nrr

I was at Harrah's St. Louis Casino for several days, and took their shuttle to the Arch. I explored St. Louis for several hours, riding the Metrolink and visited the Fine Arts Museum, Missouri History Museum and the Westward Expansion Museum (in the "basement" of the Arch); as well as the "LOOP" district.
That these museums were free was nice.
I reside in NYC, and was very impressed with how clean the St. Louis streets were, NYC always has litter.
Who is paying to keep (most) of their museums free?

JimboM1391

Glad to read your positive impressions of my hometown! St. Louis has a populous that cherishes our free attractions. Between special taxation districts and generous donors, we strive to keep our attraction free. This is one tax most of us don't mind paying.

ssafro1

Yay for STL! I'm happy someone enjoyed my hometown as much as I do.

jamiel

Back in 1970 a Zoo-Museum district was established which covered both the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County (they are separate entities), which was a very forward-looking way to finance the cultural activities throughout the region. Growing up there, you take for granted that you just pop into the zoo for a couple hours on a nice day or stop by the art museum for an hour...it's a real gift!

pseudoswede

I cannot wait to take my kids to the Arch and Forest Park. Maybe next year.

fmkgb

Going to St. Louis early November for 3 days. Location question: is it safe to stay/walk around at night in downtown St. Louis? What are the fun/hot areas downtown or in suburbs of St. Louis for walking around day or night. Thanks.

backprop

Yes, totally fine. Just use big city smarts.

Downtown activities (outside of baseball season) are concentrated along Washington Ave, which runs east-west, perpendicular to the river, as well as the Arch and Old Courthouse. The Arch and its underground museum are undergoing major renovation; it's still open but the grounds are mostly fenced off.

There are lots of great neighborhoods. Soulard (just south of downtown) and the Central West End (west of downtown, across from Forest Park) are good areas to walk, as is Forest Park itself - home to many of the big free attractions.

What St. Louis doesn't have is one large, contiguous, walkable series of neighborhoods. So you generally pick a neighborhood and spend some time there before going to the next one.

GregL

And if you'd like to meet up during your stay, I'm happy to show you around.. PM me!

cheltzel

I'm not from St Louis but have been going there 3 or 4 times a year for the last 10 years or so. I would agree with everything backprop said.

Personally, I would stay in the West End as a home base if it works for you. A HI Express recently opened and had decent rates as recently as a year ago (the last time we stayed there). You can walk around the neighborhood and can walk into Forest Park. It is centrally located and you can get to most of the other neighborhoods pretty easily from there.

Another interesting area is around Tower Grove Park. There is a strip on south Grand that has some interesting shops and restaurants. One restaurant that my wife and I like there is just east of Grand called the Shaved Duck. Does not take reservations so I would go a little off hours or be prepared for a wait.

fmkgb

Thanks all for your replies. Anyone stayed in or have personal knowledge of Moonrise Hotel? Location in safe / fun, walkable area? Quality hotel? Thanks.

backprop

Very nice, hip hotel. Good rooftop bar. The area is the Delmar Loop which is a lot of fun - a small movie theater, lots of restaurants and bars, and the Pageant (performance venue). The Moonrise is right by a Metrolink station that can take you to the airport in one direction, or to Forest Park, Central West End, downtown, and east into Illinois in the other.

They'll be tearing up Delmar to install the Loop Trolley through the end of next year when it's scheduled to begin service.

fmkgb

Thanks backdrop. Do you know
Hotel Ignacio?
3411 Olive Street
St. Louis, MO 63103

What is your impression and how do you compare to Moonrise Hotel? Thanks in advance.

backprop

I've not been there but I heard it's perfectly nice. It's close to Pappy's BBQ (one of the best) and Urban Chestnut brewery, and plenty of other restaurants. It's not as much of a 'district' as the Loop as far as density, but there's still plenty around.

Saint Louis University (across the street, basically) is a rather suburbanized campus, relatively spread out with lots of green space.

Ignacio is not within easy walking distance of a Metrolink station - if that matters to you.

I think either hotel would be great though.

TWA884

Your kids will love the City Museum.

pseudoswede

Definitely also on our list. It opened when we lived there, but since we had no kids, it wasn't on our list of places to go.