Originally Posted by FlySmart-NWA
3-hour layover at STL? I'd hop onto the light rail line (METROLINK....it's quite cheap) and cruise over to downtown St Louis. The trip time is a little over 30 minutes per direction and service frequencies are adequate 7 days a week (though, after 10pm, headways are approximately 30 minutes with service ending aroud 1am).
Downtown STL has a few things to see and do. Mississippi River, Laclede's Landing (bars/pubs), Gateway Arch, etc. Downtown has improved a whole lot over the past decade (particularly at night since most of the streets are now well-lighted). I'm quite impressed.
Cheers,
MIKE
It's a nice thought, but with only three hours, I wouldn't want to give it a shot. Getting to the arch would be closer to 40 minutes each way from the airport. If you had a gate on the A concourse, you would need to allow 20 minutes on the return trip to make it from the Metrolink, through security and to the gate. Upon arrival, you would have to allow at least 15 minutes to get from your get to the Metrolink, assuming the ticket machines are working (they were only taking coins on Sunday afternoon). Want to be there when your plane starts boarding? That's 30 minutes before takeoff. We're now down to about 15 minutes and that's presuming that you don't spend more than five minutes waiting for the Metrolink either coming or going.
I agree there is some neat stuff to see in downtown St. Louis. I just don't think it makes any sense to try to see any of it with three hours between flights.