St Louis Travel question

[kbpaulie]

We are looking to stop in St Louis end of May - Thurs late afternoon-Sat mid day. We were thinking:

* Arch/ Zoo?

* City Zoo

* Botanical Garden

* Something for Sat?

* Other suggestions

 

Rec on an affordable yet clean place to stay?

 

7 & 10yo ds

 

How much time would you estimate at each place? Being spoiled homeschoolers we don't care for crowds. Any ideas of when/ how to avoid them at any of these spots?

[deannajo]

you simply must check out City Museum - http://citymuseum.org/site/ - it was unlike anything I've ever seen.

[Lindi]

Not just the Arch itself but also the Museum of Western Expansion. The Arch itself is maybe not for the faint of heart. I loved being up in it but the little cars you ride up in made me a bit claustrophobic. DH didn't mind the little cars but found swaying above I-70 a bit nauseating (though he normally doesn't mind heights at all).

[regentrude]

I second the recommendation for the City Museum! It is unique, and the name is misleading as it is not really a "museum" - more of gigantic crazy indoor/outdoor playground for older kids and grownups.

The other unique attraction would be the Arch/Museum of Westward Expansion.

 

the Botanical Garden is nice, but my kids would have been bored at that age.

[AlmiraGulch]

City Museum

Arch with museum

Zoo - Don't miss this! It's my favorite zoo in the country and it's free.

 

I do love the Botanical Garden and it isn't too far from Forest Park (where the zoo is), but there's nothing particularly special about it as far as botanical gardens go.

[BarbecueMom]

Arch (Thursday), Zoo/Forest Park (Friday) and City Museum (Saturday) would be my choices.

 

As far as places to stay, if we were coming in from out of town I'd stay somewhere near Forest Park (Hampton Inn should be on the "Zoo side" of the park) and walk to the Zoo Friday morning to avoid parking fees. If it's going to be too hot, if you leave early enough you can park at the Turtle Playground for free and there's a safe pedestrian crossing over the highway to the Zoo. We always park there and have a picnic lunch and let the boys (that includes DH) climb on the sculptures.

 

I wouldn't stay downtown if there's a Cards game - it'll be crowded and probably a bit more expensive than usual.

 

ETA: If the weather is bad all weekend, and you don't feel like camping in the snake house of the Zoo during a storm (BTDT, twice last year alone!), I'd head to the Science Center. It is only a block or two away from the Hampton Inn.

[K&Rs Mom]

Another vote for city museum - it's my kids' favorite place they've ever been. Turtle park is great too. There's plenty at the zoo for a full day, and if you're a member of your local zoo you may get a discount on the wristbands - admission is free, but there are lots of extras that need either a separate cost or the all-inclusive wristband. There's also Grant Farm outside of town: it's always been closed when we go but definitely on my list that I want to visit one of these days.

 

We always stay at one of the Drury Inns - there are probably a half dozen around town, not too expensive, and they have an evening snack that can count as dinner most nights, plus breakfast included, so when you factor in two meals a day to not buy, it's way cheaper than other hotels. One of them is in an old YMCA building, one right across from a mall that used to be a train station.

[Spryte]

Has anyone mentioned Ted Drewes? Frozen custard stands that are an institution. The line will be long, but worth the wait!

[LuvToRead]

Another vote for city museum - it's my kids' favorite place they've ever been. Turtle park is great too. There's plenty at the zoo for a full day, and if you're a member of your local zoo you may get a discount on the wristbands - admission is free, but there are lots of extras that need either a separate cost or the all-inclusive wristband. There's also Grant Farm outside of town: it's always been closed when we go but definitely on my list that I want to visit one of these days.

 

We always stay at one of the Drury Inns - there are probably a half dozen around town, not too expensive, and they have an evening snack that can count as dinner most nights, plus breakfast included, so when you factor in two meals a day to not buy, it's way cheaper than other hotels. One of them is in an old YMCA building, one right across from a mall that used to be a train station.

 

I've never stayed at a Drury in St. Louis, but have stayed in several others. They have always been clean and affordable.

[LuvToRead]

My family loves St. Charles. I would guess it's about 30 minutes northwest from downtown?? It's a great historical town with lots of little shops. It also has some Lewis and Clark stuff.

[Baseball mom]

zoo

Grant's farm

science center

magic house

Ted Drewes

Arch - we just did the museum under it. dh & I have been up but I am claustrophobic and 1 dc is extremely claustrophobic

took a ride on the river boat

toured the brewery - dc were young but enjoyed it

[Baseball mom]

If you are a baseball fan & it isn't game day you can tour the stadium. We did that too.

