8 Things to do in St. Louis: Fun 2 Day Weekend Itinerary

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Honestly, I did not think Missouri was going to be one of the last states left for me to visit – my 47th state to be exact. With so many things to do in St. Louis and Kansas City, I’ve actually been meaning to visit Missouri for a while now, but here we are. For the past three years, I’ve been attending the Suenos Music Festival in Chicago an have been traveling to neighboring Midwest states from there. Finally this year, I was able to take the road trip to Missouri.

Coming from Chicago, and traveling down Route 66, it isn’t surprising that my first stop was St. Louis! Aside from the giant arch…I didn’t really know about other things to do in St. Louis. I went in with open expectations, and while I only spent two days in the city, I had a surprisingly good time.

Hopefully this post will help you while planning your own trip. Let’s get into it 🙂

Where to Stay

Since I was driving through Missouri on a road trip, my lodging priorities were quite different than someone who might just be visiting St. Louis. Since I wanted to prioritize free parking, I stayed “far” from downtown at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott St. Louis Brentwood. The staff were all super wonderful, but it does put you about 15 minutes away from a bulk of the things to do in St. Louis and it’s not a very walkable area in general.

Again, if you have a rental car and want free parking and don’t mind the driving, it’s a great stay! However if you want to be more central, here are some other alternatives that might be worth looking into.

• budget: Magnolia Hotel St. Louis
• mid-range: Drury Plaza St. Louis at the Arch
• luxury: Four Seasons St. Louis

If I were just staying in the city for a weekend, I’d probably pick the Drury since it’s so central and most of the best things to do in St. Louis are walkable (same with the Four Seasons, I just can’t afford it personally hahah). The Magnolia is also very walkable, just a few blocks down, so they’re all great options in my opinion.

What to Eat

My favorite part of any blog post is rehashing all the fantastic places I ate! Missouri in general has fantastic food, probably the best of any of the Midwest states as a whole, so trust that your mouth will not be disappointed in St. Louis!

Breakfast/Cafes

• Tea ParTea: a family owned tea emporium with amazing in-house blends. They also do afternoon tea reservations, but you can just go in for a cuppa and order food from their standalone menu.

Lunch/Dinner

• Pappy’s Smokehouse: I obviously haven’t been to all the bbq spots in the city, but this was a knockout! Either go early (opens at 11) or get takeout in the afternoon because the line does get long, but well worth it!
• The Fattened Caf.: wherever I go, I find good Filipino food hahah. It combines classic Southern BBQ with Filipino flavors and the result is phenomenalllll. It is a must-eat in St. Louis.
• Medina Grill: there are a few locations, but the one on Washington Ave is the closest to all the things to do in St. Louis. Fantastic Mediterranean food that hits the SPOT, especially for lunch though they’re open until 8pm. They are also 100% certified Halal if that is a dietary need.
• Seoul Taco: there aren’t too many late-night food options, but thankfully Seoul Taco is open until 10pm and is delicious. Fast casual Korean food fused with Mexican inspiration – the fusion is delicious.
• Amigo Sole: or if you want specifically Mexican street food, go to Amigo Sole. They also have a location that does pizza with Mexican flavors, and I’d love to try that menu on my next trip to St. Louis!

Desserts/Snacks

• Ted Drewes Frozen Custard: frozen custard is the best thing about the Midwest. Ted Drewes is an iconic spot on St. Louis’ Route 66 (more on that later) and is absolutely a top notch dessert option!

Things to do in St. Louis

And finally we get to all the fun things to do in St. Louis! Again, I only spent two days so obviously I haven’t done everything there is to do, but I do feel like my days were packed with a good amount of activities and I was able to see the highlights of the city.

For just a weekend in St. Louis, these are the things to do in St. Louis that I would recommend for first time travelers!

Gateway Arch National Park

Obviously, we have the iconic Gateway Arch National Park. And yes, it is a National PARK not a National Monument. I know I know, but I don’t make the rules. If you didn’t know, you can actually go up the Arch, which was news to me, on elevators specially made for the building.

Going up the Arch, which will take about an hour roundtrip, including the 8 minutes or so at the top and requires you to buy tickets. If you have a National Park Pass…you don’t get in free unfortunately, but you do get a minor discount (I believe it was about ~$5 USD) and you have to bring it in.

In addition to going up, there’s also a museum at the bottom that explores the Indigenous history of Missouri, American expansion into the state, and what life was like for settlers passing through St. Louis to head more west. It’s a pretty comprehensive and well done. The museum part actually doesn’t require a ticket, it’s completely free to visit, which is nice as a budget option if you don’t care about going up. If you do both at once, I’d say to budget at least two hours.

I also want to give Gateway Arch kudos for having the best National Park gift shop, hands down. Outside, there are a few snack and lemonade stands, and a small (emphasis) park you can take a stroll around. Across the street you can visit the Old Courthouse building, the site the first two trials of the pivotal Dred Scott case in 1847 and 1850, as well as the Virginia Minor’s case for a woman’s right to vote in the 1870s.

