Things to Do in Kansas City After Breakfast

Snooze, an A.M. Eatery in Westport gives you a convenient starting point for exploring Kansas City. The restaurant sits on Broadway Boulevard in one of the city's oldest neighborhoods, with Midtown, the Country Club Plaza and several major museums nearby.

Order a Pancake Flight for the table, choose one of Snooze's Bennys or go with a breakfast burrito or omelet when you want something savory. Coffee works before a museum-heavy day, while mimosas are a reasonable choice when nobody is rushing through breakfast.

Once you're ready to head out, Kansas City has a strong mix of art, history, music and outdoor attractions. Some of the places below help explain how the city developed. Others are simply worth seeing.

Learn a Little About Westport Before You Leave

Westport is now best known for restaurants, shops and nightlife, but the neighborhood predates Kansas City itself.

John Calvin McCoy established a trading post here in 1833. Westport developed into an important supply point for travelers heading west on the Santa Fe, Oregon and California trails, when wagons needed to stock up before continuing across the plains.

The independent town was eventually absorbed into the growing Kansas City in the late 1800s, but parts of its older street pattern and historic buildings remain.

You don't need to turn breakfast into a history tour, but it's worth knowing what was here first. The neighborhood surrounding Snooze grew up around travelers long before anyone was ordering brunch on Broadway Boulevard.

Explore 5,000 Years of Art at the Nelson-Atkins Museum

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is one of Kansas City's major cultural institutions and covers more than 5,000 years of art.

Its collections stretch across cultures and periods, with substantial holdings in Asian art, European painting, American art, photography, decorative arts and modern and contemporary work. Temporary exhibitions add another reason to see what is on view when you visit.

Outside, the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park extends the museum experience onto the grounds. The enormous Shuttlecocks scattered around the lawn have become some of Kansas City's most recognizable public artworks.

General museum admission is free, which makes it particularly easy to choose the galleries that interest you instead of feeling obligated to see the entire collection.

The museum is also close to Snooze Westport, so it's one of the simplest ways to move from breakfast into a substantial Kansas City attraction.

Understand World War I at the National WWI Museum and Memorial

The National WWI Museum and Memorial holds more than 350,000 objects and documents connected to World War I, representing countries on all sides of the conflict.

That international perspective is important. The museum doesn't begin with the United States entering the war in 1917. Its exhibits explain the political tensions that led to war in Europe, the experience of soldiers and civilians, changes in weapons and technology, and the consequences that continued after the fighting ended.

Artifacts include uniforms, weapons, vehicles, photographs, letters and personal objects. Large exhibits help give scale to a war that can otherwise feel remote when reduced to dates in a history book.

Above the museum stands Liberty Memorial, which Kansas Citians began building after World War I to honor those who served and died. The tower and surrounding grounds have become one of the city's best-known landmarks.

This is one museum where giving the exhibits enough time pays off. There is a lot more here than a military hardware collection.

Walk Through Union Station

Kansas City's Union Station opened in 1914, when rail travel was central to the city's economy and its place in the middle of the country.

The scale reflects that era. The station originally covered roughly 850,000 square feet and included 900 rooms. At its busiest, hundreds of thousands of passengers moved through the building each year.

Passenger rail declined after World War II, and Union Station eventually closed. Kansas City and surrounding communities later funded a major restoration, allowing the building to reopen in 1999.

Today, trains still use the station, but the building also contains Science City, a planetarium, touring exhibitions, restaurants and other attractions. The Grand Hall alone is worth seeing for its high ceilings, enormous windows and Beaux-Arts architecture.

Union Station also sits directly across from the National WWI Museum and Memorial, making the relationship between Kansas City's railroad history and its World War I memorial especially easy to see.

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum tells a baseball story that is also a major piece of American history.

The museum is located in the historic 18th & Vine district, just a couple of blocks from the Paseo YMCA where Andrew "Rube" Foster and other team owners established the Negro National League in 1920.

