Arkansas is a southeastern U.S. state located east of Oklahoma and north of Louisiana.
Most important places of the Arkansas state
In the center of the state, Little Rock, the capital, is a city steeped in history. Among its museums, the Arkansas Museum of Discovery introduces children to science while the Arkansas Art Center appeals to art lovers. Marked by the painful episode of Segregation, the city preserves the memory of it in the Old State House Museum. A replica of the Washington Capitol, the seat of the Arkansas General Assembly is worth a detour. Some large rooms and the library are open to the public. Lovers of old stones will find themselves in the Quapaw district where the oldest monuments of the city are located. Pedestrians and cyclists will enjoy a breathtaking view of the Arkansas River from the Big Dam Bridge, built especially for them. On the nature side, MacArthur Park offers vast expanses of greenery and is home to the Little Rock Arsenal and a museum dedicated to the state’s military history.
Fayetteville, northwest of Little Rock, is home to the state’s major cultural center, the Walton Arts Centers. A veritable complex dedicated to cinema and the performing arts, it includes a concert hall and a theater. Not far away, the Downtown Square is a great place to go shopping or to relax for a while on the terrace of a café. In terms of nature, Arkansas reveals other little wonders. In addition to a rich array of activities such as hiking, fishing and rock climbing, the most curious will become diamond diggers in the Murfreesboro mine, the only one open to the public.
Southwest of Little Rock, the Hot Springs National Park is famous for its hot springs, while to the north, the terrain reveals the superb Ozark Mountains and the beautiful caves of Blanchard Springs and Bull Shoals. The state has some equally famous waterfalls such as Cossasot in the Ouachita Mountains, or Richland and Twin in the Ozark National Forest.
Festivities
The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival takes place in October. The Riverfest festival takes place in Little Rock in May, animated by various musical and artistic events. Discover the River Festival, organized by the City of Fort Smith in June: for the past 20 years, this blues festival has welcomed artists from all over the world. The Arkansas Apple Festival takes place on the first weekend of October in Lincoln.