Discover What to Do When Visiting Saint Louis

What to Do In St. Louis

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Are you planning an upcoming visit to the greater St. Louis metropolitan region and wondering what to do? Do you have family or friends from out of town coming in for a visit and you are wondering how to entertain them? Are you mentoring a Little Brother or Little Sister and are looking for ideas on where to try new adventures? Are you wondering where you can take your family on a budget? Are you new in town?  Or are you just looking for new ideas to add something interesting to your life? If you answered YES to any of these questions, then allow me to help you Discover St. Louis!

Free Stuff To Do in St. Louis


For Outdoor Enthusiasts
  • *Forest Park –Gigantic park with picnic areas, walking trails, and also contains many other free museums and the zoo. Stuff for all ages. www.stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/parks/forestpark
  • *Tower grove park is another scenic park worth exploring with large sculpted grounds and beautiful trees, home to many wedding pictures and picnics. During the warmer months there are weekly festivals held there and a weekend farmers market event. You can check out special tours through the Missouri History Museum to learn about the History of the Park and the Charles Shaw, the original architect of the park.
  • *Climb the turtles at Turtle Park
  • *Pin Oak Farms -Weekends in October you can pick your own pumpkins right off the vine. Hayrides, 5-acre corn maze, straw-bale maze, great fall photo backdrops, home-made fall treats. http://www.pinoakfarms.com
  • *Creve Coeur Lake & Memorial Park- Walking trails, lake, archery, golf, volleyball, picnic areas http://www.marylandheights.com/index.asp?nid=215
  • *Castlewood State Park- Take a nature hike, lay on the beach, or go for a swim in the river
  • Calvary Cemetery-see where Dred Scott is buried
  • Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum-A beautifully manicured historic 1849 cemetery in a rolling hill, park-like setting is home to many historical St. Louis figures including the Lemp family, Suffragettes, and victims of cholera outbreaks. They run special walking, history, and trolley tours. http://bellefontainecemetery.org/visits-and-tours/upcoming-guided-tours/
  • *Sledding on Art Hill in Forest Park is a popular winter activity, just grab your sled and go, but people are also known to frolick in the fountain, which is actually forbidden.
  • *Skate parks: Maplewood Family Aquatic Center, Peter Matthews' Memorial Skate Park
  • Klondike Park has white beaches and is off the Missouri River https://www.sccmo.org/690/Klondike-Park​

