America after Calvin Trillin's 1974 New Yorker essay called it the best restaurant in the world. The menu remains simple: burnt ends, sliced brisket, pulled pork, ribs, and chicken served on butcher paper with white bread and the signature gritty vinegar-based sauce that originated with Henry Perry who taught Arthur Bryant in the 1920s. Three US Presidents (Carter, Obama, Biden), celebrity chefs, and every food critic have pilgrimaged to this unassuming corner in the 18th and Vine district.

ios, restaurants, and independent shops in former industrial warehouses transformed since the late 1990s. The First Friday Art Walk on the first Friday evening of every month draws 20,000 visitors to gallery openings, live music, food trucks, and street performers from 5-9 pm. Notable galleries include the Belger Crane Yard Studios for ceramics, the Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art, and Weinberger Fine Art. The district also houses the Kansas City Streetcar's northern terminus, providing free transportation to downtown.

Crown Center spans 85 acres and 18 blocks adjacent to Union Station, developed by Hallmark Cards founder Joyce Hall as a planned shopping and hotel complex opening in phases from 1971-1995. The Hallmark Visitor Center displays the history of the world's largest greeting card company since 1910 with free admission, while the adjacent Crown Center Square hosts the Ice Terrace outdoor skating rink each winter and free summer concerts. The center connects via skybridge to Union Station, the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel, and includes shopping, restaurants, and the Legoland Discovery Center.