Missouri is home to vibrant big cities and extraordinary small towns that showcase the unmatched beauty the state has to offer, not just to the people who call it home but to anyone who visits to see what makes the Show-Me State so special.
Thrillist compiled a list of the "must-visit small town" in every state, smaller destinations that offer "a respite from big-city life" and a glimpse of the "romanticism of small towns" in America. From beach towns promising white sandy shores to mountainside villages and idyllic coastal havens, the list is full of locales you simply have to see for yourself.
Of all the unique spots around Missouri, the state's best small town to visit is Boonville. With a population of around 8,000, this locale has a lot of history to learn and places to explore. According to the site:
"You can't walk down a Boonville street without tripping over the raw Americana in the form of more than 400 registered historic sites smack-dab in the middle of Missouri. You even get slipped a dose of history reading the name, taken from founders and sons of folk hero Daniel Boone. Tour the Native American burial grounds and stay across the Missouri River at the Rivercene Mansion Bed & Breakfast, conceived as an opulent retreat for a rich riverboat captain. The outlaw Jesse James left his boot prints here, and you're welcome to follow those as you make your way around Civil War landmarks. Want something a bit more recent but just as red, white, and blue? Pop by Warm Springs Ranch, a nearby breeding farm for the Budweiser Clydesdales."
Read up on more of the best small towns in the U.S. to visit at thrillist.com. You can also check out our previous coverage of the "most charming small town" in the state.