Things to do · Kansas City · United States
17 best things to do in Kansas City
17 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: John LeCoque, Public domain
Quick answer
The essential sights in Kansas City are National WWI Museum and Memorial, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Of the 17 picks below, 6 are free, 9 work on a rainy day and 5 suit children. Allow about 3 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- National WWI Museum and Memorial
- Free sights
- 6
- Good on a rainy day
- National WWI Museum and Memorial
- Time to see the highlights
- 3 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| National WWI Museum and Memorial | Crown Center | 3–4 hours | Mid-priced |
| Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art | Country Club Plaza | 2–3 hours | Free |
| Negro Leagues Baseball Museum | 18th & Vine Jazz District | 1.5–2 hours | Low cost |
| Chiefs or Royals game at the Truman Sports Complex | Truman Sports Complex | 4–6 hours with tailgating | Expensive |
| American Jazz Museum and the Blue Room | 18th & Vine Jazz District | 1–2 hours, plus a show | Low cost |
| Union Station and Science City | Crown Center | 1 hour; 3 hours with Science City | Low cost |
| Country Club Plaza | Country Club Plaza | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Arabia Steamboat Museum | River Market | 1.5 hours | Mid-priced |
| City Market | River Market | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts | Downtown | 1 hour or a performance | Mid-priced |
| Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art | Country Club Plaza | 1 hour | Free |
| Crossroads First Fridays | Crossroads Arts District | 2–3 hours | Free |
| Power & Light District | Downtown | An evening | Low cost |
| Loose Park and Rose Garden | Country Club Plaza | 1 hour | Free |
| Boulevard Brewing Company | Westside | 1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Kansas City Zoo and Aquarium | Swope Park | Half a day | Mid-priced |
| Legoland Discovery Center and Sea Life at Crown Center | Crown Center | 2–3 hours | Mid-priced |
The 17 best things to do
Museum · Crown Center
1.National WWI Museum and Memorial
Designated by Congress as America's official First World War museum, it opens with a glass bridge over a field of 9,000 poppies, each representing 1,000 combatant deaths. The galleries cover the war from 1914 with trenches, weapons and letters, and the Liberty Memorial Tower above has an observation deck looking straight down to Union Station and the skyline.
Walk out onto the memorial lawn at the top of the hill at sunset; it is free and gives the city's classic skyline view.
- Time needed
- 3–4 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- History
- Rainy day
- Views
Museum · Country Club Plaza
2.Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
The neoclassical museum and its glass Bloch Building extension hold an encyclopedic collection, with particular strength in Chinese art, European paintings and photography. General admission is free. Outside, the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park has Henry Moore bronzes and the four giant Shuttlecocks by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen scattered across the lawn.
Start in the Bloch Building and finish on the south lawn so you see the Shuttlecocks in late-afternoon light.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Art
- Free
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Museum · 18th & Vine Jazz District
3.Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
The museum tells the story of the Black professional leagues, from their 1920 founding at a meeting in Kansas City to Jackie Robinson's move to the majors. It ends at the Field of Legends, a mock diamond with bronze statues of Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Buck O'Neil and other stars at their positions.
Buy the combined ticket with the American Jazz Museum, which shares the same building.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
- Iconic
Experience · Truman Sports Complex
4.Chiefs or Royals game at the Truman Sports Complex
Arrowhead Stadium, home of the NFL's Chiefs, is known for tailgating that starts hours before kickoff and crowd noise once it does. Next door, Kauffman Stadium is the Royals' baseball park, with a 322-foot-wide fountain display beyond the outfield. Both stadiums sit beside I-70 about 12 km east of downtown.
Chiefs tickets are scarce and expensive; a Royals game in summer is the easier, family-friendly way to see a game.
- Time needed
- 4–6 hours with tailgating
- Cost
- Expensive
- Book ahead
- Chiefs home games usually sell out; buy through the team's official ticketing well ahead.
- Iconic
- Kids
- After dark
Museum · 18th & Vine Jazz District
5.American Jazz Museum and the Blue Room
Kansas City jazz — Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Mary Lou Williams — grew up in the clubs around 18th and Vine in the 1930s. The museum has listening stations and Parker's saxophone, and its attached Blue Room is a working jazz club with live sets most weeks.
Check the Blue Room's calendar and plan the museum visit for late afternoon so you can stay for an evening set.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours, plus a show
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- After dark
- Art
- Rainy day
Architecture · Crown Center
6.Union Station and Science City
The 1914 Beaux-Arts station has a Grand Hall with a 95-foot ceiling and three huge chandeliers, and still serves Amtrak trains. The building also houses Science City, a hands-on science centre for children, plus a planetarium, a model railroad exhibit and touring exhibitions.
Walking through the Grand Hall is free; pair it with the WWI Museum across Pershing Road.
- Time needed
- 1 hour; 3 hours with Science City
- Cost
- Low cost
- Architecture
- Kids
- History
- Rainy day
- Photo spot
Street · Country Club Plaza
7.Country Club Plaza
Opened in 1922 as one of the first shopping districts in the US designed for people arriving by car, the Plaza copies the look of Seville with a replica Giralda tower, tiled roofs and many fountains and statues. The J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain at its eastern edge is the city's most photographed fountain.
Visit after dark from Thanksgiving to mid-January, when the Plaza Lights outline every building.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Shopping
- Free
- Architecture
- Couples
- After dark
Museum · River Market
8.Arabia Steamboat Museum
The steamboat Arabia sank in the Missouri River in 1856 carrying 200 tons of frontier supplies. The river moved, and in 1988 a family dug the wreck out of a Kansas cornfield; the museum displays what they found — boots, dishes, tools and preserved pickles — and the restoration lab where conservation continues.
