CourtesyCedarRapidsTourismOffice CourtesyIowa City/CoralvilleAreaCVB

Paramount Theatre is a 1920s theater with 1,700 seats.

the early 1900s, and the Stanley Museum of Art, on the University of Iowa’s campus, express the city’s personality.

Iowa City also benefits from nearCoralville and its entertainment district, Iowa River Landing, and meeting hotels that include the 288-room Coralville Hyatt Regency Convention Center, with 60,000 square feet of meeting space and 15,000 square feet of outdoor space. The 2020 opening of the Xtream Arena, home to pro hockey and other sports, brings more options, from receptions on its green roof and trade shows on the arena floor to casual gatherings in a 4,000-square-foot team hangout space outfitted with TVs thinkiowacity.com tourismcedarrapids.com

What makes Cedar Rapids special? “It’s that Midwest hospitality, along with the diversity of venues,” said Julie Stow, associate executive director/ director of meetings and conventions at Cedar Rapids Tourism.

There are plenty of traditional spaces, including the Cedar Rapids Convention Complex, Iowa’s newest convention center. The complex has 80,000 square feet of meeting space and is attached to the 267-room DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel. For an upscale meeting, banquet or board meeting, planners can look south of downtown to the Hotel at Kirkwood, a swanky, AAA Four-Diamond boutique hotel with 71 rooms and a renowned restaurant, The Class Act.

A favorite venue, the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library, explores the city’s Czech and Slovak heritage. It’s located in Czech Village, a popular attraction that’s also a popular event venue. The elegant Rozek Grand Hall there features high, arched ceilings with a sparkling chandelier and can seat 100 at a banquet. For green meetings, the Indian Creek Nature Center is one of only 31 buildings in the world designated as “living buildings,” the highest level of sustainability. Another signature Cedar Rapids venue, the Paramount Theatre, is an opulently restored 1920s theater with 1,700 seats two blocks from the convention center.