Tired of vacationing in the same ol' places? Time for a visit to Little Rock, Arkansas. From shopping to outdoor activities and everything in between, Little Rock is packed with budget-minded fun. Such as?
WHAT TO DO: The Arkansas River Trail (photo, top left) connects Little Rock and neighboring North Little Rock, providing over 17 miles of river view along the north and south banks. Four pedestrian and bicycle bridges connect to the River Trail, which gives Little Rock the distinction of being the only city in the U.S. with four pedestrian bridges over a navigable body of water. The Trail is FREE and open to the public.
The Historic
Arkansas Museum is a fab place to see inside and out.
Stroll through a pre-Civil War neighborhood; see
Little Rock's oldest
home and interact with living history characters along the way.
Inside the Museum,
are four exhibit galleries, including an interactive Children's
Gallery and an area the guys will especially appreciate: the
Knife Gallery where you can learn about the "Arkansas
Toothpick," aka the Bowie knife. Other displays feature quilts
(photo, right), pottery, paintings, photography, furniture,
guns, jewelry, and more. First stop should be the theater where
you can view their award-winning introductory video. And you'll
love the admission price: FREE.
WWII buffs won't want to miss the
MacArthur Museum
of Arkansas Military History (photo, left). Located in
the Arsenal Building, a National Historic Landmark, this
Museum
honors Arkansas's servicemen and women from the state's
territorial period to the present. The
Museum's
namesake, General Douglas MacArthur, was born in this very
building back in 1880. Steps away from the
Museum is
MacArthur Park and the
Arkansas Korean War Veterans Memorial,
dedicated to ensuring that future generations remember the
Korean War Vets. Admission for these sites? They're all
FREE.
One don't-miss surprise is Villa Marre
(photo, right), the Second Empire Italianate home made
famous as the headquarters for the supposedly Atlanta-based
Sugarbaker's Design Firm from the popular 1980s sit-com "Designing
Women." Although a private residence today, visitors are
welcome to photograph the exterior. The house is located on S.
Scott.
Another stop in a long list of area freebies is the
Witt
Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center. The
Center
(photo, left) overlooks the Arkansas River and is loaded with
adventure from live native animal exhibits to the state's second
largest aquarium. Oh, the theme continues: admission is
FREE.
Just a few of the other spots you'll want to see: (1) The
Arkansas Inland Maritime
Museum, featuring the USS Razorback, the
longest-serving submarine in the world (photo, right); (2) the
Arkansas Queen riverboat,
with sightseeing, lunch, and dinner cruises; (3) the
Audubon Nature Center;
and (4)
Pinnacle Mountain State Park, which includes the
Arkansas Arboretum.
SHOPPING:
Park Plaza Mall
is filled with over 80 popular retail stores, including Coach,
Dillard's, and Ann Taylor. At least 20 antique
shops dot the city, plus over a dozen art galleries. Every
Tuesday and
Saturday the River Market
on President Clinton Avenue offers a
Farmers Market from 7am-3pm.
WHERE TO STAY: The
Hornibrook Mansion cost a whopping $20,000 to build in 1888.
Over its lifetime, it has served as a private residence, the
Arkansas Women's College, a nursing home, and as apartments. It
now houses The Empress
Bed & Breakfast, renowned as one of the most romantic
inns in the U.S. This Gothic Queen Anne is on the
National Register of Historic Places and well worth a stop.
Rooms start at a very reasonable
$139 a night; and, of course, all stays include a
scrumptious breakfast.
You can't visit Little
Rock without stopping in to see the world-famous
Peabody
ducks. These pampered quackers march out of the elevator and
into the lobby for their 11am daily red carpet waddle to their
fountain. If you can't be there for the 11 o'clock arrival, plan
on seeing their departure at 5pm when the troupe heads back to
their private Duck Palace. Nightly rates begin at around
$149.
More info: Visit the website of the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau where you can download a host of information booklets.