Go on a weekend morning and combine it with the City Market stalls just outside.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Kids
- Rainy day
Market · River Market
1.City Market
Kansas City's public market has run on this site since the 1850s. On weekends farmers and vendors fill the open-air stalls with produce, flowers, honey and spices, while the permanent buildings hold international grocers, bakeries and inexpensive restaurants.
Saturday mornings are the busiest market day; arrive early for the best produce and parking.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Food
- Free
- Shopping
Architecture · Downtown
2.Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
Moshe Safdie's 2011 concert complex is made of two stainless-steel-clad shells facing a glass atrium with views south over the city. It is home to the Kansas City Symphony, Lyric Opera and Kansas City Ballet, and Helzberg Hall's pipe organ is a centrepiece.
Even without a show ticket, look out for free public tours and free events; the glass lobby view is best at dusk.
- Time needed
- 1 hour or a performance
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Architecture
- Art
- After dark
- Couples
Gallery · Country Club Plaza
3.Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
A small, free contemporary museum beside the Kansas City Art Institute, with a permanent collection of modern and contemporary art and a steady programme of changing exhibitions. Louise Bourgeois's giant bronze spider sculpture stands outside the entrance.
It is a ten-minute walk from the Nelson-Atkins; do both in one art-focused afternoon.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Art
- Free
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Experience · Crossroads Arts District
4.Crossroads First Fridays
On the first Friday evening of each month, Crossroads galleries and studios open late and the blocks around Baltimore Avenue and 18th Street fill with food trucks, street musicians and pop-up stalls. Many galleries pour free wine and the area's restaurants and breweries are packed.
Ride the free streetcar to the Crossroads stop rather than hunting for parking.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Art
- After dark
- Free
- Food
Neighbourhood · Downtown
5.Power & Light District
An eight-block entertainment district named after the art deco Kansas City Power & Light Building. Its centre is KC Live!, a covered courtyard with a big screen ringed by bars, where thousands gather to watch Chiefs games and concerts. The T-Mobile Center arena is next door.
Away games are the time to experience KC Live!; arrive early because entry can close when it fills.
- Time needed
- An evening
- Cost
- Low cost
- After dark
- Food
Park · Country Club Plaza
6.Loose Park and Rose Garden
This 75-acre park south of the Plaza was the site of the 1864 Battle of Westport, the largest Civil War battle west of the Mississippi, and markers explain the fighting. Today it is best known for its formal rose garden with thousands of bushes, a lake and wide lawns.
Visit from late May into June when the roses are at peak bloom.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Couples
- History
Experience · Westside
7.Boulevard Brewing Company
Founded in 1989 on Southwest Boulevard, Boulevard is the city's best-known brewery, makers of Unfiltered Wheat and the Smokestack Series. Its tours run through the original brewhouse, and the Tours & Rec Center has a tasting bar and a rooftop with downtown views.
Book a tour slot online on weekends, then walk to the Mexican restaurants on Southwest Boulevard for dinner.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Food
- Rainy day
Zoo · Swope Park
8.Kansas City Zoo and Aquarium
In Swope Park, one of the largest urban parks in the US, the zoo covers more than 200 acres with an African savanna section, a polar bear exhibit and the Sobela Ocean Aquarium, which opened in 2023. A train and a sky ride help with the distances.
Plan the African section first while children have energy; it is a long walk from the entrance.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Nature
Aquarium · Crown Center
9.Legoland Discovery Center and Sea Life at Crown Center
Two indoor family attractions sit side by side in the Crown Center shopping complex: a Lego play centre with a Miniland model of the Kansas City skyline, and Sea Life, an aquarium with an ocean tunnel and touch pools. Both suit children under about ten best.
Combination tickets bought online cost less than paying for each at the door.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | National WWI Museum and Memorial, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and American Jazz Museum and the Blue Room |
| History | National WWI Museum and Memorial, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, American Jazz Museum and the Blue Room and Union Station and Science City |
| Views | National WWI Museum and Memorial |
| Outdoors and nature | Loose Park and Rose Garden and Kansas City Zoo and Aquarium |
| Food and markets | City Market, Crossroads First Fridays, Power & Light District and Boulevard Brewing Company |
| After dark | American Jazz Museum and the Blue Room, Country Club Plaza, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and Crossroads First Fridays |
| With children | Union Station and Science City, Arabia Steamboat Museum, Chiefs or Royals game at the Truman Sports Complex and Kansas City Zoo and Aquarium |
| On a rainy day | National WWI Museum and Memorial, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and American Jazz Museum and the Blue Room |
What to book ahead
- Chiefs or Royals game at the Truman Sports Complex: Chiefs home games usually sell out; buy through the team's official ticketing well ahead.
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Kansas City?
National WWI Museum and Memorial. Designated by Congress as America's official First World War museum, it opens with a glass bridge over a field of 9,000 poppies, each representing 1,000 combatant deaths.
+What can you do for free in Kansas City?
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Country Club Plaza, City Market, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and Crossroads First Fridays. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Kansas City when it rains?
Head indoors to National WWI Museum and Memorial, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and American Jazz Museum and the Blue Room.
+What is there to do in Kansas City at night?
American Jazz Museum and the Blue Room, Country Club Plaza, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and Crossroads First Fridays are best after dark.