I recently visited St Louis over a weekend and decided to make a travel guide to help you plan your trip to St Louis if you’re interested in going. There’s a lot to consider when visiting St Louis, so I’ll try to include all my recommendations along with some of the stuff that I didn’t know when planning my trip. St Louis is a nice historic city with a lot to see and do, and you may be interested in doing things I didn’t do, so I’d definitely recommend doing your own research in addition to this guide.
Things to Consider Before Visiting St Louis
While St Louis is a popular city to visit, there are some things to be aware of before visiting. The first thing to consider ahead of time is the crime rate. If you pull up any list of the country’s most dangerous cities, St Louis will be toward the top. In fact, it was the most dangerous for several years recently. But when you analyze the crime data, most of the violent crime occurs in the north part and around Dutchtown with much less occurring throughout the rest of the city. That doesn’t mean I’d recommend walking around downtown at night though. I was back in my hotel room or in my rental car at night because I was uncomfortable in any part of the city otherwise. During the day is a much different setting though and is a lot safer. With that in mind, I’d definitely recommend researching the location of your hotel. I would highly recommend booking one in the center of downtown, somewhere close to Gateway Arch. That area feels the safest at night and is a good location for reaching other parts of town. I would strongly discourage booking a hotel near the airport unless you have a reason to be in that area. It’s far from the main parts of St Louis, so you would have to do a lot of driving to reach anything. I stayed at the Hyatt Regency, right next to Gateway Arch; in fact, I could see the arch from my hotel window. It’s a very nice hotel that gets my recommendation; however, there are many other good options nearby.
My next recommendation is to rent a car. I considered just Ubering around the city, but I was so glad we ended up getting a rental. The main sites are not all together like they might be in other big cities, so you’ll have to drive to reach several tourist sites. Assuming you do rent a car, expect the roads to be somewhat confusing, as some lanes will be randomly blocked off. Also consider the weather before going. I visited during the winter when it was cold and snowing the whole time. I’m not qualified to give advice on visiting cold locations, but you’ll want to be prepared if you’re visiting in the winter. Also pay attention to the hours of operation anywhere you’re planning to go because I found that many places close really early for whatever reason.
What to Do in St Louis
As I’ve already mentioned, there’s a lot to see and do in St Louis, and I didn’t do everything because of my limited time. I mainly tried to hit the highlights and will give advice for each of them. Obviously the most important site to visit is Gateway Arch. Gateway Arch has recently become a national park and is the smallest one in the US. Entrance into the park is free as it’s literally part of downtown St Louis, but finding parking can be difficult. If you’re staying in a nearby hotel, you can just park at the hotel and walk to the arch, but if you need public parking, there’s a parking garage a couple blocks away on Broadway, just across from Busch Stadium. My biggest recommendation for Gateway Arch is to ride to the top of it. It costs $12-16 for adults, with $3 off if you have the Annual National Park Pass. In a normal year, you can buy tickets there, but during Covid, you have to book these in advance, with tickets becoming available 5 days ahead of time online at gatewayarch.com.
After walking through a museum, you reach the pod area to get to the top. The door to the pods is only 4 feet tall, so you have to duck to get in, and there are 5 seats in this tight cramped pod. It’s definitely not for claustrophobic people! During normal years, they will cram 5 people in each, but during Covid you’re limited to only your group, even if you’re traveling solo. The ride up to the top takes 4 minutes, and there’s a window, but you don’t have a view during this ride. All you can see are steps and maintenance areas. Once at the top, you get some incredible views of the surrounding area. If you go during Covid times, you’ll have 10 minutes at the top, but that was plenty of time in my opinion, as it was very narrow and cramped even without large crowds. Across from the arch is the old courthouse which is also a part of the national park. I’ve heard it’s a nice place to visit, but it was closed due to Covid when I went.
If you want to get a good picture of the arch from across the Mississippi River, there’s a park in East St Louis, Illinois, called Malcolm W Martin Memorial Park which gives a great view of it. I wouldn’t recommend going for the sunrise or sunset because it’s not in the best area. I probably wouldn’t go alone either. One cool feature is the live webcam, where your family or friends back home can see you while you’re there. My next recommendation is City Museum. It’s very difficult to explain it, but it’s really like a giant playground for both kids and adults. Kids would absolutely love this place, while adults do too. And there are many places kids can reach that most adults probably couldn’t. The whole museum is in an old abandoned shoe factory and has many different things that you can climb on. The point of it is exploration, as you’re supposed to just wander around and see what there is to find. There’s a 10-story slide that is really cool if you can find it. (It’s actually more like 7 stories, but it’s still really high).
