WELCOME TO ST LOUIS!
With lots of guests from out of town, we wanted to give you a list of things to do and
places to eat around the city
to help you enjoy the downtime on your visit.
The Gateway Arch
100 Washington Ave, St Louis, MO 63102
While the arch is still open and you can still go up in it, there is some construction going on right now on the roads around the arch with no completion date on the website. The website has updates on road closures around the arch and construction.
Cost: It is free to get into the museum at the base of the arch (you will need to go through a metal detector security screening checkpoint) and to go up to the top of the arch prices are listed below. Note: going to the top of the Arch is amazing, as long as you are not claustrophobic and the people riding with you believe in deodorant.
Adults (ages 16 and up): $10
Children (ages 3 to 15): $5
National Park Pass: $7
Transportation:
Walking – too far to walk
Car – 14 min, 9 miles
Public Transportation - Take the MetroLink to the 8th & Pine Station! From there, it’s a short 10-15 minute walk east to the park pedestrian entry point on Walnut Street (@ Memorial Drive).
Website: http://www.gatewayarch.com
Baseball – The St. Louis Cardinals
Busch Stadium, 700 Clark Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63102
The Cardinals are at home the weekend of the wedding playing the Mets. There are baseball games at 7:15pm on Friday night (7/17/15) and 1:15pm on Sunday (7/19/15). There is also a game on Saturday evening, but you will be at the wedding!
Cost: variable
Transportation:
Walking - too far
Car - 9 minutes, 5 miles
Public Transportation - A good option - Metrolink seems like it was made just to take people to the ballpark. Walk to the Central West End station and go from there to the Stadium Metrolink station.
Website: http://www.cardinals.com
Mississippi Riverboat tours / River Paddleboat Cruises
You may notice when you are on the Arch’s website there is a link to plan a riverboat tour of the Mississippi. There are a variety of options here at variable costs. This is very Mark Twain!
Website: http://www.gatewayarch.com/experience/gateway-arch-riverboat-cruises/
Ballpark Village
601 Clark Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63102
This is a dining and entertainment area just adjacent to Busch Stadium.
Website: http://www.stlballparkvillage.com/
Forest Park
The Chase park plaza hotel overlooks Forest Park. The park is huge (about a 2 mile by 1 mile rectangle), and has all sorts of fun things to do – and most of them are free.
Website: http://www.forestparkforever.org/
The St. Louis Zoo
1 Government Dr, St Louis, MO 63110
The St Louis Zoo is in Forest Park. Admission to the zoo is free, but some of the movies and animal shows in the zoo have a fee. It is open from 9AM to 5PM daily.
Cost: Admission is free (some fees for shows)
Transportation:
Walk: 2 miles
Car: 7 minutes
Public tranportation: not an option
Website: http://www.stlzoo.org/
The St. Louis Art Museum
1 Fine Arts Drive, St. Louis, MO 63110
The Art museum is in Forest Park, just up the hill from the zoo. This is an impressive art museum, and has all types of art – including a mummy.
Cost: Admission is free (some fees for shows / special exhibits)
Transportation:
Walk: 2.1 miles
Car: 7 minutes
Public transportation: not an option
Website: http://www.slam.org/
The St. Louis Science Center
5050 Oakland Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110
The Science Center is considered to be in Forest Park, even though the main part of it is across the highway. It is an interactive place where you can touch a build a lot of the exhibits.
Cost: Admission is free (some fees for shows / special exhibits)
Transportation:
Walk: 1.6 miles
Car: 5 minutes
Public transportation: not really an option – there is a bus, but it is not direct and takes awhile
Website: http://www.slsc.org/
The Planetarium
James S. McDonnell Planetarium, St. Louis, MO 63110
The planetarium is in Forest park. It was the science center before they built the big building across the highway that is now the science center. They have some stuff to play with (dinosaurs, etc) outside around the building, and inside they project stars and shows on the massive ceiling.
Cost: Admission is free (some fees for shows / special exhibits)
Transportation:
Walk: 1.2 miles
Car: 5 minutes
Public transportation: not really an option – there is a bus, but it is not direct and takes awhile
Website: http://www.slsc.org/planetarium
Show Schedule: http://www.slsc.org/planetarium-shows
The Muny
Municipal Theatre Association, 1 Theatre Drive, St. Louis, MO 63112
This is an outdoor theater in Forest Park. They have reserved seating at variable price levels, and they always hold the last few rows open as free seats for whoever wanders in to see the show. July 13-19 they are showing Buddy: the Buddy Holly story.
Cost: Admission is variable for reserved seating, and free to just walk in and sit down in the last few rows.
Transportation:
Walk: 1.0 miles
Car: 4 minutes
Public transportation: not an option
Website: http://www.muny.org/
The Boathouse in Forest Park
The Boathouse is just down the road from the Muny in Forest Park. It has a lovely restaurant on the lake, with a porch for outdoor dining. You can also rent paddleboats to take out on the interconnected lakes of the park.
Cost:
Restaurant – menus available on the website, including a kids menu
Boats - Paddleboats are available for rental at a cost of $17.00 per hour, and can hold up to 4 adults or 560 pounds. Life jackets are provided in toddler to adult sizes, but not required for those over 12 years old. They do require children under 12 to wear life jackets.
