What to do in Des Moines?

Hi,

Some friends and I are meeting up in Des Moines the weekend of Aug. 24th for a girls weekend. We%26#39;re all from other places and Des Moines is central for us. What might be some good things to do?

We%26#39;re fans of shopping, art, theater, wine, etc. The usual girl stuff. :) Any suggestions are most welcome!

What to do in Des Moines?

The largest concentration of shopping is in the Jordan Creek Mall - West Glen area near I-35 and Mills Civic Pkwy. in West Des Moines. You%26#39;ll find a lot of familiar mall stores, along with some more unique home decor and clothing stores in West Glen. Some of the more eclectic shopping in the area is in Valley Junction in West Des Moines or downtown in the East Village area.

Here%26#39;s additional informaton:

http://www.jordancreektowncenter.com/html/

http://www.valleyjunction.com/

http://www.eastvillagedesmoines.com/

There are some good spas that I%26#39;m told are bargains compared to prices in other cities. One to check out:

http://www.sahars.com/

Des Moines has an art center and some interesting old homes that are open for tour. Check out:

http://www.desmoinesartcenter.org/

http://www.terracehill.org

http://www.salisburyhouse.org/

For gardening or botanical interests, try:

http://www.botanicalcenter.com/

www.bhg.com/bhg/category.jsp鈥?/a>

You may also want to check the calendar of events for more ideas:

seedesmoines.com/asp/visitors/calendar.asp鈥?/a>

Have a great reunion and safe travels!

What to do in Des Moines?

Thanks for all the great info, prariedog! I%26#39;m sure we will do several of the things you listed. :)

My sister and I went to Des Moines a few weeks ago, and though we didn%26#39;t get to do much during the day (we were greeted with an ice storm), we did have a great tim. Des Moines is surprisingly fun and EVERYONE is so nice. We went to some fun bars on Court St., our favorite being a bar called the Royal Mile. And we had dinner at this make-your-own-steak place in Booneville (about 10 miles west of Des Moines) that was pretty interesting. If you have time, the Bridges of Madison County are about 30 minutes southwest of Des Moines. The bridges are ok, but we LOVED the tiny town of Winterset.

Have fun!

there isnt much to do here..hope you like the cold-.

Hey- I second the vote for Salisbury House. Check out their website before you go- they sometimes have concerts or speakers (on a variety of topics) that might be of interest (or might not, in which case you can avoid them). I%26#39;m not sure what the schedule is, but Blank Park Zoo does a Zoo Brew (beer and wild animals- a good combo?) on certain evenings, so you might check that out as well.

www.blankparkzoo.com/index.cfm鈥?/a>

Good luck:)

Hi -- Here%26#39;s my .02 cents on things to do and see downtown.

The Farmer%26#39;s Market downtown is kind of a ';must see'; in the summer. It%26#39;s in the Court Avenue district and runs from 7am-Noon on Saturdays. Many, many street vendors (including some wineries) and things to see. When we have guests visiting from out of town that%26#39;s always one thing they want to do.

http://www.desmoinesfarmersmarket.com/

You%26#39;d probaly also like the East Village, which is an interesting district on the east side of the river for shopping and restaurants.

http://www.eastvillagedesmoines.com/

Speaking of restaurants, in East Village there%26#39;s Lucca%26#39;s, which features Italian. Got a good review in the NY Times.

desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article鈥?/a>

The Village Bean is a popular coffee shop nearby.

On the west side of the river there%26#39;s the Gateway Market on the west end of downtown, it%26#39;s a nice market and has a cafe attached.

http://www.gatewaymarket.com/

Also Cafe Di Scala in the Sherman Hill area -- it%26#39;s located in a Victorian house and is a unique place.

http://www.cafediscala.com/

Other restaurants to check out would be Centro, Court Avenue Brewery, Raccoon River Brewery, and the Azalea restaurants downtown. Palmer%26#39;s Deli is a good place for lunch, it%26#39;s in the Ingersoll district west of downtown.

http://www.palmersdeliandmarket.com/

A popular place to go for a walk is Gray%26#39;s Lake, which is an urban park with a two-mile paved trail around it.

www.dmgov.org/departments/PR/grayslake.htm

The Des Moines Art Center is a recommended destination also, it%26#39;s easy to find on Grand Avenue west of downtown.

http://www.desmoinesartcenter.org/

Otherwise it%26#39;s a little early to tell about what kinds of shows might be in town, but seedesmoines.com would be the place to check once you get a little closer. There will be lots of live music though, that%26#39;s for sure.

Hope this helps!