Shannon O'Brien Travel Itineraries

The best destinations

Photo of Missouri
Photo of Missouri

The Best of Missouri

#64 best destination in the world

Map view

Silver Dollar City

Photo of Silver Dollar City

Best time to visit: Sept-Nov

Cost: $

  • Amusement park near the cities of Branson and Branson West, opened in 1960
  • The park themed as an 1880s Ozarks village, and is situated on the site of one of the Ozarks' oldest attractions, Marvel Cave

Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, Gateway Arch National Park

Photo of Gateway Arch National Park

Walk difficulty: Easy

Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Oct

Cost: $

  • National park located in St. Louis, near the starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
  • In its initial form as a national memorial, it was established in 1935 to commemorate: the Louisiana Purchase and subsequent westward movement of American explorers and pioneers; and the first civil government west of the Mississippi River
  • The national park consists of the Gateway Arch, a steel catenary arch that has become the definitive icon of St. Louis

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City

Photo of Kansas City

Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Oct

Cost: $

  • Art museum opened in 1994, in Kansas City, and it is Missouri's first and largest contemporary museum
  • The Kemper Museum permanent collection includes more than 1,400 works created after the 1913 Armory Show to works by present-day artists

Table Rock Lakeshore Trail, Table Rock State Park

Photo of Table Rock State Park

Walk difficulty: Easy

Best time to visit: Sept-Nov

Cost: $

  • Table Rock State Park is a public recreation area on Table Rock Lake along the city of Branson
  • The state park's facilities include a marina, campgrounds, and trails for hiking and bicycling

Adam Puchta Winery, Hermann

Photo of Hermann

Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Oct

Cost: $

  • The oldest continuously family-owned winery in the nation, under direct family ownership since 1855, offering wine tasting experiences, as well as the option to browse historical buildings and the wine cellar

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Photo of Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Oct

Cost: $

  • Art museum in Kansas City, known for its encyclopedic collection of art from nearly every continent and culture, and especially for its extensive collection of Asian art, especially that of Imperial China

White Tail and Old Kate Loop, Parkville Nature Sanctuary

Photo of Parkville Nature Sanctuary

Walk difficulty: Easy

Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Oct

Cost: $

  • Wildlife preserve with a natural outdoor area made accessible by nearly three miles of hiking trails

Forest Park Wheels and Heels Path

Photo of Forest Park

Walk difficulty: Moderate

Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Oct

Cost: $

  • Public park in St. Louis, opened in 1876, more than a decade after its proposal
  • The park has hosted several significant events, including the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904 and the 1904 Summer Olympics
  • The park's acreage includes meadows and trees and a variety of ponds, manmade lakes, and freshwater streams

Missouri Botanical Garden Loop

Photo of Missouri Botanical Garden

Walk difficulty: Easy

Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Oct

Cost: $

  • Botanical garden located in St. Louis, whose herbarium, with more than 6.6 million specimens, is the second largest in North America, behind that of the New York Botanical Garden
  • Some highlights of the garden include, The Biblical garden featuring date palm, pomegranate, fig and olive trees, caper, mint, citron and other plants mentioned in the Bible; and Seiwa-en Japanese Garden, with lawns and paths set around a central lake, known as the largest Japanese Garden in North America

City Museum

Photo of City Museum

Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Oct

Cost: $

  • Museum whose exhibits consist largely of repurposed architectural and industrial objects, housed in the former International Shoe building in St. Louis, opened in 1997

Saint Louis Art Museum

Photo of Saint Louis Art Museum

Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Oct

Cost: $

  • One of the principal U.S. art museums, with paintings, sculptures, cultural objects, and ancient masterpieces from all corners of the world
  • The collection of the Saint Louis Art Museum contains more than 34,000 objects dating from antiquity to the present

National World War I Museum and Memorial

Photo of National World War I Museum and Memorial

Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Oct

Cost: $

  • Museum opened in 1926, designated by the United States Congress as the country's official war memorial and museum dedicated to World War I
  • The museum focuses on global events from the causes of World War I before 1914 through the 1918 armistice and 1919 Paris Peace Conference
  • Visitors enter the exhibit space within the facility across a glass bridge above a field of 9,000 red poppies, each representing 1,000 combatant deaths