Sauer Castle has been a part of my life since I was a kid…read more My dad used to take me and my siblings up to the castle at night on family drives and tell us great ghostly stories. Once me and my school buddies could drive, we would make many journeys up to this area, drink and freak ourselves out. I've taken many friends on the drive through Argentine in KCK up the steep incline of a road to the castle to gaze. There are many stories about this place, so many that I have no idea which are true and which are not. I should do the research to find out, but there is something inside of me that wishes to keep *all* the stories I have heard alive and well. But the few that I can think of at this time include: There was an underground railroad tunnel to the Kaw River from this residence. The wife hanged herself on the second story balcony from the bell tower rope.....her ghost could be seen on the balcony in a flowing white gown. There is an outline of an old pond (fountain) on the grounds that two children had drown in. The stories talk about the husband's ghost walking the house and grounds protecting his property. I've been told that the stones and woodwork in the house was imported from Germany. He chose this site because it sat on top of bluff of the Kaw River and he could see the entire city. That's what I've been told through the years, again, I don't know what is and isn't true. When I was a teenager there was a caretaker that lived in the house. He supposedly had guns and dogs to help him take care of all of the curious people making the pilgrimage up to look at the castle from afar or up on the *private property* itself. Since then, the caretake has passed, the house had a huge auction and the house in now surrounded by a chain link fence. I don't know who owns it, but I hope something great happens with this legend of a castle. I'm sure I gave myself crows feet from all of the squinting I've done at this location hoping to see a ghostly figure. (and at times sure that I did see things) I'm sure I've given myself some anxiety disorder from the tricks my imagination has played on me because of this place. I wouldn't change a thing because I love every memory I have of this place. Not only Sauer Castle, but much of the neighborhood itself, stories run rampant in this *interesting* part of town. Now.....go! Go check it out for yourself and I hope you don't get lost in trying to find this mysterious, fantastic piece of local flavor!

Okay so it kind of cracks me up that Sauer Castle is on Yelp. It is on the National Register, and…read morehas a sort of local legend charm to it here in the metro area. I found out about Sauer Castle back when I was dating my now husband. We went on a ghost tour around the city and this was one of the stops. I won't bore everyone here with Sauer Castle lore but it's well worth the wikipedia read. Every once in a while if I'm in the area I'll drive by and see how the renovations are going on this place. It's kind of remarkable to see and take in, even just from the road, as it's in a very modest neighborhood and all of a sudden there is this massive victorian mansion. The ghost stories only make the place all the more interesting. I believe it's currently been purchased and is being restored so who knows, maybe one day this will be a landmark folks can explore - I'd love to go inside. Until then it will just be one of my favorite little off the beaten path KC landmarks.

Wow, such a fun experience. These 2 "characters", Benny "The Bull" and I never caught the main…read moreguide's name were just dialed in! They had that presentation memorized down to the second. Even with unknowns like getting stuck in traffic and stop lights they managed to keep everything flowing. If any family members or friends come into town, I'll gladly recommend this tour over and over again

We really enjoyed this tour! The actors play off each other with corny jokes and accents, it's so…read morefun! The tour was about 90 min, kind of educational, more interesting to us as we like to learn and read about the gangster eras. It's on a short bus, I wouldn't go with a large group, it's two by two seats and one long seat in the back for about 4-5 people. You can't always see out the window but they describe what happened at that area. It's something different and fun to do, worth the $30 something we spent.

Great bridge to run or walk across for some pretty views of the Missouri River!…read more I appreciate that they have an elevator as well as stairs so it's more accessible. This reminds me of running along the Schuylkill River in Philly!

Came here because I was so close from being at the City Market because I wanted to see the view. It…read morewas a pretty short bridge to the river and the views were nice but I'm not going to call it spectacular because all you can really see is the river and a couple of bridges. The area is pretty industrial. You can also go downstairs which I didn't really have time to but there's paths where you can walk and run and also get a different view. Overall a quick stop if you have some time. A good escape from a busy area to sip a coffee or something (which is what I did...)

I asked for recommendations on what to do while in Kansas City and this was the number one…read morerecommendation from several people. After visiting myself, I can totally see why. The river market is unique, you have indoor and outdoor options. Garden shops, fresh vegetables and fruits, international cuisine, a variety of coffee and so many beautiful bouquet of flowers. It's definitely one of a kind. I spent about 2 hours here but it wasn't enough. I'm looking forwards to coming back! My favorite buy was a handmade grater, made in Spain. One of the vendors was selling them. I can't wait to use it! If you come here, i recommend arriving early and expect parking to be somewhat challenging.

just moved to kc and was looking for something to do on a sunday. this was cute! lots of great…read morelocal businesses to eat at and some great produce also!

This is said to be the most photographed doorway in Kansas City, and it's not surprise. Really,…read moreit's one of the most beautiful doorways I have seen anywhere. This house was designed by Kansas City's great Louis Curtiss. He was sort of the Frank Lloyd Wright of Kansas City, only with more Art Nouveau influences. Kansas City is full of beautiful stone houses with art glass doorways, but this one is the most grand. Today this old house serves as the admissions office for the Kansas City Art Institute. With a building this pretty, they would have me sold. According to KCAI's website: "The building was the home of mining magnate R. E. Bruner, who embedded mineral samples in the interior stone walls of his first-floor library, inspiring the name Mineral Hall. Dating to 1903-04, the structure is an amalgam of Art Nouveau, Prairie Style, Second Empire and Neoclassic architectural elements." Go ahead and take a pic, you know you want to. Come on, everyone's doing it!!

