With roughly 240 neighborhoods and larger districts, Kansas City, Missouri, offers a wide range of attractions. If you have a day or a weekend, include Parkville on your itinerary. This historic Missouri River community welcomes visitors with annual parades and holiday festivals, yet retains the relaxed charm of a small town where time seems to slow down.
Parkville’s Main Street is lined with independent restaurants and shops. You’ll find everything from The Craic Irish pub to cozy bistros and classic steakhouses. Antique stores, art galleries, boutiques and food markets occupy restored facades dating from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s, creating a pleasant streetscape of mom-and-pop businesses. For outdoor activity, English Landing Park draws joggers, cyclists and walkers to its trails along the Missouri River.
The park hosts seasonal events and festivals, including music and beer celebrations and community gatherings such as Paint Parkville in October, Parkville Days in August and Christmas on the River in December. For overnight stays, Main Street Inn—built in 1885—offers two spacious suites and a standard guestroom, each with private baths and a full breakfast.
© Harrison Coggins
Kansas City’s neighborhoods are home to a rich selection of museums. Highlights include The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the American Jazz Museum, the Museum of Toys and Miniatures, the National WWI Museum and the Museum of Illusions. The region also celebrates aviation history. In nearby Atchison, Kansas—about a 50-minute drive—the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum preserves the house where Earhart was born in 1897. Close by, the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum displays Muriel, the last surviving Lockheed Electra 10-E, the same model Earhart flew on her final flight. The Hangar features an immersive, family-friendly experience created through thoughtful design and exhibit work.
The TWA Museum, housed at 10 Richards Road in Kansas City in a building constructed in 1931 as TWA’s headquarters, showcases documents, artifacts and photographs, and includes a full-sized 1937 Lockheed Electra 12A Junior aircraft.
Kansas City International Airport received its first major overhaul since 1972 with the opening of a new $1.5 billion terminal in 2023. The terminal offers 40 domestic and international gates with plans to grow to 50, two moving walkways connecting concourses, 16 security checkpoints and a 6,200-space parking garage. Passenger-focused amenities include a sensory room, multiple all-gender and gender-specific restrooms with baby changing tables, 10 nursing rooms, more than 50 restaurants and local retailers, a children’s play area, an outdoor courtyard and stages for live music, plus both indoor and outdoor pet-relief areas.