Oklahoma City is the capital of Oklahoma in the American Great Plains.

Oklahoma City is the largest in city the state, as well as its political, cultural, and economic engine. The city is the 29th largest city in the nation and the largest city in the 5 "plains states" (Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and North and South Dakota). After decades of suburban sprawl and an ill fated downtown "urban renewal", a 'sudden' burst of investment in the 1990s has given the city additional big city attractions as well as a pleasant quality of life that often is the envy if not surprise of visitors from other cities; making Oklahoma City more of a tourist destination in of itself.

Geography

Oklahoma City is located in Central Oklahoma, in the Southern Plains of North America. Contrary to popular belief, the geography is not flat and treeless (like in the true high plains) but rather gently rolling hills covered in places by dense low trees, shrubs, and grasses. The city is roughly bisected by the North Canadian River (recently partially renamed the Oklahoma! River in a flight of civic exuberance). The North Canadian is not very impressive as rivers go; it was once substantial enough to flood every year, wreaking destruction on surrounding homes, until the 1940s when the Civilian Conservation Corps dammed the river and turned it into essentially a wide ditch for the next 50 years. In the 1990's, as part of the citywide revitalization project known as MAPS, the city built a series of low water dams, returning water to the portion of the river flows near downtown. The city also has three large lakes, Lake Hefner and Lake Overholser, in the northwestern quarter of the city, and the largest - Lake Stanley Draper, in the sparsely populated far southeast of the city.

Get around

Getting around Oklahoma City is ridiculously easy by car. If you're coming to OKC, you will likely want to either rent a car or plan on staying around downtown, because public transportation is rather limited. There is a pretty good trolley bus system around downtown with service to the airport and the cluster of museums and attractions in the northeastern part of the city, but if you want to really explore without renting a car, you'll either have to use the not too stellar bus system or call a cab.

If you happen to hire a car, then getting around OKC is very simple. The streets are laid out in a grid, with named streets running north and south and numbered streets running east and west. The main thing to remember when driving the city is that when you're on the north side, the numbered streets increase from south to north, while on the south side they increase from north to south. (NW 23rd street is a very different place from SW 23rd street, and you don't want to get them confused.) Aside from that minor issue, navigation is a breeze- there are very few one way street mazes or "Texas Turnarounds" to worry about, and the interstates in town are usually uncongested, except during rush hour and construction.

The city is reasonably bicycle-friendly in the Midtown areas of Oklahoma City due to the numerous through residential low-traffic streets. In other areas of the city, bicycle travel is more difficult due to the lack of low-traffic through streets.

Activities

 • National Cowboy and Western History Museum, 1700 Northeast 63rd Street, (405) 478-2250. Open 9 AM - 5 PM Daily.
 • Omniplex, 2100 NE 52nd Street, (405)602-OMNI. Open Monday thru Friday 9 AM to 5 PM, Saturday 9 AM to 6 PM, and Sunday 11 AM to 6 PM.
 • Oklahoma City National Memorial, 620 N. Harvey Street, (405) 235-3313. Open 24 hours every day. A three-acre site memorializing the 1995 bombing of the Alfred F. Murrah Federal Building. The event was the most devastating act of terrorism on US soil until September 11th, 2001. The memorial includes the remnants of the federal building, as well as a reflecting pool, a sculpture of 168 chairs (one for each person who died in the blast), and the Survivor Tree, an elm that survived the blast. Free.
 • Six Flags Frontier City, located in far north Oklahoma City on I-35, between Hefner Road and NorthEast 122nd Street. Saddle up for some good ol' Wild West fun at Frontier City. You'll find over 50 thrilling rides and attractions to explore, featuring ErUPtion!, Oklahoma's TALLEST thrill ride, four nail-biting roller coasters, fantastic water rides, and hours of fun for the kids. Buy your tickets online for just $19.99, a savings of $8 off the full-price admission! And with Print-N-Go, you can print them at home then visit the park.
 • Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, (405) 235-6262. 
 • Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Avenue, Norman, OK 73019, (405) 325-3272. 
 • Melton Art Reference Library, 4300 N. Sewell, (405) 525-3603.

