Hilton Kansas City Country Club Plaza

This 15-square-block outdoor shopping and entertainment district is filled with romantic Spanish architecture, European art and dazzling fountains. Designed in 1922, the Country Club Plaza features local merchants and fashionable national stores as well as distinctive restaurants, outdoor cafes and nightlife hotspots.

The power of art and the spirit of community are the heart of The Nelson-Atkins. With more than 42,000 art objects as part of the encyclopedic collection and free admission, you can take your time explore masterworks ranging from Ancient times to today, including one of the top three Asian art collections worldwide, commissioned Contemporary installations and exceptional Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works. Named one of America’s “Top Ten Lawns with a View,” the 22-acre Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park is home to the nation’s largest collection of monumental bronzes by Henry Moore. The Sculpture Park also features Kansas City’s iconic installation Shuttlecocks. In 2015, the museum’s collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings was doubled in size and significance with the transformative gift from Henry W. and Marion H. Bloch. The museum hosts frequent festivals including Chinese New Year, Passport to India, Juneteenth, Kansas City’s Lawn Party, Deaf Culture Day, American Indian Cultural Celebration, and Day of the Dead. All festivals offer free admission, performances, music, dance, and art activities. HOURS: Open 10 a.m.-5p.m. Mon., Thurs., Sat., Sun., 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday. The Museum is also closed on New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas.

The nine-block Power & Light District in downtown Kansas City links the Kansas City Convention Center T-Mobile Center. The 24/7 neighborhood is home to more than 50 restaurants, bars, entertainment venues and retail outlets.

The acclaimed Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art boasts a rapidly growing permanent collection of modern and contemporary works by artists from around the world. In addition to gallery spaces, the free museum houses an indoor courtyard, a café, a museum shop and a meeting room. The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions and installations, performance work, a film and video series, lectures, concerts and children’s workshops.

Union Station Kansas City—a 501(c)3 non-profit organization—is a 104-year-old historical landmark and celebrated civic asset renovated and reopened to the public in 1999. Recently awarded “Favorite Attraction”, “Favorite Family-Friendly Attraction”, “Favorite Historic Attraction” and “Best of KC”, the organization—dedicated to science education, celebration of community and preservation of history—is home to Kansas City’s internationally-awarded Science City—powered by Burns & McDonnell; the new Arvin Gottlieb Planetarium; the Regnier Extreme Screen Theatre; the popular Model Railroad Experience; City Stage featuring live theater, and a selection of unique shops and restaurants. Union Station is also home to prominent area civic organizations and businesses, and regularly hosts world-class traveling exhibitions. Awarded “Top Banquet Facilities in KC” by KC Business Journal, the facility annually hosts hundreds of community events and private celebrations of all sizes.

Presenting live Broadway entertainment since 1951, Starlight Theatre is Kansas City's oldest and largest performing arts organization. Each summer, Starlight presents up to nine Broadway musical productions and hosts a variety of top concert artists on its outdoor stage. The 16-acre Starlight Theatre complex, located in Swope Park, is one of only two outdoor Broadway-producing theatres of its kind still operational in the United States. It seats approximately 8,000 people.

Located on the southern edge of Downtown Kansas City, Crown Center offers fine hotels, entertainment, dining, shopping, offices and residential living in the city’s burgeoning cultural arts and professional services district. The 85-acre complex, which opened in 1971 and serves as the international headquarters of Hallmark Cards, attracts more than 5 million visitors each year with two world-renowned attractions, SEA LIFE Aquarium Kansas City and LEGOLAND® Discovery Center, and boasts one of the largest flexible meeting spaces in the Midwest at Sheraton Kansas City Hotel and The Westin Kansas City. Crown Center is home to two theaters, MTH Theater and nationally acclaimed The Coterie, and more than 40 shops and restaurants. Crown Center Square hosts large festivals and events and features a seasonal public outdoor ice skating rink.

The Kansas City Zoo offers visitors the unique experience of seeing more than 1,700 animals in naturalistic settings representing the seven continents—all stretched across 202 acres in Swope Park. Animals from around the globe call the KC Zoo home. Lions, elephants, giraffes and more reside in the 95-acre African plains. Step across the 1909 swinging bridge to visit the gorilla troop in the West African forest. Orangutans, kangaroos and tigers dwell in the Australian and Asian habitats.