I live in St. Louis (when I’m not in New York going to school), and it’s going to be hard if you don’t have a car (St. Louis is generally NOT a walking city, unless you plan on doing A LOT of walking). Two of the places mentioned above, the Loop and the Central West End are a 10–15 minute drive, and the public transit system is pretty rudimentary. Our Metrolink has one line, which goes from the airport to Belleville, IL, stopping at major points along the way. It’s not very helpful though; the “Delmar-Loop” stop is more than a few (LONG) blocks from the main center of the Loop.
That being said, here are key places to visit:
The Arch, if you’ve never been before. I’d probably shoot myself if I was forced to go again because it’s THE field trip that St. Louis kids go on in elementary and middle school.
Yes, the Loop, particularly Vintage Vinyl (record store), Racanelli’s pizzeria (although if you see a blonde, skinny kid who kinda looks like a turtle, rack him in the nuts for me), Fitz’s Restaurant (a St. Louis institution burger joint and root beer bottling company), Rag-O-Rama (buy/sell/trade clothing), the Tivoli movie theatre (mostly independent films), Layal Hookah Bar (if it’s still there…), The Twisted Olive (a bar), Sunshine Daydream (a head shop), as well as some of the other retail around there.
The Central West End is essentially Euclid Ave from Forest Park Parkway to Delmar Blvd. Most of the cool stuff around there are restaurants (another Racanelli’s, Culpepper’s, the Drunken Fish, Coffee Cartel, Wildflower, Chez Leon, the Cupcakery, etc.), but there are a few cute little antique shops and such. There is also the Chase Park Plaza which is a hotel , but has a movie theatre. It is just a block east of Forest Park, site of the 1904 World’s Fair, which has must-see museums and such. The St. Louis Art Museums has, in my opinion, one of the finest permanent collections outside of New York, and admission to the general museum (although not to the special exhibitions) is free. The Zoo is right next to the Art Museum, and is also free. It can take an entire day, easily, and is definitely worth a visit. Also in and around the park is the Boat House, a restaurant and boat rental, the Missouri History Museum, the Jewel Box (a giant greenhouse), golf courses, and the Science Center, a three-building museum along the lines of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, complete with a skybridge over the main highway of St. Louis, Highway 64/40, which is currently under construction. If you are driving, do keep in mind that the highway is shut down from Big Bend (or maybe Hanley, now) to Kingshighway.
The Botanical Garden, south of Forest Park, is absolutely beautiful. There is a climatron, a Japanese garden, and a fabulous English Rose Garden (which, incidentally, was where I wanted to get married for quite a long time).
The City Museum is definitely worth a visit. It is essentially a giant playground built of recycled things. If you’re traveling with kids, you can’t miss this especially. There are also places to make art, play arcade games (Beatle Bob’s cafe, named after a St. Louis celebrity), and art and architecture exhibitions. Admission is definitely worth it – I had my prom there!
If you have a car and you’re willing to venture a little, Shaw Nature Reserve and Laumeier Sculpture Park are nature type places about 30–45 minutes out Highway 55. Laumeier has massive installation sculptures in a park setting, as well as nature trails and such. I spent a good deal of time there doing… things you can do away from people in a huge park. Six Flags is also out that way, if you like amusement parks.
Great concert venues: The Pageant, the Creepy Crawl, the Fox Theatre, the Red Sea, the Duck Room at Blueberry Hill, Riverport, Amphitheatre, the Billiken Club at St. Louis University, and The Gargoyle at Washington University. Speaking of Wash U, they also have a great art gallery at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Art.
Downtown, there is the nightlife on the Riverfront/Laclede’s Landing, which is also where the casinos are, the actual literal riverfront itself, where people mostly go park at the water’s edge and drink and smoke or have sex in their cars, the flood walls, which are a cool place (it is legal to graffiti them, so REAL artists go and put up their work; but only go during the day because it can get pretty sketchy at night. You also won’t want to go there on foot.), Busch Stadium, the Scottrade Center, the Old Courthouse, the Old Keil Auditorium, Union Station (mostly just touristy type shops, but there are trains and a Hooter’s!), the Eugene Field Toy Museum, and some cool bars and such. If you like blues or jazz, check out BB’s Blues and Jazz, little dive bar/restaurant with GREAT live music. You can find most of these places online (ie there is a map of the Loop at ucityloop.com ), and once you figure out certain amounts of navigation between the places, you’re golden.
This website has maps of each of the individual counties, as well as one of the greater metropolitan area. If you need restaurant recommendations, give me price ranges and I’ll steer you towards some great places. Good luck! I love St. Louis :D
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