<p>I’m spending two days in St. Louis this weekend. I’ve never been. I know I have to see the Arch, and I want to walk around the area around Wash U. (This trip is not connected to a college visit.)</p>
<p>Any other suggestions? Plus, good restaurants – I’ve got two nights for eating out.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>We love to visit St. Louis to shop. I also took the kids there to visit the zoo, the St. Louis Science Center, and Grant’s Farm as they were growing up. Excellent mall (St. Louis Galleria) with restaurants nearby on Brentwood (several nice hotels nearby). Fabulous shopping with a few eateries on Lindbergh at Plaza Frontenac. I always think of St. Louis as being very spread out, not a walking around kind of place.</p>
<p>Don’t miss the City Museum–google it. It’s unique.</p>
<p>An actor friend of ours has a very good friend who owns a terrific restaurant in St. Louis. My friend, who is currently on tour across the country took his entire cast to visit when their show was in St. Louis and this place was a huge hit, especially for the gourmet in the cast who writes a food blog. I haven’t been there myself but I can give this recommendation wholeheartedly knowing how all these actors, many of whom I’ve known for years, loved the place. It’s called Pi and it is owned by a young man whose motto is “doing good while doing well”. They are actively involved in their communities, through environmental and charitable events. All that, plus good food! </p>
<p>[Pi</a> Pizzeria](<a href=“http://www.restaurantpi.com/]Pi”>http://www.restaurantpi.com/)</p>
<p>I can’t post a link to the actor’s food blog here but if you’d like to see it, with photos at Pi, let me know and I’ll PM you. :)</p>
<p>No kids. I’ll be on my own for one day, which is when I plan to go downtown and see the Arch, and the second day it’ll be my husband and me. </p>
<p>Is there anything else to do/see near the Arch?</p>
<p>Have a junior at WashU, so we have made several trips to SL!!</p>
<p>Forest Park borders WashU, is beautiful just in itself, but also has the St. Louis Art Museum.
[City</a> of St. Louis: Forest Park](<a href=“http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/parks/forestpark/]City”>http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/parks/forestpark/)</p>
<p>When older D went to visit her sister, they went to the botannical gardens and enjoyed it - that would be weather dependent, of course.
[Missouri</a> Botanical Garden](<a href=“http://www.mobot.org/]Missouri”>http://www.mobot.org/)</p>
<p>The area around WashU has many beautiful old stately homes and we just enjoy “cruising” through the neighborhoods.</p>
<p>Probably the most famous restaurants in St. Louis are the Italian restaurants on “The Hill” -
[THEHILLSTL.COM</a> - Where to Eat](<a href=“http://www.thehillstl.com/where_to_eat.html]THEHILLSTL.COM”>http://www.thehillstl.com/where_to_eat.html). We particularly like Cunetto’s, Charlie Gittos, and Zias (which looks like it might be closed due to fire).</p>
<p>The Clayton area is very nice, upscale area near WashU. It has a beautiful Ritz Carlton, great little shops and restaurants. Our favorites there have been Oceana (seafood - wonderful!), BARcelona (tapas), and Dominics (Italian).
[Oceano</a> Bistro, Clayton - Restaurant Reviews - TripAdvisor](<a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g44244-d666050-Reviews-Oceano_Bistro-Clayton_Missouri.html]Oceano”>http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g44244-d666050-Reviews-Oceano_Bistro-Clayton_Missouri.html)
[BARcelona</a> Home](<a href=“http://www.barcelonatapas.com/]BARcelona”>http://www.barcelonatapas.com/)
[Dominic’s</a> on the Hill](<a href=“http://www.dominicsrestaurant.com/]Dominic’s”>http://www.dominicsrestaurant.com/)</p>
<p>Hope you have a wonderful trip!!</p>
<p>This is not particularly near the Arch, but in my opinion one of the best places to visit in St. Louis is the Missouri Botanical Garden. The fall weather in MO this year stinks, so it may not be ideal for enjoying the very large grounds (75 or 80 acres), Japanese Gardens, and so on, but there are many indoor buildings as well.</p>
<p>[Missouri</a> Botanical Garden: Visit MBG](<a href=“http://www.mobot.org/visit/default.asp]Missouri”>Visit the Missouri Botanical Garden)</p>
<p>Forest Park includes the Zoo (basic admission is free) and the Art Museum, also free. (Well, someone pays the taxes of course, but these attractions are free to visitors.)</p>
<p>We were there for Family Weekend last week (we have a freshman there). City Museum will not be a good place without kids (lots of tunnels and crawling around). We went to the zoo since it was a beautiful day and it’s free. Tour of Anheuser was also fun so check that out. The Kemper Art Museum is on campus, right in front of Brookings Hall (Admin Bld.), so it was convenient. There is also a botanical garden and other museums mentioned above in Forest Park which is right across the street from WashU. Near the arch, walk up a block and you could tour the historic courthouse and Union Station is a couple of miles away. You do need a car to get around.</p>
<p>I used to live in St. Louis and love the city.