Mineral Hall houses the offices for the department of Continuing Education and Professional Studies…read morefor the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI). The building is formerly a house. The beautiful mosaic doorway at the front of the building is frequently photographed by visitors and passersby. The administrators are very friendly and helpful.

First Fridays in the West Bottoms is a must! Every First Friday weekend, (first Friday, Saturday…read moreand Sunday of the month) tons of antique stores open up in the old industrial buildings. Food trucks line the streets and most of the stores have a little cafe inside, so spend the day shopping! You literally will spend hours there because there is so much to see! I make sure every month I have First Friday weekends off so that I can go to the West Bottom antiques. Most of the stores only open during First Fridays; stores like Bella Patina, Good JuJu, and Top Hat are some of my favs along with the Painted Sofa that is open every weekend. I have bought soap, an old pulley, clothes, shoes and an old door in West Bottoms. The stores literally have everything!

I'm told that every first Friday weekend in the West Bottoms (Fri.-Sun.), a historic district comes…read morealive and is home to antiques and boutiques which are open late. We weren't so fortunate to be there on those days however but still managed a couple of trips to this industrial district. I'm an amateur shutter-bug and places like this intrigue me. The empty streets, abandoned buildings, railroad tracks and rawness appeals to me and the fact that this was the heart and soul of Kansas City back in the day feeds my desire to learn about the history of this beautiful city. We came late in the afternoon and just walked the streets. A few shops were open but the majority of them were closed. Best way I can describe the place is it's pretty-ugly. Not everyone can appreciate the beauty in worn out, dilapidated buildings. I loved it! Stockyard warehouses with the broken glass windows, fire escapes that precariously dangle on the sides of buildings, thistle laden lots, the painted signs on the sides of brick walls - everything was a photo op. My biggest faux-pas? I didn't pack my "good" camera and it was amusing to walk around fairly unplugged with only an i-phone to shoot with (and to top it off, my storage was full LOL!!). I guess that was a sign from the universe allowing me to experience the West Bottoms. Some blocks of the Bottoms was so quiet it was eerie! I could sense something or someone watching from above or somewhere. Loved it all! Beautiful and would certainly come back again. We saw a few homeless people walking around with their shopping carts but overall, felt safe. I would hate to see this place excessively commercialized and I'm so happy to see that tenants are filling the empty warehouses and embracing KC's historical past and merging it with the new.

Bacon. Tons of bacon. Bacon popcorn. Bacon brownies. Bacon Mac & cheese. You get the point…read more With admission to Bacon Fest, not only do you contribute to charity, you also get tons of bacony samples and lots of AmeriBrew pub beer. With 10 vendors providing food samples, you really get to try a lot of different things. My favorites were the Lucky bakery scones and the Funky Monkey popcorn. We didn't partake in all you can eat bacon contest ($10) but watched, and it was pretty entertaining. The beer samples were good, including the pale ale, dark lager, and blonde. The event was held in the parking lot at the Ameristar Casino, not too much shade but thankfully the weather was nice today for the event. Enjoying the food beer and people watching. A fun way to celebrate a Midwestern staple.

Loved all the bacon-inspired food samples: bacon-wrapped pork belly, bacon covered brownies, bacon…read morescones, bacon popcorn, bacon soda, & more. Great idea to have the ticket bands to coordinate stations. It helped us keep track of what we'd tried & where each was located. I had more blonde than expected as I'm more of a sour drinker (hint, hint). My only complaints were having nowhere to set anything down; it made eating samples & drinking difficult. Also, a few tents or some kind of shade would have also made a world of difference. If not for the wind, the excessive sweating would have sent me home after our last samples. If a little better set-up, or a kinder day, this is an event I would love to taste again.

Not to be confused with the Power & Light District, this landmark is the glowing, art-deco style…read morebuilding *almost* in the dead center of the KC skyline. For starters, let me show my hometown bias here but the KC skyline is an epic skyline. Sure it's not New York or Seattle, but take a second to Google-image search some other U.S. skylines.. Dallas? Yawn. LA? If I could see it through the smog, I might rank it higher. Denver? The mountains add to it, but otherwise it's like a short section of Lego blocks. The KC skyline frames everything, with great views of the city while packing in Union Station, Kauffman Center, T-Mobile Center, Western Auto sign, the fun-if-not-slightly-cheese Marriott light up billboard (which will always be near and dear to me after seeing it after the Chiefs Super Bowl win), and this cool, old building. This one is most known for it's glowing ember up top, that changes colors. Formerly, it announced sun (yellow), or rain (blue). It rings in Pride Month in June, sports themes, Cancer awareness and other seasonal highlights throughout the year. I've never been into this building, but with iconic placement on the skyline, and nearly century old history, it's a cool building that I always appreciate from afar.

We lived here for sometime, and on leaving I feel like we can call it a home. This is a great…read morelocation and I simply love the building.

Great food vendors - I'd like to see tapas offered so we could try more vendors' foods…read more Next time we'll know to bring a chair. Hopefully next year it'll be cooler weather. We had a great time.

We had a fantastic walking food tour. A great mix of food and Kansas City history. We are not from…read morethe area and came for a long weekend and this was a fabulous way to learn about the city and enjoy the food!