Shopping

 • The Colonial Art Gallery and Co., 1336 N.W. 1st Street, Open since 1919, Colonial is a full-service gallery, buying and selling investment-quality artwork, as well as framing, restoring, and appraising art.
 • Size Records, 8915 N. Western, Oklahoma City's best independent record store.
 • Blue Seven, 5028 N May Ave, Modern furniture, unique gifts, and vintage clothes.
 • Full Circle Books, 50 Penn Place, A great local independent book seller. They have great service and a very decent selection of everything from childrens' books to the latest news. (North Penn and Northwest Expressway)
 • 30 Penn Books A great used book store located at NW 30th & Penn
 • Book Beat and Company Describes itself as "an independent bookstore . . . specializing in Beat Generation And Counter Culture Books, High & Low-Brow Art Books, Political Thought, Radicalism, Anarchism, Communist & Socialist Literature, Poetry, Philosophy, Sci-Fi, Metaphysical Studies, Classics, Avant-Garde Literature, Fiction, Eastern Religion, T-Shirts, Compact Discs, Vinyl, Videos & DVDs, Posters & Prints, as well as unique handcrafted gift items from the local artists of Oklahoma."
 • Route 66 Rare and hard to find gifts and personal care products as well as several lines of women's clothing. Also located at 50 Penn Place (Penn and North West Expressway)
 • The Lime Leopard, Northpark Mall. 
 • Bohemian Spirit Vintage Wares & Wearables, 3701 N. Western- Your neighborhood vintage department store.
 • Wilshire Village located on Western, north of 63rd, at the intersection of Wilshire and Western. Has a great variety of shops, such as:
 • The Learning Tree Toy store offering lots of educational toys and much more.
 • The Makeup Bar Good makeup that you might not be able to find in Dillard's at any of the malls. Very popular for boutique buyers.
 • Urban Classic's Good clothes
 • Gil's Hip, modern clothing. Great jeans selection.
 • The Lingerie Store Carries good brands of lingerie, very soft bathrobes, and good pajamas.

Lodging

Budget
 • Brass Lantern. Located in the downtown.
 • Bricktown Plaza Hotel.
 • Value Place, 3033 Tinker Diagonal, Del City, OK (2-miles from Downtown/Bricktown), Phone: (405) 677-5700, Extended stay as low as $159.00 per week.
 • Value Place, 3800 North I-44 Service Road, Phone: (405) 917-6300, Extended stay as low as $159.00 per week.
 • Value Place, 4112 East I-240 Service Road, Phone: (405) 619-9495, Extended stay as low as $159.00 per week.

Mid-range
 • Sheraton Hotel - AAA 3.5-Diamond. The Sheraton was recently renovated and is the largest hotel in downtown Oklahoma City.
 • Embassy Suites Hotel. In Bricktown (soon).
 • Residence Inn by Marriott. In Bricktown, under construction.
 • Oklahoma City Marriott - AAA 3-Diamond, NW Business District.
 • Four-Points by Sheraton. Located at the International Airport.
 • Crowne Plaza Hotel - AAA 4-Diamond, newly renovated hotel is located in the NW Business District.
 • Holiday Inn and Suites.

Splurge
 • Hilton Skirvin Hotel. Located downtown (under reconstruction).
 • Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center Hotel - AAA 4-Diamond accommodations in the heart of Downtown.
 • Waterford Marriott - AAA 4-Diamond hotel in the posh suburb of Nichols Hills.
 • Colcord Hotel. Downtown Oklahoma City (under reconstruction)
 • Courtyard by Marriott - Downtown Oklahoma City. AAA 3-Diamond, this brand new hotel is also the hippest place to lay your head in the city!

Stay safe

A little bit of common sense goes a long way. On the whole, the city is pretty safe, but you shouldn't take that as a cue to be careless. If you're downtown or in what looks like a sketchy neighborhood, nothing will probably happen to you, but you should still lock your car door, keep your valuables secure and not put yourself in potentially dangerous situations. Some of the worst areas are in the inner city districts just near downtown, particularly parts of Mulligan Flats (SE-SW 15th Between I-35 and Western), NE 23rd St., NE 36th St., Martin Luther King BLVD, NW 10th St., S. Central Avenue, S. Shields BLVD, and S. Robinson Avenue are notoriously tough; you might want to avoid being there especially after sundown. I would also recommend that you steer clear of particularly seedy looking bars, although not all are created equal. Keep your wits about you and you'll be fine almost anywhere in Oklahoma City.