[J-rap]

Along with what others have suggested, we really enjoyed Grant's Farm when we went there:

 

http://www.grantsfarm.com/

 

As well as the Cahokia Indian Mounds:

 

http://www.cahokiamounds.org/

 

When we stayed there, hotels in the downtown were booked full so we ended up staying at the Airport Marriott. At first we were disappointed to not be right in the downtown, but it turned out to be really great. We could take the hotel shuttle to the airport and then the light rail to the downtown. It was a handy way to get back and forth. Plus, the hotel has a beautiful pool. We had gotten some kind of a deal: buy one night and get the second night free, or something like that.

[T'smom]

Another vote for city museum - it's my kids' favorite place they've ever been. Turtle park is great too. There's plenty at the zoo for a full day, and if you're a member of your local zoo you may get a discount on the wristbands - admission is free, but there are lots of extras that need either a separate cost or the all-inclusive wristband. There's also Grant Farm outside of town: it's always been closed when we go but definitely on my list that I want to visit one of these days.

 

We always stay at one of the Drury Inns - there are probably a half dozen around town, not too expensive, and they have an evening snack that can count as dinner most nights, plus breakfast included, so when you factor in two meals a day to not buy, it's way cheaper than other hotels. One of them is in an old YMCA building, one right across from a mall that used to be a train station.

 

We stayed at the one across from the mall that used to be a train station and loved it! It was called the Pear Tree Inn. It was clean and nice, good pool, popcorn and pop in the lobby in the afternoon, they even had a place where they kept board games that you could checkout. We'll definitely stay there again. (Dh goes to a conference held there every few years.)

[MrsMommy]

We love the zoo! Grant's Farm, though, is probably our favorite place to go. And anything Cards related, if you like baseball at all, is a must! The brewery tour is also fun, even for children, and there are free snacks (and beer, for those of age), at the end. The Science Center is a great place to go if you're stuck indoors because of the weather. And if you want to get the best hamburger in the city while you're there, go to Seamus McDaniel's in Dogtown...it's amazing!

[Carrie Sue]

Grants Farm...it only takes a couple hours or so and the tram ride is fun for the kids..and, it's free (except parking).

 

Zoo--look for coupons online or in ads for the B1G1 safari passes. Normally $12 apiece, they get you free train rides, seal lion show, children's petting zoo admission, and admission to the insectarium/butterfly area. The zoo is exhausting and huge, so pick and choose what you want to do/see. They have manta rays you can touch and feed now, and a carousel.

 

City museum is pricey now, but very fun, especially if your kids are climbers and/or adventurous.

 

Magic House is amazing...there are B1G1 coupons somewhere, I'm sure.

 

Love the Drury Inns around town...we usually like to stay outside downtown, in the Forest Park area.

 

Have fun!

[Alexigail]

Ted Drewes, Grant's Farm (it's free and if you park across highway 30 and then hike a bit you can park for free too).

There's a little park you can drive through called Lone Elk Park. You can see Elk, Buffalo, and other animals right up close. Very quick and fun!

 

http://www.stlouisco.com/ParksandRecreation/ParkPages/LoneElk

 

If it's summer, bring tons of water wherever you go, and I'd bring snacks where you can. Weekdays are going to be better as far as crowds are concerned. If you're there on a weekend you'll get crowds at all the tourist-type places. If you want lower priced hotels, you might want to look in Fenton or other towns outside of the city. Have fun!

[laf919]

If you are planning to do the arch, you can now make reservations ahead of time on the web for tickets to go up.....see ticketsforthearch.com for more info on that and other riverfront attractions.

The Magic House is fun - but very, very crowded on weekends. We went on a Saturday and my introverted dd's were quite overwhelmed. They have things aimed toward younger kids but also stuff for older ones.

The zoo is great. If you are there and wanting something else to do the Science Center is fun. Not as much to do there as other places, but would be a fun place to go for a few hours. Again, as it is free, it will be crowded on Saturday I would guess.

Have fun!

[regentrude]

If you are planning to do the arch, you can now make reservations ahead of time on the web for tickets to go up

 

Just a heads up: we went a few weeks ago, and the wait time was not at the ticket counter, but to get through security!

It is almost like at the airport, so if you purchase timed tickets in advance, you must plan for plenty of time to get INTO the entrance.

(We had no tickets, but once inside, there was no line, and we were able to get tickets for the ride up for 15 minutes later. If you get them for even later, you'll have time to look at the museum of Westward Expansion in the mean time.)

