Curator’s statement
St. Louis is a city full of history and culture. St. Louis may have a bad rap, but there is a lot to see and do. It is home to The Gateway Arch National Park, St. Louis Zoo, fantastic BBQ, the original Anheuser-Busch Brewery, baseball and some great museums. It is definitely worth a stop if you are road-tripping through, and it also makes a great spot to stay for a few days.
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Day 1: Arrive in St. Louis
If you are arriving in St. Louis via airplane, be aware that the airport is about 30 minutes outside of downtown. Public transportation is fairly easy to use, but we opted to get an Uber as we arrived in the evening and it was starting to get dark. Check in to your hotel and then find some St. Louis style BBQ for dinner. I recommend Sugarfire Smokehouse and get the two or three meat mixed plate or the brisket sandwich.
Day 2: Explore St. Louis
I recommend getting an early start to your day so you can fit in as much as possible, since you only have one day to explore. Head over to Kiener Plaza Park for an amazing view of the Old Courthouse with the Gateway Arch behind it. A short walk to the east brings you to the National Park Visitor Center. If you have tickets to ride to the top of the arch, make sure you plan your day around that. If you don't have tickets, arrive before the park opens and get in line for standby tickets.
Insider Tip: There are quite a few stairs to get to the tram that goes to the top, and the floor is sloped at the top of the arch. If you have a hard time with balance or stairs, enjoy the arch from the visitor center.
After exploring the Visitor Center and the grounds (there are some stairs on the east side that make a great place for a picture...and don't forget to check out the Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France), catch a ride over to the St. Louis Zoo. The zoo is halfway between the Gateway Arch and the airport, so it is in the perfect location.
The St. Louis Zoo is the last free zoo in the United States. There are activities inside the zoo that you can pay to do, but it is entirely free to walk around. There are two entrances to the zoo, and it doesn't matter which side you start with. They have lots of animals that our home zoo doesn't have, so we really enjoyed watching the penguins and the hippos.
Insider Tip: Our Uber driver told us we could see the whole zoo in two hours, but we didn't quite make it all the way around. To be fair, my kids had to stop and look for every single reptile in every cage, so that slowed us down.
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This guide is part of our ongoing series on travel to St. Louis. Looking for more travel inspiration? Check out Emily Tirjan's guide, St. Louis: A Midwest, Midsized City with a Large Food Scene.