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St. Louis has three major neighborhoods. The Hill is known for its good restaurants—mostly Italian—and simple old-world charm. The neighborhood is bounded by Hampton Avenue on the west and Kingshighway on the east, south of Interstate 44. You'll know when you've reached the Hill because the fireplugs are painted green, white, and red. Baseball legends Yogi Berra and Joe Garagiola grew up playing stickball on these streets, but today you're more likely to see a game of boccie—Italian lawn bowling—played at local pubs.
Soulard is a French neighborhood, bounded by the Mississippi River to the east and Interstate 55 to the north and west. There are many reasons to come to Soulard, including the Bastille Day celebrations and Mardi Gras—but the main draw is Soulard Market, where St. Louisans have come since 1779 for the fresh produce, baked goods, and exotic spices, Wednesday through Saturday.
The Central West End, between Forest Park and Page Avenue, is a chic neighborhood filled with trendy boutiques, cozy sidewalk cafés, and galleries. Many of the early 20th-century homes are on display during the annual Greek Festival, held during Labor Day weekend. St. Louisans often stop here after work for a drink or dinner, but the Cathedral of Saint Louis and its collection of mosaic art are worth a visit as well.
Downtown sights can be explored on foot. To visit other parts of town, you'll need a car.
Expect the unexpected at this wildly fun, award-winning museum that's truly a playhouse for adults and kids alike. It's housed in a 100-year-old, 600,000-square-foot warehouse (the former International Shoe Building) that incorporates repurposed architectural and industrial objects to create features like metal walkways (miles of them), slides, caves, tunnels, and secret passages. There's also a rooftop school bus and a Ferris wheel. Oh, and a circus and a train.
Two blocks south of the Old Courthouse, this 46,000-seat, retro-style stadium is home to the city's beloved Major League Baseball team. The St. Louis Cardinals have won 11 World Series Championships and 19 National League pennants, so remember to wear your red! Stadium tours, which begin at Gate 3 on 8th Street, are offered year-round and include views from the Radio Broadcast Booth, Cardinals Club, and Redbird Club. See the World Series trophies in the Champions Club, and get a player's perspective from the Cardinals Dugout.
Find some shade and maybe have a picnic in this unique, 3-acre park. It's not only filled with fountains and luscious landscape but also some funky, interactive art, including walk-through sculptures. Don't miss the LED installation depicting a couple in forward walking motion at the park's western edge.
Officially opened in 1876, one of the country's largest urban parks (1,293 acres) outsizes even Central Park in New York City and is more than just a haven for paddleboaters, bikers, runners, and other sports enthusiasts. Many of its more than 15 million annual visitors come to experience the myriad attractions within its boundaries, including the St. Louis Zoo, Saint Louis Art Museum, and Saint Louis Science Center; the Missouri History Museum; and The Muny, the nation's oldest and largest outdoor theater. The neighborhoods bordering this park include Clayton, the Central West End, Hi-Pointe, and Forest Park South East.
A ride to the top of the 630-foot arch, designed by architect Eero Saarinen, is a must. The centerpiece of the 91-acre Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Park, the arch was built in 1965 to commemorate the city where thousands of 19th-century pioneers stopped for provisions before traveling west. A tram takes visitors up one of the Arch's legs to a top-of-the-arch observation room with a terrific view of the city and the Mississippi. On windy days visitors can feel the Arch sway while at the top. Beneath the Arch is the underground visitor center and the Museum of Westward Expansion.
