36 Hours in St. Louis

My recommendation for a weekend in St. Louis is to rent a car and drive to Chicago. Despite the PR driven nature of this article the city remains a dull, lifeless place compared to other urban areas, burdened under its own weight of its own aversion to anything that doesn’t replicate what came before.

We spent a day in St Louis last November, and we enjoyed touring the Arch and its museum as well as the Blues Museum -- but we had a really enjoyed touring the Inside the Economy Museum at the Federal Reserve! We had no idea it was there, happened to walk by, went in and had a great time -- from the interactive exhibits to getting photographed next to a cube containing a million dollars. And it was free! Can't believe it wasn't mentioned in the article!

It was mentioned in other comments - the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, known as the "New Cathedral" to locals, is not to be missed. If you have a New Cathedral, then you probably also have an "Old Cathedral", and the Basilica of Saint Louis IX, located on the same grounds as the Gateway Arch, is also a local gem (www.oldcathedralstl.org). Newly restored and renovated, the oldest church west of the Mississippi River is well worth a visit. Also not mentioned was the Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park (ebsworthpark.org).

Hail to Ted Drewes! St Louis celebrates donuts of all kinds, old school and new. Find your way to World's Fair Donuts, Strange Donuts among others. And for finely crafted French pastries, scrumptious croissants, and savory quiche, find your way to La Patisserie Chouquette. And when you need a longstanding independent book store, there's Left Bank Books. How can there be no mention here of BBQ? Just go to St Louis!

St. Louis has many fine features but it is also Trump country with all that goes with that, including signs posted everywhere warning people not to bring their weapons into the premises.

Downtown is great for the twenty something visitor but if that is not you, stay at the Chase Park Plaza hotel which is a grand hotel right on the corner of Forest Park. Great weekend rates. The Chase is surrounded by St Louis' Central West End. A fantastic walkable neighborhood of old mansions, restaurants and galleries. I can't believe the Cathedral Basilica with the largest collection of mosaic art under one roof escaped mentioned. It is spectacular and an easy walk from the Chase. As others mentioned, our zoo, history and art museum are free and located in Forest Park. Finally, we have a vibrant locally owned and sourced restaurant scene that this article only touches on. Come and visit. You will be pleasantly surprise.

As many have noted, the Botanical Garden is a must see. It is also near the Hill if you prefer Italian food or if you want a variety of ethnic restaurants, the South Grand area has it all. If you are into wine, you can drive to Augusta, about an hour away, overlooking the Missouri River. And in that same area you can walk or bike along the Katy Trail. The city, as some have pointed out, has its flaws, but it is a great place to live and raise a family. I am a St. Louis native, and biased, but for those of you from elsewhere, don't let some of the headlines you may have read deter you from visiting.

Ted Drewes frozen custard.

To 36 hour writers and NYT editors: First, I love St. Louis (saudades) and am happy to see it appear in your pages. Second, please quit promoting Airbnb in these articles. Your hip/connected readers interested in making use of Airbnb already know it all and don't need your help. Thanks.

Pi, Pappy’s, Cardinals, and Ted Drewes are not to be missed.

The St. Louis Cardinals! (still an expat Saint Louis fan, born and raised there)

Wait a darn minute. Nothing about the Cardinals and Busch Stadium? We bleed Cardinal red here. It's a great place to see a baseball game with knowledgeable, friendly fans. Welcome to baseball heaven!

"City Museum" doesn't begin to hint at the experience that awaits you. It was so unexpected. Be prepared to climb and crawl.

I've only lived here less than a year, after having lived in the NY area, the Bay Area, Boston, Boulder, & Toronto. St. Louis stacks up well against all of those, and gets bonus points for being super accessible. You can actually drive to and park at all the places mentioned here. The Zoo is not to be missed. Likewise, the Botanical Gardens are great. In the summer, there's some sort of festival or event happening every Saturday or Sunday in at least one of the parks. As mentioned by someone else below,, Jazz St. Louis is a fabulous intimate venue for live music, with pretty decent food and drink at very reasonable price. And there's tons of small theater all throughout the city.

