No matter whether you find yourself in town for a weekend or a week, there are plenty of things to do in St Louis. As frequent travelers, we oftentimes find ourselves throughout the country – sometimes for a wedding or a reunion or maybe just a weekend away with friends. And, when we visited the “Gateway to the West,” we were worried that we wouldn’t find much do. However, what we found was that STL is a lively, bustling city full of culture and activities.
From visiting the iconic arch to plenty of food options, there are certainly many things to do in St Louis. The fun part? Picking which one you want to add to your itinerary. What is going to be on your St. Louis bucket list?
What This Post Covers:
Top Things to do in St Louis
1. Eat, and then eat some more
Ribs and custard and ravioli – oh my! Arguably, St. Louis is a foodie town. And one of the easiest things to do in St Louis is to follow your taste buds around the city and try a wide variety of foods. STL is known for three foods: custard, ribs, and toasted ravioli. And luckily there are three places that are famous for each!
For ravioli (my favorite thing in the city), head to Mama Toscano’s. The shop has a wide variety of things on the menu, but the best of all? The ravioli. Mama’s has been featured on a wide variety of channels ranging from the Food Network to the Travel Channel. Try something you’ll only be able to eat in STL and eat toasted (read: fried) ravioli. They have three choices: plain, pizza, and ricotta cheese.
Just down the street from Mama’s is Ted Drewes. One of St. Louis’ most famous institutions, it serves a wide variety of frozen custard (not ice cream) concoctions. The shop’s signature dish is a “concrete” which is a frozen shake so thick that it is served to you upside down. Flavors range from simple to crazy – find a favorite or try a few.
St. Louis-style ribs are famous for a reason. And the best ribs are the famous ribs at Pappy’s Smokehouse.
2. Catch a game (or two)
St. Louis is home to two famous sports teams: the Cardinals and the Blues. Luckily both teams have a wide variety of games throughout the year, letting you catch one no matter when you visit. The Cardinals play in the Busch Stadium, located right in the heart of downtown. There are plenty of bars nearby, as well as things to do in St Louis, so take some time to explore before or after taking in your game.
STL’s hockey team is the Blues. Also located downtown, but a little further from the center of the city, this hockey team plays at the Enterprise Center. Having won the Stanley Cup in 2019, the Blues are one of the better hockey teams in the country. This means that you are guaranteed to watch an exciting game, especially if the team is playing their rival, the Chicago Blackhawks!
3. Try fresh beer on a Budweiser Tour
The heart of the biggest beer distributor in the country is located in St. Louis. They have a tour that takes you around the campus of the brewery, letting you see the ins and outs of brewing the most popular beer in America. But don’t be fooled – this is one of the most fun things to do in St Louis! I loved it so much that I even wrote a full blog post about it. The best part? They give you beer throughout the tour, even giving you a bottle that was packaged within the last 12 hours!
4. Spot some animals at the St. Louis Zoo
Located in Forest Park, a park that is bigger than Central Park, the STL zoo is one of the most exciting attractions in the city. The zoo boasts more than 13,000 animals, ranging from large cats to bears to tigers to lemurs and giraffes. The zoo is so big that it not only has a wide variety of animals, but it also has different neighborhoods, spanning to about 90 acres of exhibits and different neighborhoods, food and activities. Entrance to the zoo is free, making this a budget-friendly thing to do in St. Louis!
5. Take in some culture at the St. Louis Art Museum
When you visit the St. Louis Art Museum, you are immediately surrounded by some of the best art collections in the country. The museum itself is a three-story building full of collections that are exclusive to this building. Entrance to the museum is free, and exhibits span a wide variety: from contemporary art to modern, any style of art that you may want is available in this museum. If art isn’t your style, then you can visit the beautiful café on the bottom floor, which serves as a great place to have a bite to eat or grab a quick lunch!
6. Watch a summer show at the MUNY
One of the most famous theatres in the country is the MUNY and you can watch shows with the hottest Broadway stars far away from the Great White Way. Seriously, as a former theatre major, I can tell you that some of the best productions in the country happen at the MUNY. These productions only happen in the summer months, but they are worth it if you’re in the area. Make a day of your adventure and explore the whole of Forest Park. And then comment and let me know what you saw – because I visited about a week after the MUNY closed for the year and wasn’t able to cross this things to do in St. Louis off of my bucket list! So I will be very jealous of you.
7. See the whole city from the top of the St. Louis Arch
Sitting right on the edge of the Mississippi River, the Gateway Arch is the most famous part of St. Louis. Ranking as the world’s largest man-made monument, you don’t have to just stare at this wonder. You can also take a tram You can also take a ride to the top! The trams that transport you are small (they fit no more than five adults), but the ride up and down is so much fun. And the best part? Viewing the whole city from its highest point. There are also small rectangles to look out and take STL in from any angle.
Essential Tips for Visiting St. Louis
Getting There: There’s only one airport in and out of STL – The Lambert International Airport. A rather large airport, it has most airlines coming in and out. From the airport, you can take a ~$20 rideshare to the downtown area, or you can pay $4 for MetroLink, the city shuttle.
Where to Stay in St. Louis: We stayed in Chase Park Plaza and absolutely loved it. While not downtown, it’s central to a lot of attractions, has plenty of nightlife surrounding it and is in a safe area of town. There’s also a full movie theatre inside the lobby!
Getting Around: St. Louis is spread out and if you’re only going to a few places during your visit rideshare is probably your best bet. However, the MetroLink is easy to use and can get you around for only dollars a day.
Staying Safe: St. Louis is not known as the safest city in the U.S. Make sure you note your surroundings as you travel and stay vigilant. The best piece of advice we have as you plan your things to do in St Louis is to try to stay in tourist and largely populated areas at night.
Looking for other things to do on your trips? Take a look at some ideas below:
Any Questions?
Hopefully, this list of things to do in St Louis helped you understand what you want to accomplish on your next trip! But if you still have questions, feel free to ask away in the comments and I will get back to you ASAP!
Want to see more of our time in St. Louis? Take a look at my Instagram stories (under the STL highlight). Have you been to St. Louis? What did you enjoy? What would bring you back? Are you wanting to go? What are you looking forward to the most? Make sure to comment below.
And don’t forget to save this guide of things to do in St Louis for later via the images below.
I’m so glad you had such a wonderful time in St. Louis! As a local, it can be heartbreaking to hear my city getting a bad rap. Especially, as you found out, with all the awesome culture, foodie spots, and free things to do we have in our city. I’m very happy you enjoyed your visit and I hope you get to come back again soon!
Love St. Louis and it absolutely wouldn’t be complete without visiting the Zoo for the amazing animals or the Hill for amazing Italian food. This is such a great guide and perfect for anyone visiting St. Louis!
St. Louis looks like such an awesome city to hang out in. I’ve been once but literally went to hotel and was in meetings the whole time until I flew home. I didn’t get to see anything fun so I’d love to go back and see a ballgame and eat the food! 😁
Beautiful pictures! Thanks for all the great ideas on what to do in St. Louis. I always find myself driving through but your post definitely made me think I should stop and stay awhile next time.
St. Louis looks so fun. I would love to do a tour of the Budweiser plant. You know, come to think of it, we have one in Ft. Worth…I need to go do that. LOL! Thanks for a great share. I will be pinning it for future reference. 🙂
It has been YEARS since I’ve been back to St. Louis. Such a great city. Catching a MUNY show sounds like a lot of fun!
Great blog! St. Louis is beautiful! I really want to be there. I’ve never been there before. It’s definitely on my bucket list.