For the Culture, History, Education, and Art Seeker
  • *St. Louis Art Museum  holds world renowned artist collections https://www.slam.org/www.slam.org
  • Angad Arts Hotel- free art tours on First Fridays of the month https://www.angadartshotel.com/
  • Kranzberg Arts Center free art tours on First Fridays of the month https://kranzbergartsfoundation.org/the-kranzberg/​
  • International Photography Hall of Fame & Museum free art tours on First Fridays of the month https://www.greatriverroad.com/stl-attractions-1/international-photography​
  • Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA) free art tours on First Fridays of the month https://www.slu.edu/mocra/index.php​
  • Pulitzer Arts Foundation free art tours on First Fridays of the month https://pulitzerarts.org/​
  • Saint Louis University Museum of Art at 3663 Lindell Blvd was Established in 2002, the Saint Louis University Museum of Art (SLUMA) exhibits and collects works by modern masters, as well as displaying an extensive collection of Jesuit artworks and artifacts it has free art tours on First Fridays of the month ​https://www.slu.edu/sluma/www.slu.edu/sluma/
  • Sheldon Art Galleries​ at 3648 Washington Blvd. The galleries span 7,000 square feet in seven independent exhibit spaces featuring local, national, and international artists. Free art tours on First Fridays of the month https://www.thesheldon.org/our-galleries/​
  • The Dark Room at 3610 Grandel Square. The Dark Room features live music and rotating photography exhibits celebrating the sights and sounds of St. Louis. Offering a full service bar for all shows and food by Michele C. Catering for select shows and events.  Free art tours on First Fridays of the month https://kranzbergartsfoundation.org/the-dark-room/​
  • The Judson House at 3733 Washington Blvd. A private residence and house concert venue that presents exclusive art shows and live music. The former home of Frederick Newton Judson built in 1892; this home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places/St. Louis, MO.  Free art tours on First Fridays of the month https://judsonhouseevents.com/​
  • High Low at 3301 Washington Ave free art tours on First Fridays of the month. https://kranzbergartsfoundation.org/high-low/
  • *St. Louis Science center & Planetarium  Great for kids and families. www.slsc.org 
  • *Missouri History Museum is a giant museum or architectural history and wonderment with frequent special exhibits like underwater Egypt and Pompeii. There are live city wide bus and walking tours now available with fantastic tour guides. www.mohistory.org, https://mohistory.org/learn/see-stl/walking-tours/​
  • Holocaust Museum www.hmlc.org
  • *Cahokia Mounds – Ancient Indian Burial Mound & museum www.cahokiamounds.com
  • *Big Foot Monster Truck Museum- See Big Foot up close and archival footage. Great for kids of all ages. http://www.bigfoot4x4.com/news06.html
  • Mural mile- See amazing graffiti art along a mile long flood wall.  Take Choteau until it dead ends at the flood wall
  • *The Grove- the growing LGBTQIA district has amazing murals, cool shops, and trendy bars and restaurants
  • If you are feeling adventurous you can take an "urban decay" tour of St. Louis, noticing the history of the old city while perhaps sparking a lively discussion about politics, architecture, and art.
  • Third Degree Glass Factory- watch blown glass being made and make your own  www.stlglass.com
  • *City Garden is a newer development in the city where you can walk through unique pieces of art, gardens, and water features. http://www.citygardenstl.org/
  • *USS Inaugural ship wreckage on the Riverfront south of the Macarthur Bridge
    http://www.builtstlouis.net/riverfront/riverfront06.html
  • Ferguson Protests- If you are interested in learning about the Riots in Ferguson and want to see more about what happened there with the protests and results of the riots, you may want to head down West Florissant Ave in Ferguson.  A memorial is often setup on Canfield at the site of the Michael Brown's Death. The Missouri History Museum has sometimes features pieces related to the events.
  • *The Muny Theatre at Forest Park(free seats in back)- Professional Off-Broadway productions www.muny.org
  • St. Louis Mourning Society offers special events and tours of creepy Victorian era death related events.  https://www.facebook.com/MourningSociety/www.facebook.com/MourningSociety/
  • The St. Louis Public Libraries often host book clubs, travel clubs, computer education groups, book signings and readings. You can get free dvd, audiobook, cd, and game rentals there also.
  • Left Bank Books is a popular spot for book signings and readings.
  • Cathedral Basilica is a staple tourist spot in St. Louis
  • Heard of the Exorcist? Check out the "exorcist house" in Bel-nor on 8435 Roanoke Drive. See if you can figure out where the old Alexan Brothers Hospital was before it was razed. Both sites are linked with the original story. Drive by Castle Park apartments, an old post-Civil War insane asylum turned into public housing also rumored to be the original location of the Exorcist events.
  • Check out the Various Historical Neighborhoods of St. Louis amd their neighboring parks like The Hill Italian Neighborhood, Shaw Historic Neighborhood, Cherokee Hispanic neighborhood, Delmar Loop area, Central West End, Debolivier neighborhood, The Grove LGBTQIA friendly area, Soulard, Benton Park, Old North St. Louis, Laclede's Landing, Lafayette Square, Bevo Mill German area, and Clayton area.
For the Shopping Fanatics
  • The Loop- St. Louis’ “cool” district with shops, theatres, and restaurants along with the St. Louis Walk of Fame  www.Visittheloop.com
  • Lemp Brewery Salvage Yard  - If you are looking to do some interesting art pieces or rehab work, this is a great place to shop for recycled materials on the cheap. The owner is super nice and very helpful.
  • Cherokee Street Antiques -This old neighborhood has enjoyed a recent revival with fabulous and interesting stores popping up all over. Window shop, sell, or buy to your hearts content.
  • Pevely flea market www.pflea.com
  • Soulard Farmers Market www.soulardmarket.com
  • *St. Louis Union Station- Shopping & dining www.stlouisunionstation.com
  • * Malls- Westfield shopping Centers & the Galleria