A visit my son in St. Louis always includes a walk around Lafayette Square Park to view the lovingly restored homes that surround it. If you love great architecture it’s a must see. Particularly beautiful in the Spring or Fall.

As others have said, the Missouri Botanical Garden is a don't-miss attraction. The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is one of the country's top ten orchestras. Not mentioned in the article, but well worth seeking out, is Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Its spring festival season of four operas in repertoire is presented in the Loretto-Hilton (also home of the Rep) in Webster Groves. Everything is sung in English and the casts are outstanding. Few companies can equal OTSL for contemporary opera (this season's world premiere is "Fire Shut Up in My Bones," by Terence Blanchard, based on NYT columnist Charles Blow's memoir), and the SLSO is in the pit.

Wonderful article however I would like to note that except for special features & exhibits within the Art Museum, History Museum, Zoo and The Gateway Arch, all are FREE!

all good tips for a few days in St.Louis. the best place for a beer is at a Cardinals game. And even though it is actually across the river Kahokia ,the largest Indian mound in North America amazed our family.

ThE City Museum is a blast for ALL ages thru the daytime hours...often host to adult only bashes at night!! A unique adventure whatever time, but everyone should visit at least once in their lives.

If you’ve got more than 36 hours and can make a trip outside of downtown, be sure to visit the Nuclear Waste Adventure Trail in Weldon Springs!

It is a city of kind people and the most impressive architecture besides the gateway arch is the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica which is a sacred place to experience and enrich your spiritual life. See for yourself. The most beautiful church in the United States in my personal humble opinion.

As noted in an appreciative article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2 PM Friday - Noon plus on Sunday does not 36 hours make! This and the abundance of good options others have listed in the comments below is testament to the fact that a quick weekend visit will only make you want to come back for more. Even if, as a New Yorker, you don't respect St. Louis style thin crust pizza.

Forest Park is wonderful with the Art Museum, the Muny, History Museum, Zoo, Jewel Box, Boat House, streams and Fountains but the Missouri Botanical Gardens is a treasure not to be overlooked or missed in Saint Louis it is one of the best in the World. I also think The Fox Theatre needs a mention in the Arts District. Delmar Loop in University City is wonderful place to take a stroll. Food and Wine named us recently the 5th best City to eat in so no one will starve. The BBQ at Sugarfire, Pappy's, Salt and Smoke and Bogarts are worth the wait.

Soulard market! The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden!!

What about the World Chess Hall of Fame/Club??? And two hours in Forest Park??? I would recalibrate.....

Not sure how you missed The Fountain on Locust voted "Best Restaurant to Take Out-of-Towners" by the St Louis Post Dispatch! And named Best Ice Cream Parlor in the state of Missouri.

My spouse is from STL, and a favorite stop in her hometown is the Soulard Farmer's Market. One of the largest and oldest markets west of the Mississippi. Oh, and don't miss the Hill, the old Italian-American city neighborhood. You must get a slice of cheesecake or a cream puff at the Missouri Baking Company!

Missouri Botanical Gardens is beautiful.

Thanks for a great write-up. We love our St. Louis. Come and visit.

My kids are teenagers and they still ask to stop in St Louis for the City Museum anytime we are driving cross-country.

I lived in St Louis for 19 yrs, and have lived in several places on both coasts and a few cities in the middle. St Louis is my favorite. It has all the cultural activities one finds in a large city, but has great live ability. I go there to visit when I can. A trip to St Louus, no matter how short cannot happen without a visit to the Crown Candy Kitchen . It’s been owned by the same family since 1911. Their sandwiches are traditional and great. But it’s the ice cream-you haven’t lived til you’ve tried a Caramel Newport! It’s less than 10 minutes north of downtown, and if the weather is nice, you will wait in lin. It’s well worth it. If one wants a family meal, go out to Olive St Rd to Frank & Helen’s for pizza and fried ravioli. Their extra thin crust bacon pizza haunts my dreams! In the summer, one must make a trip to Ted Drewe’s Frozen Custard. It’s in S St Louis on Chippewa. It’s like no other soft serve ice cream. I’d chose a trip to the Missouri Botanical Garden over some of your recommendations. The gardens are gorgeous and the Climatron, a geodesic dome that can duplicate many different climates all under the same roof, is fascinating. A chocoholic? The Karl Bisdinger!s Chocolate Factory is for you! It’s on N Broadway, north of downtown. One must try their legendary Molasses Lollypops - both dark and milk chocolate. If it’s baseballs season, take in a Cardinals game. St Louis loves their Cardinals! It’s a great city!

