Travel + Leisure names Kansas City a top 30 ‘favorite’ American city

Kansas City made Travel + Leisure’s new list of America’s Favorite Cities.

In the annual survey, Travel + Leisure’s readers rated more than 400 cities and towns on such features as dining, shopping and cultural attractions, and selected the top 30. New contenders like Knoxville, Tenn., made the list and it said readers also are increasingly giving props to cities for their craft beers, burger joints and independent bookstores.

Kansas City was No. 24 on the list:

“The Midwestern hub continues to master high culture and comfort food. Readers loved its barbecue, as well as its world-class art scene — like the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, which is currently undergoing a big renovation.”

The burnt ends at Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque and Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que were mentioned, as well as Kansas City’s boutiques like Urban Provisions in the East Bottoms.

Readers voted from Oct. 8, 2015, through April 15. They could submit their favorite place and then rate it in more than 65 categories, including affordability, notable restaurants and public parks.

Buffalo, New York, took the top spot. Travel + Leisure said: “People think it’s been wildly underrated. Indeed, Buffalo impressed readers with everything from its affordability to its surprising high-end dining.”

This story was originally published May 12, 2016 at 1:51 PM with the headline "Travel + Leisure names Kansas City a top 30 ‘favorite’ American city."