Hi, I'm James. And I'm Laurent.
And today we're in Des Moines, Iowa. Or De Mwan, as you would say in French.
When people think of Iowa, they probably think of endless corn fields.
And probably think there's nothing to see in Iowa.
But they would be wrong. Des Moines is really a small Big City.
And there's a lot more to see than you would expect, for a city of that size.
Museums, parks, historical places, and cool neighborhoods.
And a lot of the activities on our list are completely free.
And in this video, we'll show you our Top 8 favorite things to do in Des Moines.
So, let's go!
And Number 1 on our list is the Iowa State Capitol Building.
Des Moines being the capital city of Iowa, it has a capitol building.
We haven't visited all 50 state capitols. But we've seen a few.
And the one in Des Moines is right up there.
Like most capitol buildings, it has a big golden dome,
that you can see from pretty much anywhere in the city.
But the Iowa Capitol actually has 5 different domes.
And it's the only one with the one in Rhode Island to have 5 domes.
And the dome looks even more impressive from the inside of the building.
You can visit the building every day of the week, except on Sundays.
And the visit is free, whether you walk around on your own or you visit as part of a guided tour.
The Iowa capitol building is particularly ornate,
starting with the dome, which is gilded with 23-carat gold.
It costs almost $500,000, last time it was re-gilded, in 1999.
But the opulence continues inside the building, including the grand staircase.
The building has 29 different types of marbles throughout.
You can visit the old Supreme Court, with beautiful wood carvings.
Then the House and the Senate, with very ornate ceilings.
But our favorite part of the visit was the library, with its magnificent spiral staircase.
It's still a public library. And you can go there Monday through Friday.
And we also like the huge 3D model of the USS Iowa.
If you just visit one monument in Des Moines, it should be the State Capitol.
And Number 2 on our list is the Pappajohn Sculpture Park.
This is a 4-acre park, located right downtown,
on the other side of the river, from the State Capitol.
And it is named after the venture capitalist who donated 24 sculptures to create the park.
It is also a completely free attraction. And it's great for the whole family.
Because you don't have to be an art connoisseur to appreciate some of the statues.
No matter what you're into, there will be one you'll enjoy.
A lot of them are pretty fun and whimsical.
And the park features sculptures by some of our favorite artists.
It has a pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama, similar to the one we saw in Naoshima Island in Japan.
And the Nomade by Jaume Plensa.
It's a 20-foot human shape made of letters. And you can walk inside.
And we have a smaller one just like it, within walking distance of our house in Milwaukee.
And there's plenty of other sculptures, like the White Ghost, the Three Dancing Figures.
Or this hollow robe. And birds are nesting in some of these cultures.
Apparently, the spider was not scary enough to deter the birds.
It was a great little park to spend a half an hour.
And the Pappajohn Sculpture Park is administered by the Des Moines Art Center,
which is Number 3 on our list. And the Des Moines Arts Center is also free.
Monet, Picasso, Matisse, or Rodin are not names you necessarily associate with Des Moines.
But we were impressed by the quality of the collection, and so many world-renowned artists.
The museum is mostly a modern art and contemporary art museum,
including a large pop art section, with paintings by Andy Warhol.
But if you think the museum is going to be boring,
there are actually lots of art pieces that are fun,
like this big rhino, or this mermaid. And we really liked this painting by Alex Katz.
And even though it's not a huge museum, there are plenty of different styles,
that should keep you entertained, no matter what you're into.
The museum is in the middle of a park. And the buildings themselves are also interesting.
One wing was built by I. M. Pei, the architect who built the glass pyramid of the Louvre in Paris.
And the newest wing was built by Richard Meier,
the architect who built the Getty Center in Los Angeles.
And the center courtyard was particularly nice and relaxing.
And Number 4 on our list is the Downtown Farmers Market.
Did you know there were farmers in Iowa? I did not know that! Me neither!
But it turns out there are. And they sell their produce at the Des Moines Farmer Market.
We normally don't feature seasonal attractions in our videos.
We prefer to only feature year-round attractions.
But if you happen to visit Des Moines between May and October,
which should be when most people visit Des Moines anyway.
And you happen to be in town on a Saturday. You should definitely go visit the market.
Some of the vendors sell fresh produce,
like you would see at farmer's markets in Europe or in Asia.