[BarbecueMom]

 

 

Just a heads up: we went a few weeks ago, and the wait time was not at the ticket counter, but to get through security!

It is almost like at the airport, so if you purchase timed tickets in advance, you must plan for plenty of time to get INTO the entrance.

(We had no tickets, but once inside, there was no line, and we were able to get tickets for the ride up for 15 minutes later. If you get them for even later, you'll have time to look at the museum of Westward Expansion in the mean time.)

 

Yeah, I hadn't been to the Arch since middle school, until we stopped in there last fall to use the bathroom while running around downtown one afternoon. The metal detectors threw me for a loop! Not the best place to go when you REALLY need to "go".

 

Another thing about the Drury Inns, they have "special deals" on their website for the zoo, Arch, Science Center, and a few other things to go with your hotel reservation. Might save you a little on attraction costs.

[scholastica]

Unfortunately, you probably won't be able to avoid crowds, since the schools are all letting out next week. Last day of school for city schools is 5/24. I'm out in the County and the schools out here will all be done by mid-week next week. I would avoid the City Museum on a weekend, no matter what. It gets incredibly crowded very early and doesn't let up. Do that on a weekday, if you do it. St. Louis is a great town for kids, too bad you don't have much time. The Magic House is definitely awesome! In fact, with your kid's ages, I would opt for the Magic House over the City Museum. Definitely do the Zoo. Early in the day, if possible. DO NOT MISS TED DREWES Frozen Custard! It simply must be experienced.

 

St. Charles is really nice (we used to live there, blocks off the riverfront, sniff), but other than the Lewis and Clark Museum, and the First State Capitol tour, your kids might get bored.

 

 

I second the Drury as a great place to stay. They are based here and we stay at their hotels all the time when we go out of town, my parents stay at the one close to us here when they come in. (Mom can't do stairs anymore.)

 

scholastica

[Paige]

We have stayed at the Residence Inn and Hamptom Inn in Forest Park and were happy with both. Residence Inn has suites which we preferred, but Hampton Inn was cheaper. Residence Inn also has a free dinner 3-4 nights a week in addition to the daily breakfast. They are actually pretty good meals. In addition to the City Museum, we've liked Grant's Farm and the Science Museum. The Science Museum is free. If we go back, I'd like to go to the Magic House sometime. Everyone raves about Ted Drewes but my favorite ice cream/restaurant was The Fountain on Locust.

[GailV]

You know, every single time this comes up several people go on and on and on about how wonderful the CIty Museum is. My entire family, including kids, loathes it. It's noisy and annoying. People seem to become more rude when they go there, perhaps entraining to the environment.

 

We love all the other paces listed! I just wanted to point out that not everyone considers City Museum a must-see. I wouldn't go even for free, let alone if I had to pay for admission.

[Paige]

You know, every single time this comes up several people go on and on and on about how wonderful the CIty Museum is. My entire family, including kids, loathes it. It's noisy and annoying. People seem to become more rude when they go there, perhaps entraining to the environment.

 

We love all the other paces listed! I just wanted to point out that not everyone considers City Museum a must-see. I wouldn't go even for free, let alone if I had to pay for admission.

 

Have you ever been when it hasn't been crowded? It's such a different experience when it is uncrowded. When it's crowded it's not much fun at all. The best time is early morning midweek in early fall. Most schools don't have field trips scheduled yet, other people are at school or work, and it's so much more fun.

[kbpaulie]

Thanks. So much great info! If we do decide to do City Musem - how long would you plan on being there?

[Chelle in MO]

Thanks. So much great info! If we do decide to do City Musem - how long would you plan on being there?

 

 

You can do a lot in a half day, but if your kids are crazy about it like mine are, they'll want all day. And they'll want to go back the following day!

 

The inside is huge, plus there is so much to do outside and on the rooftop! They have a little circus show, a mini train to ride on, an art area...

 

There's also an aquarium inside. I think the aquarium and the rooftop cost extra.

 

Have fun!

[Soror]

For your ages I'd highly rec the city museum as well, the science center is pretty cool as well. I'd give the City Museum the whole day and wear pants for crawling and climbing :) We go through the year and it is much cooler when it is not so busy. I don't think Grant's Farm is worth the time. We enjoy the Botanical Gardens but there is not much there for the kids, there is the kids museum but I think it is geared more towards 5-7 and doesn't take all that long. We like to go though as it is someplace we can all get some enjoyment.

[Chelle in MO]

Bumping to see how your visit went!

[justme824]

I'm commenting because I'll be there in October and don't want to forget this post :)

[Chelle in MO]

I'm commenting because I'll be there in October and don't want to forget this post :)

 

 

Woohoo! Gorgeous time of year!

