Rich with the history of plains settlers, fur traders and Civil War battles, Kansas City has grown into a vibrant, diverse city now rich with performing arts, professional sports, abundant recreation, a vast assortment of culinary treats, excellent area schools and a strong and diverse economy, offering something for everyone. So it might not come as big surprise that Kansas City—as the only city in the U.S.—made it onto Frommer’s 2012 list of top ten destinations worldwide. The only U.S. city to get the nod, it rubs shoulders with celebrated locales such as Curacao and Girona, Italy.
The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts was designed by Moshe Safdie whose works are known for their dramatic curves and arrays of simple geometric patterns. The Kansas City Ballet, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and the Kansas City Symphony each share space in the architecturally distinctive building that graces the downtown skyline.
The Kansas City area is the proud home to multiple professional athletic clubs including the Kansas City Chiefs football team, the 2015 World Series Champion Kansas City Royals baseball team, the Sporting Kansas City soccer team and the Missouri Mavericks hockey team. Both the Chiefs and the Royals are housed in recently renovated, state-of-the-art stadiums with arguably the best fan base in the country and the Sporting KC team plays in a stadium that opened in 2011, Children’s Mercy Park.
Whether your interests are geared to the outdoors or indoors, you will find something in Kansas City to suit you. For thrill seekers, there is the World’s of Fun Amusement Park with a roller coaster touting a daring 205-foot drop. There are two outdoor and two indoor water-amusement parks.
Barbecue may be synonymous with Kansas City but there is much more to the local food scene than just ribs and burnt ends. Kansas City’s Boulevard Brewery is the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest producing about 600,000 barrels of beer a year. One of the best selling seasonal beers is the Chocolate Ale, designed in conjunction with local chocolatier, Christopher Elbow.