Oklahoma City

Oklahoma's capital and a hub of Western cowboy culture, home to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, the national memorial to the 1995 bombing and the Bricktown Canal district.

Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of Oklahoma, located in the heart of the Great Plains, with about 1.4 million people in the metro area. The city was born in the Land Run of April 22, 1889, when more than ten thousand people poured in within a single day; it later grew on oil and ranching, and oil wells still stand on the State Capitol lawn, while Stockyards City to the southwest still holds live cattle auctions. It is a center of both Western cowboy culture and Native American culture, and Route 66 passes through it. The city has four distinct seasons, with Apr–May and Sep–Oct the most pleasant; spring is peak tornado season, so keep an eye on weather warnings, and summers are hot, often topping 35°C. Sightseeing breaks into four areas: downtown (the Oklahoma City National Memorial, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, the Myriad Botanical Gardens and Scissortail Park); the Bricktown Canal and Boathouse District; the Adventure District in the northeast (the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, the zoo and Science Museum Oklahoma); and the First Americans Museum and Stockyards City. Nearby, you can drive Route 66 to POPS and the Round Barn in Arcadia, head north to the historic town of Guthrie, or go south to Norman for its dinosaur museum. Getting around: Will Rogers World Airport is about 15 km from downtown, and a free streetcar links downtown with Bricktown; other sights are spread out, so driving is easiest. Plan on 2–3 days, and be sure to try a steak and a fried onion burger.

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Itineraries