Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City, often shortened to OKC, is the capital and most populous city in the U.S.
state of Oklahoma. It is the 21st-most populous U.S. city and 8th largest in the Southern United States, with a population of 681,054 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Oklahoma County, with the city limits extending into Canadian, Cleveland, and Pottawatomie counties; however, areas beyond Oklahoma County primarily consist of suburban developments or areas designated rural and watershed zones. Oklahoma City ranks as the tenth-largest city by area in the United States when including consolidated city-counties, and second-largest when such consolidations are excluded, after Houston. It is also the second-largest state capital by area, after Juneau, Alaska. The Oklahoma City metropolitan area, with an estimated 1.49 million residents, is the largest metropolitan area in the state and 42nd-most populous in the country.
Worth seeing
Many of the attractions are near downtown or on the north side of town. Highlights in downtown are Bricktown, the city's fast growing entertainment district and tourist showpiece, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, home to the largest collection of Chihuly glass in the world as well as an arthouse/revival theater and a restaurant, and The Myriad Gardens, an impressive urban park with a seven-storey botanical garden.
Things to do
Water Taxi of Oklahoma offers a narrated canal cruise on the Bricktown canal. The Oklahoma City Thunder National Basketball Association team play in Bricktown. Frontier City is a Wild West-themed amusement park in the city's Northeast with roller coasters and water rides. The Wheeler Ferris Wheel at Wheeler District offers rides overlooking Oklahoma River and the downtown skyline.
Where to eat
Oklahoma City can hold its own with any other cosmopolitan city with its availability of diverse and quality eateries, but what is true Oklahoma City fare is probably its bar-b-que and steakhouse options. Some, like Cattleman's, are iconic, and guaranteed to add that special touch to your Oklahoma City trip.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.