For Animal Lovers
  • *The St. Louis Zoo An enormous zoo with a great selection of unique critters www.stlzoo.org 
  • *Wild Bird Sanctuary www.worldbirdsanctuary.org
  • *Purina Farms- See live animals shows www.purinafarms.com
  • *Loan Elk Park- See Elk, Buffalo, Deer, ducks, and turtles in the own habitat www.stlouisco.com/parks/LoneElk.html
  • We have several animals shelters that are great to spend some time visiting or volunteering with fur babies or maybe taking one home: The Humane Society, APA, Tenth Life, Open Door animal Sanctuary, Treehouse Wildlife Rescue.
Rowdier Entertainment
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Enjoy the Giant shade trees in Tower Grove Park

$2 - $10 Stuff

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For Animal Lovers
  • *MauHaus Cat Cafe is the Purrfect place to spend the day with cats and enjoy yummy drinks and treats. Maybe even find a kitty to adopt.  Technically free, but they run on donations, so be kind to the kitties https://mauhauscafe.com/mauhauscafe.com/
  • The Cheshire Grin Cat Café is a new place on Cherokee street to visit with cats, maybe even find one to adopt, and enjoy some treats and coffee from local shops. https://thecheshiregrincatcafe.com/
  • BarK is a giant indoor/outdoor dogpark where you can have dinner, drinks, listen to a dj, and play with lots of dogs. https://barkdogbar.com/locations/st-louis-mo/
For Adventure Seekers
  • The Armory is a new place to hear live music, share drinks, and play various table games. https://www.armorystl.com/
  • *Carousel at Union Station https://www.stlouisunionstation.com/carouselwww.stlouisunionstation.com/carousel
  • *Minigolf at Union Station https://www.stlouisunionstation.com/mini-golfwww.stlouisunionstation.com/mini-golf
  • *The Magic House Children’s Museum is a favorite interactive museum for elementary age kids. www.magichouse.org
  • *City Museum - Interactive art museum where you can climb up inside the art and go down giant slides, eat ice cream and pizza, see a magic show, create art projects with free materials in Art City, and see animals. This has fun stuff for all ages. The number one place to take visitors in ST. Louis.www.citymuseum.org
For Outdoor & Nature  Enthusiasts
  • *The Butterfly House- Walk through & see hundreds of butterflies and learn about their life cycle www.butterflyhouse.org
  • *Shaw Nature Reserve www.mobot.org/MOBOT/naturereserve/
  • *Eckert's Farm in Belleville, Ill is a popular place to go apple or pumpkin picking, eat at the restaurant, or get an apple pie, or go on a hayride.
  • *Laumeier Sculpture Park www.laumeier.org
  • *The Missouri  Botanical Gardens- Walk through the sculpted greenery and see the sculpture exhibits www.mobot.org
  • *Steinberg Ice Skating Rink stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/parks/forestpark/steinberg
  • *Meramec Caverns- One of the most popular destinations in the area with lots of options for activities like camping, Canoe & Float trips, Cavern tours, zip lining, gold panning, riverboat cruises, or just get some ice cream and visit the gift shop in the cave entrance www.americascave.com
For Culture, History, and Education seekers For Gamers, Sportsfans, and Puzzlers For Bar Flys and Live Entertainment Lovers
  • Dance Clubs: Pepper Lounge, Viva, Club Buca
  • Live Music Bars:  Black Flag, Off Broadway, Blueberry Hill, Firebird, 
  • Popular Bars: Famous Bar, The Royale, Seamus McDaniels, Fortune Teller Bar, Bar 360, Absoluti Goosed
  • Popular Gay Venues: Rehab, Just John's, Bastille,  The Monacle, Mocabe's Coffee shop
  • Bar PM offers a great drag show on S. Broadway
  • Helium Comedy Club https://st-louis.heliumcomedy.com/
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Canoe ride in fall along the Meramec River