I’ve got a couple suggestions for the City Museum. First of all, don’t plan to go if there’s any form of precipitation on the forecast. When it rains or snows, the outside portion gets closed down because of the slippery surfaces. That is one of my favorite areas of the museum, so you’ll want to make sure it’s open when you go. My next suggestion is to go during spring or summer if possible. I’ve heard great things about the roof, but it’s closed off during cooler months. I would’ve liked to see the roof, but I felt that what I did experience was great. Tickets here cost $16 per person with parking costing an additional $10.
Forest Park is another great option for families to check out. The three main attractions in the park are all free, and even if you don’t do any of those, the park is a really nice place to go for a walk. Of the three sites (zoo, art museum, and science center) I only visited the zoo, but I’ve heard good things about the others. The zoo is very nice and big with many different kinds of animals throughout. While I was there, unfortunately many of the exhibits were empty, but that’s because I came at the wrong time of year. During the summer, you’ll likely see a lot more than you would during the winter. There are some cool expansions opening up later this year, so I’d definitely recommend checking it out. There is a parking lot at the zoo which costs $10, but there’s also free parallel parking along the street if there are any spots open. During Covid, you will have to book your free tickets ahead of time online for a specific time slot, but I didn’t have any issues with availability when I booked mine at the front door of the zoo when I showed up.
Union Station is another cool spot in St Louis. It’s an old train station that was once one of the busiest in the US. The main attraction inside Union Station is the aquarium, and while there are a couple other small attractions (mirror maze, etc), the aquarium takes up most of it. Tickets to the aquarium cost $25 for adults, and there is a huge free parking lot in front of Union Station. Again, during Covid, these tickets have to be scheduled ahead of time online for a specific time slot. While the aquarium is nice, it’s not one of the most impressive aquariums I’ve been to. One thing I did notice though is that it’s a great place for kids. There are many interactive displays that kids would love. The best part is the Shark Canyon section of the aquarium in my opinion.
My last recommendation is more of a quick stop: Cathedral Basilica of St Louis. It’s one of the most beautiful cathedrals I’ve ever seen. One thing that makes this one so impressive is the mosaic collection covering the ceiling and dome. In fact, it’s the largest mosaic collection in the world outside Russia. Even if you just stop real quick to run in and snap a few pictures, I highly recommend it! There’s also a site in Collinsville, Illinois, called Cahokia Mounds that some might find interesting. It’s the largest prehistoric earthwork in America and largest ancient Native American city north of Mexico. However, I probably wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re either into that type of historic site or are trying to visit UNESCO sites like I am. If you’re interested, it’s only a 15 minute drive from the city, but there’s really not much to see there.
What to Eat in St Louis
St Louis has some really good food options, and it’s mostly known for barbecue and pizza, both of which are amazing! For barbecue, the best place in the city is Pappy’s Smokehouse. It is a little expensive for my taste but definitely worth it! I tried the ribs and burnt ends, and both were incredible. It’s some of the best barbecue I’ve had anywhere! I also recommend getting the sweet potato fries as a side because they are definitely the best I’ve had anywhere. If you’re planning to dine in, you may want to make reservations ahead of time because there was an hour wait when I got there. If you don’t want to wait, you can actually order your meal to go, and they will bring it out to your vehicle in about 20 minutes. The parking lot here is very cramped and busy, so finding a spot may be difficult.
For pizza, the one place I kept hearing about is Imo’s. It’s a local chain restaurant, but everyone loves their pizza. St Louis pizza is on thin crust and uses a special cheese blend called Provel cheese. It is very good! Another food St Louis is known for that you can try while at Imo’s is toasted ravioli, or more accurately, fried ravioli. Both of these are very good at Imo’s.
If you’re looking for a lot of different options, you can head to the Delmar Loop near Forest Park. The Loop is a popular section of town that stays open later than everywhere else and has many different restaurant options. I visited Salt + Smoke while I was there, and it was really good. I loved their barbecue sauce and macaroni, but I’d still recommend Pappy’s over it if you want barbecue. There are plenty of other unique options at Delmar Loop, from poke to falafel to tacos. You can parallel park all along the strip, but I’d recommend trying to park close to your restaurant so you don’t have to walk too far. While it’s not known as a dangerous part of town, I didn’t necessarily feel the safest in this area.
My last food recommendation is butter cake for dessert. It’s something St Louis is known for, and it’s very good! While you can get it at many different places, I tried it at Park Avenue Coffee, and I’d definitely recommend it! Their butter cake was actually featured on Food Network.
Is St Louis Worth Visiting?
Overall, I’d say St Louis is definitely worth visiting. I don’t think you need a full week to visit the city as I made it to the highlights in just a weekend. I could’ve kept myself busy for another day or two, but any longer would’ve been too much time. Other places I’ve heard good things about include Grant’s Farm, the Missouri Botanical Gardens, and the Busch Stadium, so I would’ve tried to check those out if I had more time. Hopefully this guide helps you if you’re planning to visit St Louis. Thanks for reading!
Tyler's Travels 