Road Trip Issue 2024: St. Louis

Don’t let any false preconceived notions that there’s nothing to do in the Midwest prevent you from exploring it — especially when it comes to St. Louis. A city full of interesting eats, fun free activities, sports, museums and just about anything you could think of (except mountains), St. Louis is a destination that both kids and adults can easily enjoy. The nearly five-hour drive from Nashville is a bit of a haul, but a pit stop in Paducah, Ky., (which Scene contributor Ashley Brantley wrote about for us back in 2021) might help break it up.  

Stay

My research didn’t yield a ton of interesting vacation home rental options, but you can find something if you really dig. The city is full of beautiful architecture, after all. Downtown boutique hotels such as The Last Hotel STL offer stylish lodging, and the quirky, Forest Park-adjacent Moonrise Hotel boasts a lunar theme. The Curio Collection hotel by Hilton inside Union Station shares the train-station-turned-mega-entertainment-center with attractions like the St. Louis Aquarium, light and fire shows and lots of family-friendly activities. I ended up at the downtown Hampton Inn near The Gateway Arch because it offered more affordable daily parking rates than most other hotels ($30). My room was clean, and the staff was friendly — their wonderful suggestions helped shape my trip. 

Do

There’s far too much to do in St. Louis to cover it all in one weekend. In addition to both major league (the Blues, the Cardinals and St. Louis City SC) and minor league sports teams (the Gateway Grizzlies, among many others), the City Museum and the Anheuser-Busch St. Louis Brewery are among the top attractions. So is Forest Park, a huge green space that also hosts the Saint Louis Zoo, the Saint Louis Art Museum and Missouri History Museum — all of which are free.

Near Forest Park sits the Delmar Loop neighborhood. Myriad shops and restaurants line the street, plus multiple murals and the St. Louis Walk of Fame. (Jon Hamm is from St. Louis?!) Businessman Joe Edwards — who with his wife Linda founded the insanely charming Blueberry Hill in 1972 — is responsible for many of the neighborhood’s gems, including the sidewalk stars and the Moonrise Hotel. Blueberry Hill, a restaurant and music club, is also a kind of pop-culture museum, with endless ephemera decorating the space alongside vintage toys, PEZ dispensers and photos of Joe with celebrities from Troye Sivan to Chuck Berry, who played more than 200 shows at the venue. Though Blueberry Hill is famous for its burgers, I had just eaten at the nearby Mission Taco Joint, so I opted for slightly lighter fare: a cup of the homemade and nourishing Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup and the breaded and fried Toasted Ravioli, a St. Louis specialty. Dipped in marinara sauce, the ravioli reminded me of frozen pizza rolls, but better. 

St. Louis County holds a whopping 88 municipalities. While that doesn’t change much for visitors, it is helpful information to keep in mind while navigating the area. Locals told me The Hill is where to find great Italian food. For a New Orleans feel, visit Soulard. Full of red-brick row houses and interesting bars and restaurants, the area has lots of character (and the nation’s second-largest Mardi Gras celebration). Swing by the Soulard Farmers Market, but go on a Saturday to experience the full scope of it. The nearby International Tap House is a nice spot for a midday libation.

And now, to address the elephant in the article — the Gateway Arch that has long represented St. Louis. A $22 ticket includes a presentation about its construction, a ride to the top, a few minutes up there and access to a subterranean museum explaining the arch’s history. For me, the experience was uncomfortable. Not only are the elevators to the top claustrophobia-inducing, but the small observation room at the top includes just 32 windows that dozens of people have to share. The view of the city from 630 feet up is fabulous. The history of the arch isn’t: A monument resurrected to celebrate westward expansion, it serves as a glaring reminder that the United States were built on stolen Native land. The nearby Old Courthouse is where enslaved couple Dred and Harriet Scott unsuccessfully petitioned for their freedom in 1846, leading to an 1857 Supreme Court ruling that enslaved people were not citizens. Nearly three decades later in the courthouse, suffrage activist Virginia Minor also sued, albeit unsuccessfully, for her right to vote, leading to an 1875 Supreme Court decision that suffrage was not a constitutionally protected right. St. Louis has deep connections with much of this country’s upsetting history, and that serves an important role in ensuring we remember it.

For a more peaceful activity, consider the Missouri Botanical Garden. The garden is totally worth the $16 entry fee — especially because that money fuels conservation efforts. Throughout 79 acres of luscious flora, you’ll find several kinds of gardens, not to mention the “Climatron,” which mimics a tropical atmosphere for orchids and exotic plants. You could easily spend an entire day in the gardens.

Less than a half-mile away from the garden’s entrance sits an intersection lovingly described to me as “carb corner.” There’s La Pâtisserie Chouquette, a French-inspired pastry shop created by New Orleans transplant Simone Faure. Torn between ordering a cherry-lime cream puff and a strawberry-pistachio tart, I opted for the latter so I could enjoy the heaping pile of fresh strawberries atop the green frangipane and strawberry jam. To offset the sweetness, a whipped dalgona coffee that brought me back to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bakery runs on a first-come, first-served basis, so go early. Across the street is another bakery called Union Loafers, which operates as a cafe and bread shop by day and a pizzeria by night. The turkey-and-Swiss sandwich I ordered had fresh, pillowy bread and a “famous sauce” — a sort of aioli made from cooked egg yolks that was reminiscent of deviled eggs.

For more hearty fare, you might be interested in St. Louis-style pizza, made with the divisive white Provel cheese. If you’re going to try it, get it from Imo’s Pizza. Sugarfire Smoke House was frequently recommended to me, and I was grateful — it’s better than any barbecue I’ve had in Nashville. For a nightcap, try Broadway Oyster Bar, which intrigued me with its music blasting from the patio. While I can’t attest to the quality of the food, the vibes were spot-on. People were friendly, and the local, unfortunately named Funky Butts Brass Band shredded through a set of great covers, unexpectedly keeping me there until the bar shut down.

If you want to visit a bonus state on your way out of the city, take the 20-ish-minute detour to Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Collinsville, Ill. The largest known prehistoric Native city north of Mexico is now a grouping of large hills and hiking trails. The experience would have been more enlightening if the Interpretive Center hadn’t been closed for renovations, but it’s still worth a visit to appreciate some precolonial history and work in a hike before the long drive home.

Road Trip Issue 2024

Our recommendations for five weekend getaways — from Athens to Corinth and beyond