--- title: "Des Moines – what is there, and how you get there | Mixroutes" description: "Des Moines, United States: city. Nearby: Drake University, Iowa State Capitol, Diocese of Des Moines. Every way there from the planner, and what we have…" url: "https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/des-moines" markdown: "https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/des-moines.md" image: "https://www.mixroutes.com/og.png" --- City · United States · Iowa # Des Moines What is there ## Worth seeing in and around Des Moines 10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name. 1. Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, law, and pharmacy. 3.6 km · private university in Des Moines, Iowa · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_University) 2. Iowa State Capitol The Iowa State Capitol, commonly called the Iowa Statehouse, is in Iowa's capital city, Des Moines. As the seat of the Iowa General Assembly, the building houses the Iowa Senate, Iowa House of Representatives, the Office of the Governor, and the Offices of the Attorney General, Auditor, Treasurer, and Secretary of State. 1.1 km · state capitol building of the U.S. state of Iowa · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_State_Capitol) 3. Diocese of Des Moines The Diocese of Des Moines is a Catholic diocese in southwestern Iowa in the United States. It is a suffragan see in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Dubuque. 1.9 km · diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocese_of_Des_Moines) 4. Casey's Center The Casey's Center is a multi-purpose arena in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Part of the Iowa Events Center, the arena opened on July 12, 2005, at a cost of $117 million. 1.3 km · multi-purpose arena in Des Moines, Iowa, United States · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey%27s_Center) 5. 801 Grand 801 Grand High Rise Building is an office skyscraper in Des Moines, Iowa, United States, operated and managed by JLL Americas and owned by Principal Financial Group. The building was constructed from 1989 to 1991; and at a height of 630 feet and 45 stories, it is the tallest building in both Des Moines and the state of Iowa. 2.2 km · Skyscraper in Des Moines · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/801_Grand) 6. Basilica of St. John, Des Moines The Basilica of St. John is a Minor Basilica of the Catholic Church in the Drake neighborhood of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. 2.8 km · church in Iowa, United States · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_St._John_(Des_Moines,_Iowa%29) 7. St. Ambrose Cathedral St. Ambrose Cathedral is a historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, in the United States. 1.9 km · church in Iowa, United States · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Ambrose_Cathedral_(Des_Moines,_Iowa%29) 8. Drake Stadium Drake Stadium is a stadium on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Best known as the home of the Drake Relays, it also serves as the home field of the university's football team. 3.8 km · outdoor multiuse sports field at Drake University used from 1925 to present · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_Stadium_(Drake_University%29) 9. Principal Park Principal Park, formerly Sec Taylor Stadium, is a minor league baseball stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. It is the home field of the Iowa Cubs of the International League. 2.3 km · stadium · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principal_Park) 10. Ruan Center The Ruan Center is a skyscraper located at 666 Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa, which was built by Ruan Transportation. The building was completed in 1975 and stands at a height of 459 ft, and was the tallest building in Iowa until the completion of 801 Grand in 1991. 2.1 km · Skyscraper in Des Moines · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruan_Center) Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0. Go there ## Getting to Des Moines **Airports:** Des Moines (DSM), 8 km · Eppley Airfield (OMA), 193 km · Kansas City (MCI), 272 km\ - Omaha → Des Moines 198 km · quickest by road, 2h 39m · $17–24 [Guide](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/omaha-to-des-moines) [Today](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Omaha&to=Des+Moines) - Kansas City → Des Moines 290 km · quickest by road, 3h 45m · $25–34 [Guide](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/kansas-city-to-des-moines) [Today](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Kansas+City&to=Des+Moines) - Chicago → Des Moines 495 km · quickest by road, 6h 34m · $43–60 [Guide](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/chicago-to-des-moines) [Today](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Chicago&to=Des+Moines) - From anywhere The planner compares every way there from wherever you are. [Plan a trip](https://www.mixroutes.com/?to=Des%20Moines) Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds. Not yet researched ## No local-transport research exists yet for Des Moines Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Des Moines. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more. The nearest places where the work is done 1. [Fire Island](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/fire-island) US 10 ways of moving, 19 sources 1,713 km 2. [Vinalhaven and the Fox Islands](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/vinalhaven) US 9 ways of moving, 13 sources 2,031 km 3. [Port Townsend and the Olympic Peninsula](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/port-townsend) US 9 ways of moving, 17 sources 2,393 km 4. [Salt Spring Island and the Southern Gulf Islands](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/salt-spring-island) CA 10 ways of moving, 15 sources 2,456 km 5. [Gibsons and the Sunshine Coast](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/gibsons) CA 10 ways of moving, 21 sources 2,467 km If you know how people move in Des Moines – the stand, the rule, the fare – [tell us](https://www.mixroutes.com/report?key=blog%7Cdes-moines&title=Des+Moines&sub=Field+notes&back=%2Fnotes%2Fdes-moines), and the note gets an entry. Around it ## Next door to Des Moines - [United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/united-states-district-court-for-the-southern-district-of-iowa) United States federal district court in Iowa 1.5 km - [Civic Center Historic District](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/civic-center-historic-district) historic district in Des Moines, Iowa 2 km - [East Village](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/east-village) neighborhood and district of Des Moines, Iowa 1.5 km - [Sherman Hill Historic District](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/sherman-hill-historic-district) historic district in Des Moines, Iowa 2.8 km - [East Des Moines Industrial Historic District](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/east-des-moines-industrial-historic-district) historic district in Des Moines, Iowa, United States 1.1 km [The place page for Des Moines](https://www.mixroutes.com/places/des-moines) [All the notes](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes) [Every note on United States](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes#c-US) --- This is the markdown version of https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/des-moines, for search crawlers and AI assistants. 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