There is a free Museum of Westward Expansion under the arch, which is what people do while they are waiting to go up in the arch.There are also several free museums (History, Art) near Wash. U.
The Old Cathedral is right near the arch, but skip that and see the New Cathedral (short drive) awesome–mosaics everywhere. Brewery tour? (Can you still get 2 free beers?)
Great zoo, but that would depend on the weather. If you want to drive a bit, there is a funky outdoor sculpture park Laumeier (sp?) sculpture gardens. Science center is nice, but without kids. . .not so sure. Hard to get around without a car–hope you’ll have one. My favorite place is the Botanical Gardens, but again, the weather/season may not be good for that. Like in any big city, you can go from a decent area to a dangerous one within a block or two, so just be aware of that.</p>
<p>We’ll have a car, but my husband needs it tomorrow, so I’m on my own. We’re staying near Forest Park, and I’ll figure out someway to get to the Arch by myself. It sounds like aside from the Arch, there’s not much to do or see downtown.</p>
<p>How is the public transportation system?</p>
<p>^^^First, an admission that I haven’t lived in St. Louis in a very long time. I visit regularly because of family and because my H’s work takes him there rather often. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think St. Louis still has a very long way to go with regard to public transportation. The relatively new monorail can get you from a few places to the airport, but the buses don’t cover the terrain very well.</p>
<p>If you are interested in someplace like the MO Botanical Garden, or eating on the Hill, I think you should bite the bullet and call a cab.</p>
<p>Downtown has its problems. The Old Courthouse has some interesting displays, including those about the infamous Dred Scott decision, but it would be hard to make a day of it.</p>
<p>The Zoo and the Art Museum may be your best options if you are near Forest Park, but I sure hope the weather improves very quickly. St. Louis is drowning recently.</p>
<p>I used to live in St. Louis and that’s where my H and I got married. It’s been a while since we lived there, but we’ve go back fairly often because we have good friends who live there. I’d second the recommendations for the St. Louis Art Museum and the Missouri Botanical Garden. The garden is a world-class institution. The Art Museum is right in Forest Park. Walking around the park for exercise is fun too. The Hill is great and the Italian restaurants aren’t haute cuisine, but they are very good. If you want to bring something home–go to one of the bakeries and get the Italian cookies. Also, go to Volpi’s if you like Italian meats–it’s got incredible salami, prosciutto, etc. (Saber’s in NYC sells Volpi’s meats.)</p>
<p>Couple of additional suggestions: check out the Central West End (it’s close to Forest Park). There are some fun restaurants and stores–some of the very best chocolates can be found at Bissingers. It’s a very old company and a St. Louis institution. H and I had out wedding dinner at Balaban’s in the Central West End–I heard the restaurant re-opened in a new location out in the burbs. Back in the day, it was great. One other suggestion–Soulard Market. It’s one of the oldest farmer’s market west of the Mississippi and it’s just fun to go through and see it all. </p>
<p>There is a light rail system that’s right by Wash U and Forest Park and goes into the city. When the Red Sox played St. Louis in the World Series in '04–we stayed with our friends (who live in University City) and took that train to the ballpark. It also goes out to the airport. Here’s the link.</p>
<p>[MetroLink</a> Station List](<a href=“http://www.metrostlouis.org/MetroLink/stationlist.asp]MetroLink”>http://www.metrostlouis.org/MetroLink/stationlist.asp)</p>
<p>Ooops. . . spelling mistake above: Volpi’s sells its meats to Zabar’s in NYC. Can you edit a post after the posting??</p>