The Gateway Arch is truly a sky-high experience. Not only is this marvel of design and engineering as tall (63 stories or 630 feet) as it is wide, but it's also 75 feet higher than the Washington Monument and twice the height of the Statue of Liberty. People come from around the world to enjoy the Arch from every angle—looking down from the top (where the sway can be up to 18 inches in 150 mph winds) or looking up from the bottom; from above in a helicopter or from below aboard a riverboat. Those uncomfortable with heights can skip the ride up and watch livestream video of topside views inside the Keystone replica. The Tram Ride to the Top experience includes an interactive, preboarding exhibit covering the decade in which the Arch was constructed. You then board one of eight, five-person tram capsules that travel at about 5 miles per hour. The ride takes four minutes up and three minutes down. Although the average visit takes 45 to 60 minutes, including transit time, you can stay in the observation deck to enjoy the views (both east and west) for as long as you like. Please note, though, that there are no amenities, including restrooms, at the top, so plan accordingly. Also, come prepared for incredible Instagram moments, and be sure to tag photos to the Arch’s humorous and popular X account: @GatewayArchSTL.
The Arch's west entrance, facing 4th Street and the Old Courthouse, is flooded with bright natural light. From this glass atrium, you can access the visitor center, the underground museum, the lobby for the Tram Ride to the Top, the Tucker Theater, the Arch Café, and the Arch Store. The museum showcases more than 200 years of history, from the founding of St. Louis by French fur traders Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau in 1764 to the completion of the Arch in 1965. Huge digital maps, oversize murals, wall-size video screens, authentic soundscapes, interactive touch screens, and inclusive narratives bring all this history to life in six theme galleries: Jefferson’s Vision, Colonial St. Louis, The Riverfront Era, Manifest Destiny, Building the Arch, and New Frontiers. In the Tucker Theater, watch in awe as the last piece of the Arch is lowered into position in the 28-minute documentary, Monument to the Dream, produced by Charles E. Guggenheim and nominated for an Academy Award in 1967. The tram lobby features not only a replica tram car but also an exact 17-foot-wide replica of the Arch's top piece, the Keystone, with livestream video from the observation deck 630 feet above. Be sure to exit the visitor center via the north or south doors, so you can look up for a jaw-dropping view of the Arch towering overhead.
Wide concrete pathways loop through and around this 7.5-acre section of the national park, where a natural grass amphitheater is the site of concerts and other events throughout the year, including Blues at the Arch every August. The north section is also home to the Explorers’ Garden, which is planted with flora that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark encountered on their journey west and features paths scaled for children. Enjoy incredible views of the Arch, the city skyline, and Eads Bridge, which was completed in 1874, making it not only the world's first all-steel span but also the oldest bridge over the Mississippi River.
Built in the early 1800s and part of the park service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, the 192-foot-tall, green-domed Old Courthouse is a neoclassical masterpiece situated across a 250-foot grassy pedestrian bridge from the national park visitor center. A life-size sculpture of Dred and Harriett Scott outside the courthouse entrance serves as a poignant reminder of the determination it takes to change the course of history. Inside, it's humbling to stand in the exact spot where history did, indeed, change. The courtrooms here served as center stage for two landmark 19th-century cases: when two enslaved people, Dred and Harriet Scott (Dred Scott v. Sanford), sued for their freedom and when suffragist Virginia Minor fought for women’s right to vote (Minor v. Happersett). The gorgeous, three-tiered rotunda is modeled after the dome in Rome's St. Peter’s Basilica, and four murals painted by Carl Wimar highlight significant moments in St. Louis history. In addition to visiting two of the original courtrooms, you can participate in ranger-led tours; experience trial reenactments and other special events throughout the year; and see the 17-minute film, Slavery on Trial: The Dred Scott Decision, and the 10-minute film, Lewis and Clark, Preparation for the Expedition. The Old Courthouse will reopen in 2025 after a two-year, $27.5 million renovation, which was the final piece of the $380 million CityArchRiver project that revitalized Gateway Arch National Park, the St. Louis Riverfront, and Kiener Plaza in Downtown St. Louis. Be sure to snap a photo of the courthouse framed by the Gateway Arch—a quintessential St. Louis shot.
