While the historic Kansas State Capitol building in downtown Topeka is a destination unto itself, the park-like grounds surrounding the Statehouse long have been the setting for a variety of activities. Downtown workers use the grounds as a place to lunch, read, relax in the shade or burn off a few calories with a brisk walk. During the summer, free Brown Bag Concerts are held on the south side of the Capitol from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., while the same area features an outdoor market on Wednesday mornings. Visitors who stroll through the 20-acre site will enjoy the large, mature trees, the nicely landscaped garden beds and a collection of statues and memorials. They might even come across a celebration or a protest -- fairly frequent events on the Statehouse steps and grounds.

Individuals and groups can tour the Capitol building, which currently is undergoing a multi-year, multi-million dollar restoration project. Tour information is available at http://www.kshs.org/places/capitol or by calling the Capitol Tour Center at (785) 296-3966. There is free visitor parking on the first level of the underground parking garage (entrance at 8th and Harrison) and a tunnel leads directly into the Capitol. A variety of art, architecture and historical information awaits visitors, including the 304-foot-tall dome (16 feet higher than the United State's Capitol in Washingon, D.C.), murals by John Steuart Curry, David H. Overmyer and Lumen Martin Winter, a working 1923 cage elevator and rotunda statues of Dwight D. Eisenhower, William Allen White, Arthur Capper and Amelia Earhart.