Davenport travel guide

Davenport, United States

By the Travel Wiki editorial team

Davenport

Introduction

Davenport sits on the Mississippi River along Iowa's eastern border, in Scott County, where it serves as county seat. It is one of the five Quad Cities, alongside Bettendorf in Iowa and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline in Illinois, and it is the largest of the five.

As the biggest city in the Quad Cities area, Davenport makes a practical base for exploring the region on both sides of the river. Your visit here puts you in a riverfront Iowa city with the rest of the Quad Cities close at hand.

Before you go

Davenport sits on the Mississippi River in the Quad Cities, and its weather shapes how you should pack. Summers are very warm to hot and humid, with stretches of high heat and humidity that can feel oppressive, so light clothing and a way to stay cool matter. Winters are cold and often windy, with snow likely from November through February and occasionally as late as April. Spring and autumn are the trickiest seasons to dress for: days can be quite warm while evenings turn cool, so layers serve you well. Because the city has no flood wall, flooding can occur along the river, but it affects mainly the riverfront parks and River Drive downtown; most of the city sits above the bluffs and is not directly affected.

Before you arrive, plan to use the visitor information services. The full-service visitor center and gift shop occupy the main floor of Union Station in downtown Davenport, offering maps, visitor information, gifts, souvenirs, postcards, locally made food and drink, Quad Cities merchandise, bike rentals and Segway tours. Another visitor center at Quad City International Airport in Moline assists travelers with airport and Quad Cities information, and a third inside the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum near Walcott helps those traveling Interstate 80.

Getting there

Most visitors reach Davenport by car, and Interstate 80 is the main approach. The Brady Street exit (US Business Route 61) is the most popular way off I-80; south of the exit, Brady becomes one-way and its southbound lanes are called Welcome Way. For the northwest part of the city, the Northwest Boulevard exit works well and also angles toward the centre, intersecting Welcome Way south of Kimberly Road (US Route 6) before becoming Harrison Street, a one-way that connects to downtown. Interstate 74 is the easiest route if you are arriving at Quad City International Airport, and its Bettendorf exits are the primary entry points from Bettendorf: Grant Street (US Route 67) runs one-way and becomes River Drive before entering Davenport, Middle Road becomes Locust Street and crosses the middle of the city, and the Kimberly Road–Spruce Hills Drive intersection (US Route 6) straddles the border between the two cities, with Kimberly Road crossing the north side. The 53rd Street exit lies entirely within Davenport. From I-74, exit onto I-80 West (Des Moines) to reach the city via I-80. The west end is served by the I-280 bypass, where the River Drive exit (US Business Route 61) gives direct access to downtown; Rockingham Road (Iowa Route 22) also reaches downtown but has more traffic lights and a narrower street. US Route 61, a major north-south highway in eastern Iowa, now bypasses the city using I-80 on the north and I-280 on the west, with the old route through town designated Business Route 61.

Getting around

Most people get around Davenport by car, and the city is generally easy to navigate: streets follow a grid pattern even as the city climbs the bluff above the Mississippi, though some newer residential sections break from it. East–west streets are numbered starting near the river and progressing north, with several named thoroughfares doing the heavy lifting — River Drive along the river on the south side, Locust Street through the middle, Central Park Avenue and Kimberly Road further north, and 53rd Street as the main numbered cross-town street. Third Street, Fourth Street, Welcome Way, Harrison Street and most of Brady Street are one-way. Note that the Mississippi flows east to west through the Quad Cities before turning south, so Rock Island, Illinois lies to the south of downtown Davenport. Addresses on east–west streets are numbered from Brady Street, and on north–south streets from West First Street or River Drive downtown; a business listing "North Brady Street" and one listing "Brady Street" mean the same street. Signs pointing to attractions use a Quad Cities colour code — green for Davenport's northwest quadrant, yellow for Bettendorf, blue for Moline–East Moline and red for Rock Island — so the header colour tells you which quadrant you are in and which colour to follow for other attractions.

Public transport is operated by Citibus, with connections from the downtown transportation center to downtown Rock Island via Route 7 (MetroLINK) and to Bettendorf and Duck Creek Plaza via Route 10 (Bettendorf Transit). A few cab companies serve Davenport and the surrounding communities, but do not expect cars waiting outside hotels or other locations — call at least 30 minutes before you want to be picked up. Cycling on the streets calls for extreme caution, as there are generally no dedicated bicycle lanes, especially on the major thoroughfares, and winter snow removal can be hit or miss depending on the street. The city does have an extensive system of recreational trails, however: the Riverfront Parkway follows the Mississippi through numerous parks and downtown as part of the larger multi-state Mississippi River Trail, and a bridge now links Credit Island to South Concord Street so cyclists can avoid busy River Drive; the Duck Creek Parkway runs through the middle of the city from Emeis Park to Duck Creek Park, where it connects to the Bettendorf Trail down to the river. Both trails run east–west, connect parks and recreational facilities more than residential and business centres, and there are no north–south recreational trails at this time. In summer, the Channel Cat Water Taxi — an open-air boat carrying people and bicycles — links the Iowa and Illinois shorelines, with stops at the Celebration Belle and John Deere Commons in Moline, the Isle of Capri in Bettendorf and the Village of East Davenport.

Where to stay

Davenport has accommodations to suit a range of tastes and budgets, and most major American hotel chains have a property somewhere in the city. Many of the chain hotels cluster around the interstate exits—particularly I-80 at Brady Street and I-74 at Kimberly Road—so a car makes the choice of where to base yourself fairly flexible.

