Des Moines Attractions & City Passes
How a city attraction pass works
A city attraction pass bundles admission to several of a city's top sights into one ticket you buy once. The big passes — CityPASS, Go City and The Sightseeing Pass — each cover a different set of attractions and price differently, and what they include changes over time. That is why this page never prints a price or a fixed bundle: we show you the cited attractions and link you to the provider for live pricing, so you compare against the sights you actually want to see.
Photo: National Park Service / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)Des Moines, the capital of Iowa, offers visitors a range of cultural and recreational attractions. The city is known for its gardens, notable landmarks, art museums, and zoo, drawing millions of visitors to the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area annually, which is home to approximately 754,000 residents. These eight major attractions span diverse interests, from outdoor spaces to visual arts and wildlife experiences.
To simplify visiting multiple sites, many travelers use a city pass that bundles several attractions into a single ticket. Rather than purchasing individual admissions, a pass can provide convenient access to a curated selection of the city's top destinations. For current details on which attractions are included, pricing, and availability, visit the city pass provider's website directly, as offerings and rates are updated regularly.
| Attraction | Type |
|---|---|
| Iowa State Capitol | Landmark |
| Des Moines Art Center | Art museum |
| Pappajohn Sculpture Park | Garden |
| Blank Park Zoo | Zoo |
| Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden | Garden |
| Science Center of Iowa | Science center |
| State Historical Museum of Iowa | Museum |
| Living History Farms | Historic site |
| NPS unit | Annual visits |
|---|---|
| Herbert Hoover National Historic Site · 124.5 mi | 106,672 (2025) |
Frequently asked questions
How much is a Des Moines attraction pass?
What are the top attractions in Des Moines?
Is the population the city or the metro area?
All 8 Des Moines attractions → · NPS sites near Des Moines → · Which pass fits Des Moines? → · Look up another city →
Attraction names and types are cited to Des Moines's tourism record; metro-area population is from the U.S. Census metro spine and nearby-NPS visitation from the NPS Visitor Use Statistics package, verified June 2026. How we compile this. We never quote a pass price.