[kbpaulie]

We're back! It was great! We found St Louis to be very family friendly, easy to get around, cheap (meaning lots of free things to do and see), and a place we'd like to go back too. Anyone that lives in St Lou want to trade houses w/ Cincinnati sometime? :)

 

We:

* Stayed at Best Western off I55, just South of the loop - maybe exit 193? About 15-20 minutes into town. $85. Clean. Breakfast. Indoor pool. We really like Drury, but felt it was too $$

* Wed evening went to Laumiere Sculpture garden (needed a place to stretch after 9 hours) had BBQ someplace/

* Thurs - parked at Turtle Park for FREE (YEAH, thanks for the great advice!) We spent quite a bit of time at Turtle Park. That was cool all by itself. Spent the rest of the day at the zoo. Got the all inclusive Safari Pass for $5 each (we are Cincy Zoo Members). 7yo ds LOVED petting the stingrays while 10yo ds loved riding the train (that cracked me up that he kept wanting to do that!). If we went again we'd do the Sea Lions. Dinner we walked across the bridge, ate great SUPER thin pizza at Imos while we waited for the rush hour traffic to disapper.

* Fri - Arch (we purchased tickets on line ahead of time. For our family this only saved us $3. Parking would have been $6, but there is a $3 on-line service fee. So... if you're not totally sure when you want to go, this may not be worth it.) We took the free 10:30am ranger led walking tour. Was history of the area and St Louis. My VERY history buff hubby liked the tour. Rest of us tolerated it. I would not recommend it. Read somewhere something about a free ranger led bike tour. That sounds interesting.

* We walked from the arch to Citypark. Beautiful walk. Passed some neat fountains. Neat park.

* Continued our walk to City Museum. (Total one way is about 1.5 miles). City Museum was by far the absolute highlight of our entire trip!!!! Guy who designed City Museum is the same guy that designed Turtle Park. City Museum is $$$, but I think it's a must see. There is no other place in the world like it! We were there at 2pm. It was pretty packed and I was concered I was going to loose a child. Left for dinner at 6pm. Back by 7pm and it was almost deserted. Stayed until about 9pm. Kids and adults alike loved it. WEAR PANTS!!!! City Museum is an old shoe warehouse that has added lots of welded items, recycled materials and great artistry to make an amazing climbing adventure. HUGE! They have the roof which the kids liked, but not sure I'd do again. Also have a HUGE outdoor part included in the general admission. While there is plenty inside, I'd suggest doing this on a nice day to enjoy the great outdoor elements.

* 10:29pm - Ted Drewes Frozen Custard (closes at 10:30pm.) After getting lost due to my poor navigating and taking us ALL the way across town in the POURING rain. While it was good, not as good as Kopps in WI. Even though you might be a chocolate fan, I would suggest against the chocolate custard. The vanilla is better. They just take the vanilla and add Hershey Syrup. while I love Hershey's Syrup, it just runied the tasted of the custard.

* Sat - Brewery tour (have Clydsdale Photo ops first Sat of the month) and Soulard market where we picked up some fruit, vegs and cheese for lunch on the go. Soulard Market has a very interesting history. Look it up before you go.

[kbpaulie]

I'm commenting because I'll be there in October and don't want to forget this post :)

 

City Museum said if we come in Oct we'd, "Have the whole place to ourselves." :)

[BarbecueMom]

I just passed that Best Western today, my neck of the woods. :-)

 

Bob Cassilly, the City Museum creator, was killed in a tragic accident while working on a new project not too long ago. So sad, because he still had so many neat and unique ideas and left such an impression on the city.

 

I didn't even think about the sculpture park. DH and I haven't been there since high school when we were dating. Tried to find a good make-out spot... failed, lol.

 

Glad to hear you had a good time!

[Element]

If you don't mind staying in Collinsville, I just reserved a three star hotel on Priceline for $45/ night. I didn't even bother bidding on STL downtown hotels. You're always going to pay around an extra $25/ night for parking downtown. We're going to check out Cahokia anyway so I didn't mind staying in Collinsville.

 

ETA Oops! I just saw your update. Glad you had fun! :)

 

[Chelle in MO]

So glad to hear your update! What a fun trip!

[Laura in STL]

Glad to hear you had a great trip! You made me hungry for Imos - haven't had it in awhile! We were in Cincy for the conference a couple years ago, and dh had a great time there entertaining the kids while I attended workshops. We keep saying we'd like to go back and take in a Cards/Reds game among other things.