Exhibits use photographs, films, documents and artifacts to trace Black baseball before Major League Baseball was integrated. The stories include celebrated players such as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, Buck O'Neil and Jackie Robinson, but the museum also explains the teams, owners and communities that sustained the leagues.

One of the museum's central displays is the Field of Legends, where bronze figures representing Negro Leagues stars stand on a baseball diamond.

You don't have to be a serious baseball fan to appreciate the museum. Segregation kept some of the country's best players outside Major League Baseball, and the history here explains both what they accomplished and the barriers they faced.

Hear Kansas City's Jazz Story at 18th & Vine

The American Jazz Museum sits in the same 18th & Vine complex as the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, making it easy to explore two parts of Kansas City history in the same area.

Kansas City became one of the important centers of American jazz during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Musicians developed a blues-heavy, improvisational style associated with Kansas City swing, and clubs around 18th & Vine became important places for musicians to perform and experiment.

Count Basie developed his career in Kansas City. Charlie Parker grew up here and went on to become one of the most influential saxophonists in jazz history.

The American Jazz Museum uses recordings, films, interactive exhibits and artifacts to explain the music and the people who made it. The complex also includes the Blue Room, a working jazz club, and the historic Gem Theater.

Visiting the museum adds something that a playlist can't: the music is being explained in the neighborhood where much of Kansas City's jazz story actually happened.

Walk Around the Country Club Plaza

The Country Club Plaza was developed beginning in the 1920s and remains one of Kansas City's best-known shopping and entertainment districts.

The Plaza covers roughly 15 blocks and is recognizable for its Spanish-inspired architecture, towers, courtyards and decorative tile. Its design was influenced heavily by Seville, Spain, and fountains and sculptures are worked throughout the district.

Today, the area contains more than 100 shops along with restaurants and other businesses.

The architecture is a large part of the reason to visit. Instead of one enclosed shopping center, the Plaza is arranged as a walkable district of streets, plazas and individual buildings.

Kansas City is also famous for its fountains, and the Plaza gives you plenty of opportunities to see why. They range from large landmark fountains to smaller pieces tucked between buildings and streets.

Take a Break at Loose Park

Just south of the Country Club Plaza, Loose Park covers about 74 acres and offers a quieter change from museums and shopping.

Walking paths cross broad lawns and pass a lake, trees and recreational areas. The Laura Conyers Smith Municipal Rose Garden is one of the best-known sections of the park, with thousands of roses growing around a formal circular garden.

The land also has a connection to the Civil War. Fighting during the Battle of Westport took place in this area in October 1864. The battle was one of the largest Civil War engagements fought west of the Mississippi River and helped end major Confederate operations in Missouri.

You don't need to arrive looking for a historical site to enjoy Loose Park. It works just as well for a walk, some time near the lake or an afternoon in the rose garden.

Spend the Day at the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium

Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium sits inside Swope Park and is substantial enough to become the main attraction for the day.

The zoo has animals and habitats representing different parts of the world, including elephants, giraffes, primates, big cats, penguins and many other species.

The Sobela Ocean Aquarium added a major marine component to the property. Its 650,000 gallons of water hold nearly 8,000 animals across 34 habitats, with exhibits explaining how ocean environments are connected even to people living hundreds of miles from the coast.

The zoo's size means families can easily spend several hours here. Animal exhibits are accompanied by conservation and education programs, so there is plenty to learn along the way without making the experience feel like another museum.

It's farther from Westport than several of the other attractions on this list, but families looking for a full-day activity have plenty of reasons to make the trip.

Start Another Kansas City Morning at Snooze

You probably won't cover Kansas City in one day, which leaves a perfectly good excuse for another breakfast at Snooze. The Westport menu gives the table plenty of directions to go, including Pancake Flights, Bennys, breakfast burritos, breakfast tacos and omelets, along with plant-based and lighter choices. Snooze Westport offers online ordering and a waitlist through the Snooze website, making it easy to start another Kansas City day over breakfast.