But it's not really a market where you would go to do your grocery shopping.
It's more of a gigantic State Fair, where you can buy all kinds of specialty products,
like wine, honey, spices, or cheese.
And you can also find lots of arts & crafts, and souvenirs.
And if you're not going to buy anything, it's great to stroll around all the stands.
And go get food, while listening to some live music.
The Downtown Market has more than 300 vendors. And they come from all over the state.
And the market attracts 25,000 visitors on a normal day.
So, it can be a little bit crowded. But it's a fun activity for the whole family.
And Number 5 on our list is the Des Moines Botanical Garden.
It's one of two attractions on our list that is not free.
The Botanical Garden is a 17-acre garden,
right along the Des Moines River, just a few blocks from the Capitol.
The current center was completed in 1979.
And it displays more than 4,000 different plant species.
We filmed this video in the spring. And it was a rainbow of colors.
Yes, visiting the garden is obviously nicer in the spring and summer.
But in addition to the outside gardens,
there's also a dome, that hosts tropical plants and cactuses year-round.
And what is cool about the outside gardens are all the fountains and ponds.
It's a very relaxing experience, with all the water sounds in the background.
And from the Botanical Garden, you can also take the Dorian Trail.
And walk along the river to the Asian Garden.
And Number 6 on our list is the Blank Park Zoo.
It is the other attraction on our list that is not free.
The zoo has 1,500 animals from 100 different species.
And it's the only accredited zoo in Iowa.
If you have kids, and they've never been to a bigger zoo, like San Diego or Brookfield,
then you should absolutely go to the Blank Park Zoo.
If you don't have kids though, Blank Park is obviously a smaller zoo.
It's small, but it still has most of the animals you'd expect to see at the zoo.
The zoo is organized by regions of the world.
And the highlights of the African section are the lions.
We counted four of them, including a male with a huge mane.
And you can see them from really up close.
If there wasn't a window, you could touch them.
Another highlight are the two black rhinos, although we weren't able to film them close up.
But what we saw close up was a baby giraffe. It was so cute.
There is also an Australian section, where you can walk inside the wallabies enclosure.
We also like the Kookaburras. They were beautiful.
And in general, there are lots of birds at the Blank Park Zoo,
including eagles, vultures, and peacocks.
And there's also a section with seals and sea lions,
that you can see from above water and underwater.
And also penguins, which are always our favorite.
In our videos, we mostly cover museums, and monuments, and attractions.
But when we visit a city, we also like to explore cool neighborhoods.
And the Hipster neighborhood in Des Moines is the East Village, number 7 on our list.
East Village is the neighborhood between the State Capitol and the Des Moines River.
And it's going to smash any preconceived ideas you may have about Des Moines.
The East Village is the gay neighborhood, where you can find tons of bars and restaurants.
But it also has lots of really cool stores,
like clothing stores, antique stores, and souvenir stores.
And just all kinds of random stores we did not expect to find in Des Moines.
The whole neighborhood has school vibes.
And Number 8 on our list is the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates.
It's a really interesting story: Iowa-native Norman Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970,
for his contribution in reducing world hunger.
He was an agronomist, known for being the father of the Green Revolution.
He later approached the Nobel Foundation to see if they could create a Nobel Prize for agriculture.
But the Nobel Foundation said they were bound by Alfred Nobel's will.
And didn't have the authority to create a new prize.
So, Norman Borlaug created the World Food Prize,
which is kind like the Nobel Prize for food and agriculture.
And in 2006, the foundation bought the former Des Moines Library,
to become the headquarters of the World Food Prize.
And the building has been transformed into a museum,
that celebrates the recipients of the prize.
Laureates include mostly scientists, who contributed to reducing hunger,
and advancing agricultural science.
A lot of people that the general public would never know.
But it also includes politicians, like Bob Dole and George McGovern,
for their effort in improving nutrition in schools.
$30 million was invested in renovating the building.
And we love the mix of arts based on food and agriculture,
while also retaining some of the original art from the library.
They don't build libraries like that no more!
If you enjoyed this video about Des Moines, give it a big thumbs up!
And if you want to watch our other Midwest videos,
we're going to put one right here, and another one right there.
Bye. Bye.
[Music]