Is Hannibal Missouri worth visiting?
May 5th, 2004, 07:44 AM
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Is Hannibal Missouri worth visiting?
We're visiting relatives near St. Louis this summer and are thinking about visiting Hannibal Missouri. Do you think it is worthwhile, or are other nearby river towns more interesting? Where is a nice place to stay? (We have 3 kids, so B&Bs are probably out.)
May 5th, 2004, 08:10 AM
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Hannibal is cute, but it's easy to have Mark Twain overload.
If it's river towns you want, I would suggest St. Charles (which is actually a suburb of St. Louis and the place where the Mississippi and Missouri rivers converge) or Ste. Genevieve.
If it's river towns you want, I would suggest St. Charles (which is actually a suburb of St. Louis and the place where the Mississippi and Missouri rivers converge) or Ste. Genevieve.
May 5th, 2004, 12:05 PM
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"Author: missypie
Date: 05/05/2004, 03:34 pm
Message: I've driven through Cahokia many many times but have never been to the mounds. Are they really worth a visit?"
Well now...there's a slipery slope!
I liked it better than Hannibal and my kids enjoyed it as well. At the time they were about 9-11 years old. It depends on what you and your family enjoy when it comes to a day trip. I would assume that you have done the arch, zoo, Cards game, etc. since you have relatives here.
Date: 05/05/2004, 03:34 pm
Message: I've driven through Cahokia many many times but have never been to the mounds. Are they really worth a visit?"
Well now...there's a slipery slope!
I liked it better than Hannibal and my kids enjoyed it as well. At the time they were about 9-11 years old. It depends on what you and your family enjoy when it comes to a day trip. I would assume that you have done the arch, zoo, Cards game, etc. since you have relatives here.
May 5th, 2004, 12:09 PM
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I agree hannibal is worth a stop but i wouldn't spend the night. Mark Twain's home is well preserved, as is the "Becky Thatcher" home. The town is really quaint, right on the river. St. Charles is also very cute, but predominantly shoppes.
I'd also stop at the Cahokia Mounds, our son loved them! Its my understanding they're one of very few preserved in america.
May 5th, 2004, 01:47 PM
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I'm trying to make this trip to Belleville for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary a bit of fun, since we won't have a "real" vacation this year. The problem is that we will be there in early August. I haven't lived in S. IL for 23 years, and I know that where we'll be coming from will be hotter, but for August I predict 92 degrees and 98 percent humidity. The idea of wandering around outside at Cahokia Mounds makes me kind of miserable.
We've done the arch. Maybe we'll just try the zoo (it opens at 8 am, so maybe we could be in and out before it's miserable outside.)
I'd also like to stop in Mansfield, MO to see the Laura Ingals Wilder home, but there doesn't seem to be anywhere to stay there.
We've done the arch. Maybe we'll just try the zoo (it opens at 8 am, so maybe we could be in and out before it's miserable outside.)
I'd also like to stop in Mansfield, MO to see the Laura Ingals Wilder home, but there doesn't seem to be anywhere to stay there.
May 5th, 2004, 04:18 PM
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You might also be interested in the St. Louis Science Center. It is indoors and air-conditioned. There will be some cool new exhibits coming this summer including a new traveling space exhibit and the omnimax theatre. You can check their web site at www.slsc.org. (It is across the street from the zoo, near Forest Park.
Have not been to Hanibal. St. Charles is really fun, for shopping and lunch.
Cahokia Mounds is great. Has a great indoor exhibit and you don't have to walk up the mounds if you don't want to.
Have not been to Hanibal. St. Charles is really fun, for shopping and lunch.
Cahokia Mounds is great. Has a great indoor exhibit and you don't have to walk up the mounds if you don't want to.
May 5th, 2004, 05:19 PM
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We enjoyed Hannibal very much. In addition to the other things mentioned, we took a riverboat cruise, toured the Tom Sawyer caves and went to an outdoor theatrical production. Spent about two days there, and had a great time.
May 6th, 2004, 05:51 AM
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Thanks everyone. I don't know if anyone else has this experience, but when we go visit the folks, it generally is a "sit in the house and talk" kind of experience, which drives me nuts, because I have a low tolerance for sitting and talking.
The in-laws live about a hour out of Chicago and we never ever ever ever go into the city. We had to take a spring break trip to Chicago - w/o including the inlaws - to finally get to see the sights. Last time we visited the in-laws, I insisted that we go into Chicago for pizza and to visit American Girl Place and it was as if the world was coming to an end.
The in-laws live about a hour out of Chicago and we never ever ever ever go into the city. We had to take a spring break trip to Chicago - w/o including the inlaws - to finally get to see the sights. Last time we visited the in-laws, I insisted that we go into Chicago for pizza and to visit American Girl Place and it was as if the world was coming to an end.