The Jefferson Barracks Telephone Museum is another great place to visit in Saint Louis. It's a relatively new history museum that is 15-minute drive south of downtown St. Louis. It has hundreds of different and unique telephones and other telephone-related items. The museum is a hidden gem that charges a nominal admission fee. It’s an interesting history lesson for children and a great way to reminisce for adults.

St. Louis is a great American city with a tremendous history and almost unlimited cultural amenities. This treatment in The Times is much appreciated! I could add so many other things to visit or consider. The symphony is indeed world class, and unlike other comparable orchestras, my wife and I are able to secure unbelievable seats at an affordable price. I’m not sure any other American city has had quite as much musical impact. I’ll only mention Chuck Berry as one native son. I often cruise around North St. Louis, just to see his homes and venues (the few that even stand) where he essentially pioneered rock ‘n roll. There are architectural gems everywhere in this town. I also love Kansas City, but I can assure you, the quality masons pretty much stopped in STL. Stone and brick work here are unparalleled in the U.S. If you like golf and history, check out Glen Echo Country Club, The Missouri Athletic Club, and the Mercantile Library. Historic institutions like these abound, and they’re truly hidden treasures!

There are a lot of great institutions in St. Louis but several of the most important are disfunctional, indifferent and inept. These include the city administration in general and the police department in particular. I say this with sadness as I love this city and feel that it is slowly dying. I am the owner of a small business that has operated in the inner city for over 40 years. Every encounter with the police or other city officials leaves me with nothing but lip service. The chief of police sees his job as being nothing but PR. My alderwoman refuses to meet with me. I wish the NYT would investigate these charges and, hopefully, institute some desperately needed change.

The first time I ever heard of St.Louis was there former football team, St.Louis Rams, so this was a good synopsis of a city I don't know much about.

I know you can only do so much in 36 hours, but the Delmar Loop including the St. Louis Walk of Fame deserves consideration. And what Yankees fan wouldn't want to visit Busch Stadium, where Luke Voit played his first MLB games before the Cardinal's front office got its pocket picked?

A nice summary of what makes STL a great place to live in or visit. I would have included Jazz St. Louis (https://jazzstl.org/) to the cultural offerings.

Thank you for such a positive and informative article about my hometown. I retired to the country but come home often.

The Repertory Theatre is located in Webster Groves, not near the Grand Center Arts district.

The single best thing about St. Louis is our world class Zoo, and the best thing about the St. Louis Zoo isn't even the fact that it is free except for some areas, but one particular attraction, the Sea Lion Show.

There is a lot of old money in St. Louis. Early on the only way to get goods around was on the rivers and the Missouri and Mississippi converge very near the city so it indeed became the gateway to he West. Goods and services naturally emerged from the city and business owners profited very well. One interesting place not mentioned is Bellefontaine Cemetery & Arboretum which houses many of the famous local families ancestors. Among others Augustus Busch has an amazing mausoleum.

How do you not go for BBQ while in STL???

I live in STL, but I travel to many cities. STL, like many middle market cities (Detroit, Cleveland), is filled with young, creative people who have decided that home is where the heart is, and are committed to making a creative and imaginative life in their home towns. The cultural institutions, museums, theaters, music venues are well supported and well attended. These are cooperative efforts between chefs, farmers, artists, musicians, scientist, builders, writers and who realize that you don't need to go to a different box to think outside of one. Experimentation is alive an well in middle America. Thanks for the snapshot.

I bet the StL Rep will be surprised to read they’ve moved from Webster to Midtown!