South of downtown
A visitor enters Midtown when they cross 31st Street. A largely residential area, it is the largest single named neighborhood in the city, and actually includes a number of smaller neighborhoods, like Hyde Park, Squire Park, Sheraton Estates, Ivanhoe, Coleman Highlands, Roanoke, Volker, Westport, Southmoreland, Valentine, North Plaza, and many others.
Just south of Midtown is the Country Club Plaza, known locally as "the Plaza", an outdoor shopping center, modeled after Seville, Spain. Farther south is the Waldo/Brookside area marked by more bars and a wonderful pre-war neighborhood. Further south, the city gives way to suburban development, which continues for about 10-15 mi 16-24 km, before giving way to rural farmland and pastures.
Downtown
Downtown Kansas City is generally defined as the areas including the River Market, the central business district the "Loop", the Crossroads Arts District, Crown Center and Union Station.
After years of neglect and decay in the 1980s and 1990s, downtown is making a comeback. Many once-abandoned buildings in downtown have been or are being rebuilt into high-dollar condominiums and loft apartments. The demand for residences downtown is quite high. In October of 2007, the Sprint Center sports arena was completed, bringing a modern sports and entertainment venue to the downtown core. The Power and Light District was constructed and opened in 2008. The "P&L" District comprises 5 high rise residential and office towers, with many clubs, bars, restaurants, and shops on the lower floors. A new performing arts center south of the convention center area opened in 2011.
The "Downtown Council" (http://www.downtownkc.org) operates security and cleaning/maintenance crews, who keep downtown's streets clean and serve as a security presence. Downtown is one of the safest areas of the city, both day and night.
Traveling north to south, the River Market is the first neighborhood one encounters, south of the banks of the Missouri River. A burgeoning urban neighborhood, it houses many shops, restaurants, bars, and a very active farmers' market that convenes every Saturday, even in winter.
The expressways form a loop around the central business district CBD. Crossing the north segment of the loop takes you from the River Market to the CBD. This is where Kansas City's famed skyline reaches its greatest heights, further accentuated by its position on top of a sizable hill. The CBD has the principal concentration of white-collar employment in the metro area. The world headquarters for H&R Block is located here, within the P and L District.
From here, crossing the south segment of the loop will bring a visitor into the Crossroads Arts District, which is a regional center for art, culture, and nightlife.
When crossing Pershing, Union Station and Crown Center are seen, which houses shops, restaurants, and offices, including the world headquarters of Hallmark. The nearby Liberty Memorial (http://www.libertymemoria...) is the world's first World War I memorial and has spectacular views from the top. Just south of Crown Center is Union Hill, another revitalized area offering some of the best skyline views in the city.
Understand
Kansas City is a city that tends to hide itself from tourists. Having reportedly more boulevards than Paris and more fountains than any other city in the world except for Rome, it can be a beautiful city, too. It is also unique, in that it is split down the middle by the state line of Kansas and Missouri.
The suburbs are largely south of the central city, though the area north of the Missouri River known locally as the Northland is beginning to experience growth similar to the south. Numbering of east/west streets begins at the Missouri River with the east/west division occurring at Main Street. Westport is around 40th St., the Plaza at 47th St., Brookside at 55th, and Waldo beginning around Gregory 71st St..
Climate
Due to the lack of any large body of water nearby, KC experiences a continental climate with large swings and extremes of temperature. Winters vary from mild to very cold, with significant snow at times, and temperatures occasionally dipping to single digits and below 0°F -18°C. Snow accumulation occurs 3-5 times per year, on average, sometimes exceeding a foot 31 cm. KC enjoys very pleasant spring and autumn weather, but suffers hot, humid summers. It is not uncommon for the temperature to stay above 90°F 32°C for weeks at a time, during July and August. Because of the heat, almost all buildings in KC are equipped with air conditioning. While KC has relatively high humidity, the most common weather is clear with almost completely blue skies. The majority of the rain falls in Apr-Jun, but even in these wettest months, rain is light, compared to other cities in the region.