May 6th, 2004, 12:01 PM
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While you are in STL, you might also consider the City Museum downtown. While it isn't free, the price of admission is worth it - and much of it is an indoor magical playground. If you want your kids to run off some enegy and not get heat stroke, this is a good place.
I second Cahokia mounds also - the indoor exhibit is interesting and most people don't realize that this was one of the most important sites in the north america at one time.
St. Charles (and all of St. Louis) will probably still be doing lots of lewis and clark stuff all over.
Hannibal didn't do much for me, its a charming river town, but I think I prefer Herman on the Missouri River better, or the Illinois side of the great river road (grafton, elgin, etc)
Have a great trip!
I second Cahokia mounds also - the indoor exhibit is interesting and most people don't realize that this was one of the most important sites in the north america at one time.
St. Charles (and all of St. Louis) will probably still be doing lots of lewis and clark stuff all over.
Hannibal didn't do much for me, its a charming river town, but I think I prefer Herman on the Missouri River better, or the Illinois side of the great river road (grafton, elgin, etc)
Have a great trip!
Jun 27th, 2005, 02:15 PM
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I've been to Hannibal and would highly recommend the Mark Twain Cave. My fiancee as well as my parents and I all enjoyed the tour.
As for the rest of Hannibal you could do it all in about 1 day. It is ~2.5 hr drive from St. Louis.
I would recommend the St. Louis Zoo or Grants Farm. Grants Farm is fun with kids.
Downtown St. Louis is dead except the arch but be sure to visit "The Loop". This is the area near Washington University on Delmar St.
Also worth seeing is Forest park and the remaining buildings from the 1904 Worlds Fair.
As for the rest of Hannibal you could do it all in about 1 day. It is ~2.5 hr drive from St. Louis.
I would recommend the St. Louis Zoo or Grants Farm. Grants Farm is fun with kids.
Downtown St. Louis is dead except the arch but be sure to visit "The Loop". This is the area near Washington University on Delmar St.
Also worth seeing is Forest park and the remaining buildings from the 1904 Worlds Fair.
Jun 27th, 2005, 02:49 PM
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heres a cool idea for something to do-
have you ever been to Bonne Terre Mine-
it has been turned into the worlds largest freshwater scuba dive center- and you dont have to do a dive- you can do a tour- its pretty interesting- you'll be underground so nice and cool-
all the mine shafts have filled with water and divers go from shaft to shaft-I thought it was pretty interesting.
Its in the town of Fredricktown - a little south of St Louis-
Also the kids would love Elephant Rocks-close to Ironton
or Johnston Shut Ins- a swimming hole on the river ( dont go there on the weekend) and not for little kids - lots of rocks to dive off , swimming holes etc- very fun place but crowded on the weekend.
have you ever been to Bonne Terre Mine-
it has been turned into the worlds largest freshwater scuba dive center- and you dont have to do a dive- you can do a tour- its pretty interesting- you'll be underground so nice and cool-
all the mine shafts have filled with water and divers go from shaft to shaft-I thought it was pretty interesting.
Its in the town of Fredricktown - a little south of St Louis-
Also the kids would love Elephant Rocks-close to Ironton
or Johnston Shut Ins- a swimming hole on the river ( dont go there on the weekend) and not for little kids - lots of rocks to dive off , swimming holes etc- very fun place but crowded on the weekend.
Jul 12th, 2005, 05:22 PM
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I don't know how old your kids are, but as the earlier post said, I would also go to the City Museum. They have a website--just google it.
You will never find such a place anywhere else in your life. The admission is rather high ($12 adults I think) but that's only because the owner, who is the ultra-creative type, didn't want to be affiliated with the non-profits, as they were more about paperwork, rather than the art. You could spend all day there. There is an outside MonstroCIty, that he created with "junk". Yes, everything is made with recycled materials. It's a walking structure, two stories high, that is built and painted to look old and rusty. There is an underground cave that is realatively new and all the stone is hand carved with unique creatures in it. There's even a reasonably priced cafe that you can get a nice sandwich at. In the evenings there is a small outdoor restaurant/bar, called Cabin in the City that he created as a neighborhood bar for the loft residents.
It is housed in the old Brown shoe warehouse on Washington Ave, in the former garment district. You can't miss it, it's the one with the school bus perched off the side of it, looking like it's going to crash to the ground from 15 stories up high!!
Let me just list a couple other exhibits: A "circus" for kids on the top floor with dog acts, etc every couple hours, a small-scale train that kids can ride for free. Then there's the art floor, where you can witness blowing glass demonstrations, clay pottery demos, and kids can make their own art.
The employees are all artsy with many tatoos and multi-colored hair with many piercings, but they are friendly and very helpful and loads of fun. Just artsy looking.