Food & drink

Davenport eats well, and much of it is local. For a quick, filling meal, the Quad City-based Hungry Hobo serves sandwiches on bread from its own bakery, along with salads, soups and baked potatoes, and Rudy's Tacos is a Quad City Tex-Mex institution with several locations around town. Pizza has its own local style: try Harris Pizza for "Quad City Style" or Wise Guys for Quad City style or Chicago deep dish. Whitey's Ice Cream has been a Quad City tradition since 1933, and Country Style has been scooping soft-serve since 1947. For something sweeter, Lagomarcino's in the Village of East Davenport is a turn-of-the-century ice cream parlor and confectionary known for homemade chocolates as well as soups and sandwiches, and Chocolate Manor makes chocolates ranging from covered toffee to port wine chocolates.

Among the sit-down spots, Boozies Bar & Grill is a cozy two-level bar and grill in a building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and Van's Pizza Pub & Grill turns out made-from-scratch thin-crust pizza and signature cocktails. Front Street Brewery, the oldest brew pub in Iowa, pairs pub food with beer brewed on the premises, while Duck City Bistro offers fresh ingredients and an ever-changing menu, and Exotic Thai has served authentic Thai cuisine since 2002. For a splurge, Bix Bistro inside Hotel Blackhawk is known for its Cinnamon Brined Iowa Pork Chops. To drink, Kilkenny's Irish Pub, Mac's Tavern and the Carriage Haus cluster downtown, the 11th Street Precinct in the Village of East Davenport has live music on Friday and Saturday nights, and Cafe d' Marie and Brew cover your coffee and light lunch needs.

What to see and do

Start downtown, where the Davenport Skybridge carries pedestrians over River Drive and gives you views of the Mississippi, its bridges and the city centre. The riverfront itself is the city's long-cultivated front porch: stroll LeClaire Park along the Mississippi and, depending on the season, watch bald eagles fishing in winter or pleasure boats and barges working the channel in summer; the park's bandshell hosts festivals and concerts, including the Riverfront Pops Concert in early September. A short walk away, the Figge Art Museum holds a collection spanning the Renaissance to contemporary art, with particular strengths in American Regionalist, Mexican Colonial and Haitian art, and also houses the University of Iowa's art collection. Nearby, the German American Heritage Center occupies a former hotel where German immigrants first lived, and its interactive permanent exhibit, "The German Immigrant Experience," explores immigrant life in the region in the 1800s.

Elsewhere in the city, the Putnam Museum pairs exhibit halls on Upper Mississippi ecosystems, mammals, regional history and ancient civilizations with a giant-screen theater, while the B.J. and Mabel Palmer Residence, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, preserves the home of the couple who developed the chiropractic profession. In the Village of East Davenport, the International Fire Museum occupies a former hose station in Lindsey Park near the riverfront trail, and New Ground Theatre stages contemporary and original work in the Village Theatre. Out southwest, Nahant Marsh is a preserve of bottomland forest, open water and marsh, with an education center explaining the local ecosystem; Vander Veer Botanical Park offers a conservatory with changing floral displays, a municipal rose garden and a children's sculpture garden. For music and stage, the Adler Theatre, an Art Deco performing arts center listed on the National Register, is home to the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and Ballet Quad Cities and hosts Broadway touring productions, while Common Chord, home of the Redstone Room, is a nonprofit performing arts center where the community can listen, learn and play music. The Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival honors the Davenport native at venues around town in late July or early August, and the Quad-Cities Beaux Arts Fair brings juried fine art and crafts, music and a children's art area to the plaza in front of the Figge in May and September.

When to go

Davenport has a humid continental climate, so your timing depends on how you handle heat and cold. Summers are very warm to hot and humid, with July the warmest month; the heat index climbs high by day and stays elevated at night, and occasional spells of extreme heat and humidity push it higher still. Winters are cold and often windy, with snow likely from November through February and January the coldest month on average.

Spring and autumn are the swing seasons, and both are difficult to dress for: days can be quite warm while evenings turn quite cool, so layers serve you well. Snow has been known to fall as late as April, so don't put the warm clothing away too early in spring.

Three days in Davenport

Day one: Start in Davenport and get your bearings along the Mississippi River, which shapes the city and the wider Quad Cities region on both the Iowa and Illinois sides. A drive along River Drive gives you a sense of the riverfront before you head into the centre, where Union Station is a useful landmark to orient yourself. If you want an easy way to cover ground, a Segway is one option for getting around. End the day with a look at the Brady Street corridor, which follows the line of US Business Route through the city.

Day two: Use the day to explore beyond the downtown, following the main commercial arteries such as Welcome Way, Northwest Boulevard, Kimberly Road and US Route. These roads thread through the wider city and connect Davenport with neighbouring Bettendorf and, across the river, Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in Illinois. If aviation or transport interests you, Quad City International Airport serves the area, and the Trucking Museum at Walcott is reachable via the Interstate. Weather varies sharply here: summers are warm and humid, while winters are bitterly cold, so plan indoor stops accordingly.

Day three: Slow down and take in the character of the place. Spring, from around April, and the milder stretch into November are comfortable times to be outside, while February is best spent indoors. Harrison Street and the surrounding streets give you a feel for everyday Davenport life within Scott County. Before you leave, return to the river for a final look across the Mississippi toward Illinois, and consider how the Quad Cities knit Iowa and Illinois together.

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