Kansas City
A Proper Weekend in Kansas City, Written by the People Who Live Here
Forty-eight hours is enough for the Nelson-Atkins, the River Market, a barbecue argument and the streetcar, if you put the days in the right order. Here is the version we hand to friends.
- kansas city
- itineraries
- art
- barbecue
- weekends
Before you arrive
A weekend planned by people who live here
Guests ask us the same thing almost every Friday: what would you actually do with two days in Kansas City if you were not working. So we wrote it down. This is the version we hand to friends, not the version that fits a brochure.
A word on the map before we start.
Friday
Arrive, drop your bags, and start at the Plaza
If you land at MCI in the afternoon, you are at the house in well under half an hour.
The Plaza was laid out in the 1920s by J. C. Nichols and modelled on Seville, which is why it looks like a Spanish city dropped into the middle of Missouri.
At a glance
The weekend, hour by hour
A rough shape for the two days. Move it around to suit the weather and your appetite.
| When | Where | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, 4 to 6 pm | Praivelle House and the west trailhead | Settle in, walk the prairie, watch the light change |
| Friday, 7 pm | Country Club Plaza | Spanish towers, fountains and an easy first dinner |
| Friday, 10 pm | The Cellar Bar | One drink downstairs, no driving |
| Saturday, 9 am | Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art | Free admission, a deep collection, the Bloch Building |
| Saturday, noon | River Market and City Market | Lunch, the Arabia museum, the river overlook |
| Saturday, 2 pm | National WWI Museum and Memorial | The Liberty Memorial tower and the glass poppy field |
| Saturday, 5 pm | Crossroads Arts District | Galleries, murals, coffee roasters, First Fridays if the date lines up |
| Saturday, 8 pm | Barbecue, then the Kauffman Center | Dinner and a show, or just the lobby |
The streetcar is free and runs along Main Street from the River Market to Union Station. Use it for the Saturday midday stretch and save the driving for the evening.
Saturday
How to spend the best day of the trip
Saturday is the day to move. This is the order that works, whether you start early or drift out the door after breakfast.
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Start at the Nelson-Atkins when the doors open
The museum opens at ten on Saturdays and admission is free. Go straight to the Bloch Building for the contemporary work, then loop back through the European galleries.
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Cross town to the River Market for lunch
The City Market has been running since 1857 and the Saturday farmers market is the biggest in the region.
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Take the streetcar south
The KC Streetcar is free and runs the length of Main Street.
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Climb the Liberty Memorial
The National WWI Museum and Memorial sits under the tower on Pershing Road. The museum is underground, the poppy field is glass, and the view from the top of the tower is the best in the city.
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End the afternoon in the Crossroads
Walk or drive the ten minutes to the Crossroads Arts District.
The argument
Arthur Bryant’s or Joe’s Kansas City
You will be asked to pick a side, and we will not pretend the question has a clean answer.
Joe’s Kansas City, which most of us still call Oklahoma Joe’s, started in a gas station at 47th and Mission in the Rosedale neighbourhood and has the line to prove it.
If you have more time
Five stops we send people to
These reward a second visit, a rainy afternoon, or a morning when you would rather not fight the crowds.
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The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
A few blocks from the Nelson, free, and small enough to see properly in an hour.
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The Cellar Bar at the house
Our own cellar opens at four and runs to midnight.
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The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
At 18th and Vine, sharing a building with the American Jazz Museum.
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The Overland Park Arboretum
Twenty-five minutes south, and a good counterweight to the city.
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Union Station
The 1914 grand hall is worth a walk-through on the way to the WWI Museum, especially in December when the model train display takes over the main floor.
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The west trailhead
The prairie path on the edge of our own property.
Sunday
Sunday morning, then the prairie
Sunday should be slower. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum opens at ten, and it is the single best two hours you can spend in Kansas City if you care about history.
From there, drive back out to the house. The prairie trailhead on the west side of the property is open to guests, and a twenty-minute walk through the restored grasses is the right way to end a weekend of driving and eating.
Practicalities
How to get around
A few things worth knowing before you set out.
- The KC Streetcar is free and runs along Main Street from the River Market to Union Station
- Downtown parking is easiest in the garages near the Kauffman Center and Crown Center
- The Nelson-Atkins and the Kemper are both free to enter, with paid parking nearby
- Ride share is reliable in the Crossroads and on the Plaza, thinner out by the house, so plan your last ride back
- The Saturday City Market is busiest before ten in the morning, so arrive early for the good stalls
- First Fridays draw large crowds; go early to see the art and stay late for the food trucks
- The WWI Museum tower closes earlier than the museum itself, so climb it before you go underground
- We can arrange a car and driver through the concierge on (816) 555-0148
People come to Kansas City expecting it to be smaller than it is. It is not small. It is just unhurried, and that is a different thing entirely.
Good to know
The questions we hear most
These come up at the front desk almost every weekend.
Do we need a car for a weekend in Kansas City?
It helps. The streetcar and ride share cover the downtown, Crossroads and Plaza stretch well, but the house and the museums are easier by car. We can arrange a driver for any evening you would rather not think about parking.
How far is the hotel from downtown and the airport?
About ten minutes to the Country Club Plaza and roughly twenty-four minutes to Kansas City International. Downtown and the River Market are fifteen to twenty minutes depending on traffic, and the streetcar handles the middle of that run.
Is the Nelson-Atkins really free?
Yes. General admission is free, and so is the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art a few blocks away. Some special exhibitions carry a ticket, so check the calendar before you go.
Which barbecue place should we choose if we only have one meal?
Joe’s Kansas City, at the original gas station location on 47th, for the Z-Man and the burnt ends. Arthur Bryant’s on Brooklyn Avenue is the older story and worth a second meal if you have the appetite.
When is the best time to see the prairie?
The first hour after sunrise, when the dew is still on the grasses and the light comes in low from the east. Late summer and early autumn are the most dramatic, when the big bluestem is at full height.
Let us plan the two days for you
Tell us your dates and what you care about — art, barbecue, the prairie, or all three — and our concierge will build the itinerary around them. We are ten minutes from the Plaza and twenty-four from the airport.
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Let us plan the two days for you
Tell us your dates and what you care about — art, barbecue, the prairie, or all three — and our concierge will build the itinerary around them. We are ten minutes from the Plaza and twenty-four from the airport.
- Lowest rate guaranteed when you book direct
- Breakfast for two and valet parking included
- The Prairie Escape from $279 a night
Two ways to book
Talk to the concierge Call (816) 555-0147Reception 24 hours · Dining 7a–10p · Spa 9a–8p
Need something tonight? Concierge on (816) 555-0148