From the base of Gateway Arch National Park's Grand Staircase enjoy strolls along Leonor K Sullivan Boulevard, the 1.5-mile riverfront promenade that stretches from the landing for the riverboats at the south end to the Laclede's Landing historic site at the north end. The promenade hosts outdoor activities and events throughout the year and is the hub not only for the seasonal riverboat cruises but also Arch helicopter rides. A bike path along the riverfront promenade serves as the hub of the River Ring, a network of trails developed by Great Rivers Greenway ( greatriversgreenway.org). To the north, the Mississippi Greenway provides a 12.5-mile trail, connecting downtown St. Louis to the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, a historic Route 66 landmark.
Built in 1852, the 142-acre Anheuser-Busch site consists of nearly 150 structures, many of them brick and done in an elaborate, Germanic Romanesque–style. The Clydesdale Stables, the six-story, stone Brewhouse, and the Administration Building (the former Lyon’s Schoolhouse) are all on the National Register of Historic Places. Take a tour, sample Anheuser-Busch beers, and snap photos of the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales.
More than 41.5 million pieces of glass in 7,000 different colors were used to create the mosaics depicting Bible stories that cover 83,000 square feet of this cathedral's walls. You can learn more about these works in the lower-level Mosaic Museum, which also contains crypts, an original Kilgen organ console, historic vestments and religious items, and the throne used during the visit of Polish Pope John Paul II. Guided tours (available between 10 and 4) are free, but donations are suggested.
Attractions at this favorite of St. Louis children include a 160-acre petting zoo, education-based elephant and bird shows, an animal preserve, and train ride to visit the famous Anheuser-Busch Clydesdale horses and their breeding facility. A wide selection of outdoor summer-friendly food is available to enjoy in an outdoor dining area.
Just one block from Gateway National Park's north entrance, this nine-block district is complete with cobblestone streets, 17 historic buildings, eight restaurants, and one great view of the river. Arch parking is available here, and the MetroLink light rail stops at this location, too.
The kids will have a blast at this hyper-interactive children's museum. Highlights include a hair-raising static ball, a photo-sensitive wall that captures visitors' silhouettes, and other hands-on exhibits. The museum is in a restored Victorian house in Kirkwood, which is just as interesting as the museum.
Known locally as Shaw's Garden for founder Henry Shaw, the garden is a 15-minute drive southwest of Downtown. Highlights include a Japanese garden; the Climatron, a tropical rain forest housed in a geodesic glass dome; an Ottoman Turkish style garden; and a 2-acre children's garden representing Missouri's major ecosystems.
Just steps from the Arch, the beautifully steepled Old Cathedral, the city’s first parish, holds its own next to the towering monument. Established in 1764 to honor the city’s namesake, King Louis IX of France, it was the only neighborhood structure saved by the wrecking ball when the riverfront was being cleared for Arch construction. The church remains a popular wedding site, and mass is held daily. There's on-site parking.
This museum has a celebrated collection of 19th-century American painting, in addition to fine pre-Columbian and German expressionist works (including many paintings and drawings by Max Beckmann). Over the years, the museum has acquired important works of early modernism by Matisse, Monet, Picasso, van Gogh, Degas, and other early 20th-century artists. Works by Anselm Kiefer, Franz Kline, Gerhard Richter, and Jenny Holzer are among the more recent acquisitions.
The center, located in the southeast part of Forest Park, contains more than 600 hands-on exhibits on ecology, space, and humanity. You'll also find life-size animated dinosaurs and exhibits showcasing technology and the environment. The two main buildings of the Science Center are connected by a bridge over U.S. 40 (which contains radar guns to measure the speed of cars below).
Located in Forest Park, this is one of the country's best zoos and a leader in conservation efforts. Natural open-air habitats allow visitors excellent views of animals from the African savanna, including lions, tigers, elephants and zebras; curious giraffes have been known to stick their necks out to be petted by wide-eyed visitors. The zoo's "River's Edge" is an immersion exhibit that allows visitors to get close to such creatures as warthogs, wild pigs, black rhinos, bush dogs, giant anteaters, and aardvaks. There's also a children's petting area with goats, sheep and other animals.
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