Transportation:
Walk: 1.4 miles
Car: 5 minutes
Public transportation: not really an option – there is a bus, but it is not direct and takes awhile
Website: http://www.boathouseforestpark.com/
The St. Louis City Museum
750 North 16th Street, St. Louis, MO 63103
We love this place! It is NOT in Forest park, but rather downtown. It is not so much a museum, as it is a funhouse of toys for people of all ages. There is an endless supply of things to climb, and 10 story spiral slide. There is also a ferris wheel on the roof. With all this climbing, it is smart to wear tennis shoes and jeans or comfy shorts. You may also want to have your tetanus shot updated before playing on their outdoor sculpture /playground.
Kids – kids are welcome and will love this place, but they require those younger than 6 to be accompanied by a adult during the day and those younger than 18 to be accompanied by an adult after 5pm of Fir and Sat. Also, they require a ratio of at least one adult to 6 children.
Cost: General admission is $12 for those age 3y and older, or only $10 after 5pm Fri and Sat. After general admission, special exhibits like a roof and the aquarium have an additional fee.
Transportation:
Walk: too far
Car: 11 minutes, 5 miles. Parking is $5 in the museum lot.
Public transportation: no Metrolink route, there is a bus that takes about a half an hour.
Website: http://www.citymuseum.org/site/
Grants Farm
10501 Gravois Road, St. Louis, MO 63123
This was originally the farm that President Grant got from his father in law, and more recently the family home of the Busch family (the family that ran Budweiser). Today it is a huge farm /park with roaming animals that you can take a tram ride through, and then the tram drops you off at a german beer garden / zoo where you can feed goats, look at animals, and get yet more FREE BEER.
Cost: Admission is free, but they do charge $12 a car for parking if you park in the lot (and this is the only close parking). And again, they give you FREE BEER.
Transportation:
Walk: not an option
Car:19 min, 10.2 miles
Public transportation: not an option
Website: http://anheuser-busch.com/index.php/our-heritage/grants-farm/
Budweiser Brewery Tours
Anheuser-Busch, Inc, 1200 Lynch Street, St. Louis, MO 63118
This is a historic brewhouse and the tour is a great time. Also, there are Clydesdales and a stable. Kids are allowed, but those under 21y don’t get free beer.
Cost: Not only is this tour free, but THEY GIVE YOU FREE BEER and pretzels at the end.
Transportation:
Walk: not an option
Car:12 min, 6.9 miles
Public transportation: possible, but unnecessarily difficult
Website: http://www.budweisertours.com/z01/index.php/st-louis/
The Magic House, St. Louis Children's Museum
516 S. Kirkwood Rd. St. Louis, MO 63122
This is an awesome museum for children to have hands-on fun. It is located in a neighborhood called Kirkwood, near lots of nice restaurants and shops.
Cost: Admission is $10 for ages 1y and up
Transportation:
Walk: not an option
Car:15 min, 11.1 miles
Public transportation: not an option
Website: http://www.magichouse.org/index.php
The Missouri Botanical Gardens
4344 Shaw Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63110
The garden is huge and beautiful. This is popular enough that the brochures at the door are in multiple languages. Last time we were here, Sanjay picked one up in Bosnian, and confusion ensued.
Cost: Adults (age 13y and older) are $8, Children are free. If you are a St. Louis City or County resident, then you get a discount to $4 for adults, $3 for seniors (age 65+y), and free on Saturdays from 9am until noon. There is also a special Children’s garden that is $5 admission for those age 3-12y, with no extra charge for adults.
Transportation:
Walk: not an option
Car:8 min, 2.4 miles
Public transportation: not really an option (involves a winding bus route and a lot of walking)
The Fabulous Fox Theater
527 North Grand Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63103
This indoor theater is beautiful and has a variety of shows – but no schedule on the website yet for what they are showing the weekend of the wedding.
Cost: variable
Transportation:
Walk: not an option
Car: 8 min, 1.9 miles
Public transportation: reasonable by bus (about 15 min) and about a 4 block walk
Soulard Farmer’s Market
This is a great old farmers market that is fun to explore and get a few snacks. They have some general goods and eateries too.
Open Wed-Sat year round.
Cost: free admission, then shop as you like
Transportation:
Walk: not an option
Car: 12 min, 6 miles
Public transportation: not really an option
Website: http://www.soulardmarket.com/
The Farmers Market at Tower Grove Park
4256 Magnolia Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110
This is the park where we are having our wedding ceremony! They have a famers market on Saturday mornings that has lots of local artists booths with fun shopping.
Cost: free admission, then shop as you like
Transportation:
Walk: not an option
Car: 11 min, 3.4 miles
Public transportation: not really an option
Website: http://www.tgmarket.org/
Laumeier Sculpture Park
This a great park with pathways and clearings dotted with sculptures ranging from small to giant. Some of these sculptures are easier to climb than others. This is a place I would avoid if weather is bad.
Cost: free admission
Transportation:
Walk: not an option
Car: 17 min, 12.2 miles
Public transportation: not really an option
Faust Park
15185 Olive Boulevard, Chesterfield, MO 63017
This park is farther away, but it has a giant carousel and a butterfly house.
Cost: free admission
Transportation:
Walk: not an option
Car: 21 min, 18.3 miles
Public transportation: not really an option
Website:
Main: http://www.stlouisco.com/ParksandRecreation/ParkPages/Faust
Carousel: http://www.stlouisco.com/ParksandRecreation/ChildrensFun/StLouisCarouselatFaustPark
WEDDING LOCATION ON MAP