The other place, depending on the kids ages is the Magic House in Kirkwood. It is second in national attractions this year only to Disney. Up to about age 13 will enjoy it. Kirkwood is a great spot where you could walk to Johnny Rockets for lunch. There are cute shops, a farmers market and the Amtrak stops right there also.
Have fun.
You will never find such a place anywhere else in your life. The admission is rather high ($12 adults I think) but that's only because the owner, who is the ultra-creative type, didn't want to be affiliated with the non-profits, as they were more about paperwork, rather than the art. You could spend all day there. There is an outside MonstroCIty, that he created with "junk". Yes, everything is made with recycled materials. It's a walking structure, two stories high, that is built and painted to look old and rusty. There is an underground cave that is realatively new and all the stone is hand carved with unique creatures in it. There's even a reasonably priced cafe that you can get a nice sandwich at. In the evenings there is a small outdoor restaurant/bar, called Cabin in the City that he created as a neighborhood bar for the loft residents.
It is housed in the old Brown shoe warehouse on Washington Ave, in the former garment district. You can't miss it, it's the one with the school bus perched off the side of it, looking like it's going to crash to the ground from 15 stories up high!!
Let me just list a couple other exhibits: A "circus" for kids on the top floor with dog acts, etc every couple hours, a small-scale train that kids can ride for free. Then there's the art floor, where you can witness blowing glass demonstrations, clay pottery demos, and kids can make their own art.
The employees are all artsy with many tatoos and multi-colored hair with many piercings, but they are friendly and very helpful and loads of fun. Just artsy looking.
The other place, depending on the kids ages is the Magic House in Kirkwood. It is second in national attractions this year only to Disney. Up to about age 13 will enjoy it. Kirkwood is a great spot where you could walk to Johnny Rockets for lunch. There are cute shops, a farmers market and the Amtrak stops right there also.
Have fun.
Jul 15th, 2005, 08:12 AM
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Missypie, I loved your description of family gatherings! That's exactly been my family experience, too, and I grew up in Missouri. In fact, believe it or not, BOTH my parents were my Hannibal, MO, and my childhood summers were spent two-weeks at a time in Hannibal.
Hannibal is definitely worth a one-day trip, IMHO, but I don't know a place to stay there, though. Read up on Mark Twain and get your kids ready for Huck Finn-ish stuff to see and do there.
Otherwise, I also hear you re: the heat in St. Louis. Although we were there last summer in Kirkwood and it was so cool we needed sweaters and couldn't swim. Go figure.
The Loop near Wash U. is fun for funky boutiques and restaurants. In fact, Chuck Berry plays frequently at the Blueberry there, so check it out if you like him. And Wash U. is a beautiful campus if you like seeing schools.
Kirkwood is a great little place, with a fantastic public swimming pool complete with a 'lazy river' and water slides.
Hannibal is definitely worth a one-day trip, IMHO, but I don't know a place to stay there, though. Read up on Mark Twain and get your kids ready for Huck Finn-ish stuff to see and do there.
Otherwise, I also hear you re: the heat in St. Louis. Although we were there last summer in Kirkwood and it was so cool we needed sweaters and couldn't swim. Go figure.
The Loop near Wash U. is fun for funky boutiques and restaurants. In fact, Chuck Berry plays frequently at the Blueberry there, so check it out if you like him. And Wash U. is a beautiful campus if you like seeing schools.
Kirkwood is a great little place, with a fantastic public swimming pool complete with a 'lazy river' and water slides.
Jul 15th, 2005, 08:23 AM
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We enjoyed Hannibal for about 2hrs and then were ready to leave. Hermann is a German town with lots of winery's and while we rally liked it, your kids probablly would not. We loved, loved, loved Grants Farm which is close to St Louis and it is free. The tram ride thru the park to see the animals is shaded and your riding, not walking which is cooler. The free beer for the adults is also cooling. 
I think it is a great family outing.
I think it is a great family outing.
Jul 15th, 2005, 09:08 AM
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from Grant's Farm website:
http://www.grantsfarm.com/
"Admission to Grant's Farm, tram rides and all shows is complimentary."
But, there are parking fees.
Also " Anheuser-Busch Hospitality is also offered in the Bauernhof area."
Which really means they will give you up to two free small cups of AB product of your choice.
Grant's farm can be a fun day trip. Of course, the OP asked this question over a year ago......just thought I would clear up misinformation about Grant's Farm.
http://www.grantsfarm.com/
"Admission to Grant's Farm, tram rides and all shows is complimentary."
But, there are parking fees.
Also " Anheuser-Busch Hospitality is also offered in the Bauernhof area."
Which really means they will give you up to two free small cups of AB product of your choice.
Grant's farm can be a fun day trip. Of course, the OP asked this question over a year ago......just thought I would clear up misinformation about Grant's Farm.
