St. Louis
Founded in 1764 by French traders on the banks of the Mississippi, St. Louis raised on its riverfront a 192-metre steel arch, which you climb in five-seat capsules. The rest of the city reveals itself in a park larger than Central Park where the zoo and the art museum are free, a shoe factory turned into a giant playground and a cathedral covered in mosaics from floor to dome.
By PierrickLocal Guide ★8 · 14M+ views on Google MapsBy PierrickLocal Guide ★8 · 14M+ Maps views
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St. Louis · Photo Jose Cruz / Pexels
Things to do in St. Louis in 4 days
Day 1
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Eero Saarinen's 192-metre stainless steel arch of 1965, the tallest monument in the United States, climbed in five-seat capsules to a viewing platform, with a free museum of the West beneath it.
💡 Book the tram online, as weekend and summer slots go quickly, and allow 45 to 60 minutes for the whole thing. The capsules are cramped: best avoided if you are claustrophobic. Price: from $15, about €13, per adult, $11, about €9, for ages 3 to 15, depending on the date; the museum is free.
Dougtone / CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Learn moreMore
Not a museum but a giant playground built from salvaged materials in a former shoe warehouse, with ten-storey slides, caves, aircraft linked by walkways and a school bus hanging off the roof.
💡 Wear clothes that cover you, knee pads if you have them and closed shoes, and bring a head torch for the caves. Opening hours change by day and season, with closures on some weekdays outside school holidays: check the calendar online. Price: from $20, about €17, online, roof extra; parking $15, about €13.
Jon DeJong / CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 2
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The historic Soulard brewery where Budweiser was launched in 1876, with a tour of the 1892 brewhouse and the Clydesdale stables, ending with a tasting in the beer garden.
💡 The Day Fresh Tour, the most frequent, lasts 1 hr 15; the Beermaster Tour, more comprehensive, two hours. Book online; the tasting is reserved for over-21s, with ID required. Price: from $15, about €13, Beermaster from $50, about €43.
Pp391 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Learn moreMore
The oldest continuously operating botanical garden in the United States, founded in 1859, with the Climatron geodesic dome sheltering a rainforest and one of North America's largest Japanese gardens.
💡 Come in spring for the blossoms or in the late afternoon in summer, and wear good shoes, as the garden covers nearly 32 hectares. Open daily from 9am to 5pm, last entry at 4.30pm. Price: $16, about €14, for non-residents.
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The Italian neighbourhood south of Forest Park, with fire hydrants painted green, white and red, delis, bakeries, trattorias and the local invention of toasted ravioli, breaded and fried.
💡 Have a sandwich for lunch at Gioia's Deli or at Volpi, then browse the Italian grocery stores to take home pasta and salami. Dinner should be booked at the best-known restaurants, especially at weekends. Price: walk free.
TCP04 / CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 3
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A park of about 530 hectares, larger than Central Park, laid out for the 1904 World's Fair, home to a free zoo, art museum, history museum and science centre, plus lakes and pedal boats.
💡 Hire a bike or a pedal boat at the Boathouse, and start with the zoo at opening time, at 9am, before the heat and the school groups. Parking at the park's institutions is often paid, while spaces along the internal roads are free. Price: free, a few zoo attractions paid.
AmyBautz / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 4
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A free museum of more than 30,000 works spanning 5,000 years in the 1904 Palace of Fine Arts on Art Hill, strong in 20th-century German art, with many works by Max Beckmann.
💡 The museum is closed on Mondays and opens at 10am on other days. Ticketed exhibitions are free on Fridays. Afterwards, walk down Art Hill to the Grand Basin for the view of the facade. Price: free, temporary exhibitions ticketed except on Fridays.
AmyBautz / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Learn moreMore
Behind its grey granite facade, one of the world's largest mosaic collections, nearly 7,700 m² covered in 41.5 million glass tesserae laid between 1912 and 1988 beneath golden domes.
💡 The cathedral opens daily from 7am to 5pm; avoid Mass times to move around freely and come in the late morning, when the light makes the gold of the domes shine. Combine it with a stroll in the neighbouring Central West End. Price: free.
Nheyob / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)"Book" (hotels) and "via GetYourGuide" (activities) are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide). Prices, times and distances are approximate.
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Good to know before you go
🍽️ Must-try food
Burgers and barbecue
brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl
the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
Mexican food
tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
Pancakes and weekend brunch
a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
Dishes to look for in the good places: St. Louis.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
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