Columbia (Missouri)
From World travel guide
A bustling college town halfway between St. Louis and Kansas City (Missouri), Columbia is home of the University of Missouri, Columbia (better known as 'Mizzou').
Columbia is in the Midwest.
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Get in
The city is accessible from Interstate 70, exit numbers from 121 east to 130. From the north and south, use U.S. Highway 63.
The city has a small airport on its own, called Columbia Regional Airport(COU), which has rather limited flights to/from St. Louis Lambert international airport.
MOEX http://www.moexpress.com (pronounced 'moe-ex') operates an airport shuttle service that does door-to-door pick up/drop off from town to airport (St. Louis and Kansas City Airport) & vice versa for about $40 each way, $70 round trip. It takes approximately 2 hours to reach St. Louis airport (STL) and a little longer for Kansas city airport (MCI). It's rather slow, since it'll stop to pick up multiple passengers and so on.
If you choose to drive instead, it'll take about 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours from/to St. Louis Lambert international airport(STL)(112 miles), and about 2 hours and 15 minutes to 2 hours and 30 minutes to/from Kansas City international airport (MCI)(150 miles). Long term parking is around $8/day at St. Louis airport and around $5 at Kansas city airport.
Get around
There is a metro system (bus) but the downtown area is very small so you can easily get around on foot.
See
The Columns on Mizzou's main Quad are the second-most photographed landmark in Missouri, right behind the St. Louis Arch.
Do
MKT nature and fitness trail is a great outdoor resource for bikers and joggers. It's about 9 miles from downtown Columbia to McBaine. From McBaine this connects to Katy trail state park which travels across Missouri to/from St. Charles to/from Clinton.
Rock Bridge Memorial State Park (http://www.mostateparks.com/rockbridge/map.htm), 7 miles south of columbia, offers outdoor activities including hiking, mountain biking, caving and so on. Devil's icebox in the park is a great getaway during the hot summer days. A short walk will take you to the mouth of the cave and air will chill you off.
Buy
Columbia Mall, located on Stadium Boulevard at Interstate 70, is the largest mall in the mid-Missouri area.
http://www.visitcolumbiamall.com
After Columbia Mall, downtown is a major shopping and restaurant center.
http://www.discoverthedistrict.com
Eat
Don't forget to stop by Shakespeare's Pizza on 9th and College ave. Some seriously good pizza and a goofy collegetown-like atmosphere.
Booches on 9th street has great burgers, supposedly the best burger in the nation. No known link to prove the claim, but they have a piece of newspaper framed on the wall that says so. One thing is sure, they really have great burgers. They go to church on Sundays.
9th Street Deli has good sandwiches. It also features an interesting outdoor patio if you go through the door by the restroom.
Drink
Flat Branch (http://www.flatbranch.com/) is a local brewery that serves their own brew, with acceptable food. Some on the menu are very good, but some are known to be horrible. Not too cheap but not too expensive. Can be crowded.
The Heidelburg (a.k.a. the 'Berg', http://www.theheidelberg.com/) is a bar/hangout close to campus that is enjoyed by many young students. Has a nice outdoor patio on the second floor. Go toward the restroom and you'll find the stairs going up. Has good happy hour deals (e.g., buy one appetizer get one free). It was burned down in October 2003 (http://atmizzou.missouri.edu/oct03/Heidelberg.htm) but has opened again.
Quinton's on 9th street has good happy hour deals with some exceptional sandwiches, and there is never a cover.
Sleep
Nearly every national hotel chain has a location in Columbia, with more being added seemingly all the time. It is quite common for hotels in Columbia to be booked full on University of Missouri football weekends.
Stay Safe
Columbia is generally a safe, quiet, low-crime city. However, in recent years, there has been a slight rise in crime due to the city's rapid growth. Violent crime is rare. Petty crime (i.e., theft) is the most-common crime in Columbia. Simple common sense should keep you out of trouble. Petty theft, including from automobiles, is a slight problem on the MU campus. The best advice is to not leave anything of value in plain sight in a parked vehicle.
Get out
External links
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