With about 240 neighborhoods and larger districts, Kansas City, Missouri, offers plenty of diversions. Whether you visit for a day or a weekend, check out Parkville, a historic Missouri River community that loves visitors, annual parades and holiday festivals yet feels like a quiet little town where time stands still.

Explore its diverse eateries, including The Craic Irish pub, bistros and good steak joints. Antique shops, art galleries, boutiques and food markets line Main Street, all friendly mom-and-pop places, most with restored or original mid-1800s to mid-1900s exteriors. Scenic English Landing Park attracts joggers, bikers and walkers year-round with trails alongside the Missouri River.

Events in the park include music and beer festivals as well as annual holiday gatherings such as Paint Parkville (October); Parkville Days (August); and Christmas on the River (December), for which most of Parkville’s 6,500 residents bundle up. For an overnight in Parkville, consider lovely Main Street Inn, built in 1885, offering two large suites and one standard guestroom, including private baths and full breakfast.

© Harrison Coggins

Kansas City’s neighborhoods abound with unique museums, such as The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, American Jazz Museum, Museum of Toys and Miniatures, National WWI Museum, and Museum of Illusions. The metro area also celebrates its connection with aviation. Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum maintains the house where she was born in 1897 in Atchison, Kansas, about 50 minutes from Kansas City. Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum, just 5 miles from the Birthplace Museum, features Muriel, the world’s last remaining Lockheed Electra 10-E aircraft, an identical model to the plane Earhart piloted on her final flight. The Atchison Amelia Earhart Foundation turned to Dimensional Innovations and DI Build to construct an award-winning experiential design, build and technology firm at the Hangar Museum, creating a highly engaging museum experience for adults and children alike.

The TWA Museum at 10 Richards Road, Kansas City, Missouri, built in 1931 as the new TWA headquarters, contains documents, artifacts and photos, plus a full-sized 1937 Lockheed Electra 12A Junior aircraft.

In its first major update since opening in 1972, Kansas City International Airport opened a new $1.5 billion terminal in 2023, boasting 40 domestic and international gates with plans to expand to 50. Features include two moving walkways between two concourses; 16 security checkpoints; a 6,200-space parking garage; a sensory room; all-gender and gender-specific restrooms with baby changing tables; 10 nursing rooms; 50-plus restaurants and local businesses; a children’s play area; an outdoor courtyard and stages for live music; and indoor and outdoor pet-relief areas.