$11- $20 Stuff

For Adventure Seekers For Sports Enthusiasts For Outdoor and Nature Lovers
  • *Maryland Heights Aquaport waterpark- Outdoor waterpark with slides, free for Maryland Heights residents www.marylandheights.com
  • Boat House Paddle boat rides, canoe, and kayak rental in Forest Park
  • *Raging Rivers Water Park www.ragingrivers.com
For Art, Culture , Education, and History Seekers For Animal Lovers For Gamers and Puzzlers and Birthday Party Tomfoolery
  • *Dave and Busters -The adult version of Showbiz. Have Dinner and Play Games
  • *Incredible Pizza- Gant Pizza buffet and arcade
  • *Chuck E. Cheese  Place of childhood creams and adult nightmares
  • *Cici's Pizza- Pizza buffet and mini arcade
Live Entertainment​
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Endangered Wold Center Guided Tour starts inside a WWII Bunker

$21-$50+ Stuff

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For Culture, Art, and History Lovers
  • Craft Alliance- A great place to take local classes in woodworking, fibers, blacksmithing, jewelry metalsmithing, clay, and more. They also host exhibitions and participate in monthly free family craft events. https://craftalliance.org/
  • St. Louis Symphony Orchestra www.slso.org
  • Lemp Mansion Haunted House & Mystery Dinner Theatre  Have dinner at the legendary haunted mansion and former brewery, partake in a mystery dinner theatre, or if you are brave you can even rent a room for the night and see for yourself if the legend of the hauntings are true.  www.lempmansion.com
  • Pinot's Palette- Paint and drink wine for the evening during these classes where canvases are provided. http://www.pinotspalette.com/Chesterfield​
  • Perennial St. Louis has great options for creative art classes using upcycled items, or clothing swaps. You can also buy craft items by the pound https://perennialstl.org/
For Adventure & Thrill Seekers, Team Players, and Puzzlers
  • *Escape the Room https://escapetheroom.com/st-louis/?utm_source=GMBlisting&utm_medium=organicescapetheroom.com/st-louis/?utm_source=GMBlisting&utm_medium=organic
  • Top Golf in Chesterfield lets you gold from a bay https://topgolf.com/us/st-louis/pricing/topgolf.com/us/st-louis/pricing/
  • Top Notch Axe Throwing https://www.topnotchaxethrowing.com/www.topnotchaxethrowing.com/
  • Haunted Bissell Mansion Mystery Dinner Theater www.bissellmansiontheatre.com
  • *Gateway AirTours- helicopter tours over the riverfront www.gatewayarch.com
  • *Doublekey Treasure Hunts- With this real-life adventure, you and your kids will visit various St. Louis locations to find answers to your treasure hunt clues. These complete packages include everything you need - even real gold dust as the treasure - to unlock a full summer of fun your kids will never forget. Or, if you are pressed for time we also offer one-day treasure hunt packages as well. www.doublekeytreasurehunts.com
  • *Six Flags Water & Theme Park www.sixflags.com
Live Entertainment & Sports Fans
Up for a Drive?
Haunted Ridge Rocks- a great place for druzy quartz hunting about 1.5 hour drive from St. Louis. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066722716926​
Lost History Museum at Valles Mines about 45 minutes from StL is a great place to go mushroom or druzy quartz hunting. http://vallesmines.com/​
Meramec Caverns about an hour away https://www.americascave.com/
Six Flags about an hour away
Elephant Rocks State Park has beautiful views and enormous natural geography. https://mostateparks.com/park/elephant-rocks-state-park mostateparks.com/park/elephant-rocks-state-park
Augusta Wineries https://www.augustawinery.com/
Cedar Lake Cellars is a loverly winery, bar, and restaurant venue near Wright City, a short drive from St. Louis http://cedarlakecellars.com/cedarlakecellars.com/
Johnson Shut-Ins State Park a popular place for swimming and enjoying the scenery. https://mostateparks.com/park/johnsons-shut-ins-state-park
*Animal Paradise -Strafford, MO -Plan a safari adventure right here in Missouri. Located near Springfield, this 288-acre drive-through park features 70 different species of animals, most of which roam freely. Take the nine-mile drive through the natural landscape for a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with these wild animals and rare birds from around the world in the comfort of your car or aboard an open-air bus. Bags of feed are available at the entrance, and the animals will come right up to your window for food. Perhaps the trickiest part – and the most fun – is keeping their heads out of your vehicle. For more information, call (888) 570-9898 or visit http://www.goanimalparadise.com/Home_Page.html

Be sure to check out each business' website for updated location and pricing information.
St.Louis Site Seeing Adventures