Citygarden Sculpture Park

Moving down a few blocks from Gateway Arch National Park is another one of the great things to do in St. Louis, the Citygarden Sculpture Park. It’s not a big or extensive attraction, it’s literally a park with some sculptures, but I think it’s really great to stroll and enjoy the art. If you visit during the warmer months, they turn the fountains on which would be a fun activity for kids (or adults who also like to splash).

If you like taking pictures, this is probably one of my favorite urban spots in the city. Plus it’s free, so another great budget things to do in St. Louis.

Griot Museum of Black History

I’ve been to a lot of Black history and heritage museums in the USA (and abroad, tbh), but this one really surprised me! I couldn’t find much about it online, and I quickly found out why.

They don’t allow pictures inside.

On one end, the blogger in me wanted to document everything, but it was also a nice change to be genuinely surprised about an attraction for once. If you haven’t heard of this museum, it is the first cultural institution in St. Louis dedicated to preserving and sharing the rich stories of Black history and culture, and does so via wax figures to depict Black historical figures.

It’s not a huge museum, but it is so well done you’ll find yourself reading everything. I’d recommend about 1.5hrs for the visit, and more if you are able to stay and watch the documentary. It’s one of the best cultural things to do in St. Louis.

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

Speaking of cultural things to do in St. Louis, we can’t forget it’s Indigenous history! The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site is the largest pre-Columbian site north of Mexico. Technicallyyy, it’s not in present-day St. Louis, but just 15 minutes outside on the other side of the Mississippi River.

The site is currently working on a few new exhibits, but the Interpretive Center Lobby (including restrooms, gift shop, site model, Canoe exhibit and a new temporary exhibit) is still open and fun to learn more about the city of Cahokia, which was larger than London at the time (1250 AD).

Union Station

I’m gonna be honest…I was expecting more trains. Don’t get me wrong, it used to be a functional train station, and used to be the gateway to trains heading west in the early 1900s. Yeah, St. Louis loves the gateway motif. But the station’s traffic peaked in the 1940s when it handled over 100,000 passengers daily.

Buuuut then cars got a lot more accessible, highways expanded, and commercial aviation started to change how Americans traveled across the country. The final Amtrak train departed Union Station in 1978.

So….what do people do there now??

Well, the entire structure was remodeled and evolved to a multi-attraction park tat includes the St. Louis Aquarium, a Ferris Wheel with a few carnival-like rides for younger kids, restaurants, and a Hilton hotel that has a beautiful bar you can patron even if you aren’t staying there. So there’s a lot to do, but without any attractions it’s still worth the walk to see everything and the mini trains around the Hilton.

No trains to ride on, but I still think it’s a good time.

Forest Park

Okay, so apparently there’s a lot of stroll-related things to do in St. Louis, because the next spot to add to your itinerary is Forest Park. There are a lot of attractions within the park, like the St. Louis Art Museum, the Science Center, the St. Louis Zoo, the Missouri History Museum, and the Muny open-air theatre which has plays like Hairspray and the Tempest.

Again, even if you don’t pay for ticket anywhere it’s a pleasant way to pass the time and you may even stumble across an event being held in the park.

Ballpark Village

Unfortunately there were no games playing when I visited, but still the Ballpark Village is one of the best things to do in St. Louis. Obviously if there is a game, go to a game if you can. But even if there isn’t a game, there’s so much to see in this entertainment center, including restaurants, shops, a Cardinals museum, and tons of live events and music.

Highly recommend checking out the Ballpark Village website just in case there is an event going on during your trip. Keep an eye out for drag brunches, music trivia, and even food and beverage festivals. The best part is that it’s walkable to most of the city’s other big attractions, so if you stay nearby it’s easy to get home if you stay out late.

Route 66

Last but certainly not least (especially since it was my main reason for passing through the city in the first place), one of the best things to do in St. Louis is to see a few of the stops on Route 66. Route 66 is an iconic American highway that runs from Santa Monica, California to Chicago, Illinois but…with a lot of weird things to see along the way.

To say the least.

In and around St. Louis, there are a few stops I recommend checking out. First and foremost, Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. I mentioned it earlier in the food section and I’m saying it again. Along with their great custard, they also have a really cute gift shop. Then there’s the Chain of Rocks Bridge which is another historic landmark where you can walk or bike across the Mississippi River along the original Route 66 path.

Conclusion

And that’s what I got for this fun weekend in St. Louis! Lots of eating, lots of strolling, and – if you’re in grad school like me – lots of time to research your thesis topic since it is a slower paced city. Overall, I had a good time in St. Louis and I’m so glad I visited.

A lot of people questioned me when I told them I was visiting Missouri, which, okay sure maybe it’s not the most popular place, but the more I travel across this country, the more I realize how unique and interesting each place is. I’m super grateful to have seen both this city and this state.

Anyways, have you ever been? What would you recommend as some of the best things to do in St. Louis for a first-time visitor? Let me know in the comments below!

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