- Walk: First recommendation would be to just walk around the downtown area on a nice sunny day. The city is clean and tranquil, prefect for an afternoon stroll. To hot or rainy to walk, check out the city’ skywalks. Four miles of climate-controlled skywalks in Downtown Des Moines – to help you navigate and walk from hotels to restaurants or coffee shops.
2. Eat: Greater Des Moines is home to so many new and innovative eateries that sometimes it’s hard to keep up.
- Zombie Burger + Drink Lab —is a popular American burger joint with a fun horror theme. It’s a unique and vibrant place to visit for date night or family fun. Make sure to try some of their burgers like Flamethrower, Dawn of the Dead, and The Poultrygeist.
- St. Kilda is super cool, trendy spot in downtown Des Moines with two locations, including St. Kilda Collective in Valley Junction. They have a variety of unique drinks, and the food is fresh, light and delish.
- Lastly make sure to check out Eatery A and their patio overlooking Ingersoll Avenue’s “restaurant row.” Their happy hour is one of the best in the city and the main menu features Mediterranean-inspired cuisine and an extensive wine and beer list.
3. Drink (Nightlife): To my surprise I actually had a ball, when we went bar hopping in the downtown area.
- First stop, 300 Craft & Rooftop this is like the go to spot to start your epic night! The patio on the top of the 300 MLK has beautiful views of downtown Des Moines and Principal Park. It is a spacious bar with music bumping and shots flowing!
The next two I didn’t visit personally but they are highly recommended by locals and blogs:
- El Bait Shop has 185 beers on tap and has the world’s largest selection of American craft beer. This is the place to go for any beer connoisseur. There’s also live music and they serve traditional diner food.
- Fong’s pizza features tasty tiki drinks, Iowa beers, and the famous crab Rangoon pizza. This is a unique spot to visit. Let us know how the pizza is!
4. Explore.
- Be sure to stop by Iowa Statehouse, the architecture alone will make the visit well worth it. The Statehouse was built by Alfred H. Piquenard and John Cochrane from 1971 to 1886. Its style features Renaissance Revival. Don’t forget to look at the 23-carat gold layered central dome.
- National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium: There always tons of things to do inside a museum and aquarium. I always like to go to the different ones to compare which aquariums are the best. You can visit the animals like the American alligator, the bald eagle, the snapping turtle, check out one of their rotating exhibits, exclusive tours and more.
