Sandwiched between Kansas City and Topeka on Interstate 70, Lawrence is the kind of place drivers blow past without realising what they're missing. Around 97,000 people call it home, the median age is just 29, and the University of Kansas plus Haskell Indian Nations University give it an energy most cities triple its size can't match. Its walkable downtown is the real draw, and it deserves more than a pit stop.

The core of town runs along Massachusetts Street from Sixth Street down to South Park, and nearly everything is reachable on foot. Art lovers have several stops: the Lawrence Percolator, a nonprofit collective with rotating exhibitions and community workshops; Prairie Hills Gallery, showing local and regional artists alongside painting classes; and the larger Lawrence Arts Center a couple of blocks east, which houses dance and theatre schools plus visual arts programmes for all ages.

Shoppers do fine here too. Daisy Lee Vintage handles the leather jackets and boots, Striped Cow covers gifts from ceramics to kids' plush toys, and The Dusty Bookshelf is a used bookstore that doubles as an events space with craft nights and book clubs. Wonder Fair might be the most unusual of the bunch — a stationery and art supply shop that sells prints, stickers, comics and patches on behalf of submitting artists.

Food is genuinely varied for a city this size. Terrebonne does po'boys and gumbo, Cafe The Mani plates Korean classics like bibimbap and japchae, and Lebanese Flower Cafe serves kafta kabob sandwiches with baklava. For drinks, order a John Brown Ale — named for the abolitionist — at Free State Brewing, or pay $12 for a wine tasting at Crescent Moon Winery's downtown room.

Beyond downtown, the museum lineup is strong for a town of this scale. The KU Natural History Museum has fossils and a living Paleo Garden; the Spencer Museum of Art spans two floors of international collections; the Wilcox Classical Museum shows Greek and Roman artefacts and plaster casts of famous sculptures. The Haskell Cultural Center and Museum tells the powerful story of how a government boarding school became today's Haskell Indian Nations University.

Live music rounds things out. The Bottleneck is a small, loud and beloved venue; Liberty Hall books touring acts like Kurt Vile and Yung Gravy and also runs a cinema Thursday through Sunday; and the Lied Center on the KU campus hosts musicals, touring artists and university performances.

Logistics are simple. Kansas City International Airport is just under an hour northeast, or you can arrive by rail on Amtrak's Southwest Chief, which stops in town. Lodging spans budgets: Days Inn by Wyndham KU from about $80 a night, Hampton Inn Lawrence from around $150, and the upscale Oread Lawrence, a Hilton Tapestry property near campus, from the $270s.

For travellers who like compact cities with real personality — indie shops, good food, college-town nightlife and a surprising amount of art — Lawrence fits a weekend comfortably. It's an easy add-on to a Kansas City trip, and far more interesting than the highway suggests. Source: Explore.com