Quick AnswerThe top things to see and do in St. Louis combine world-class free institutions with neighborhoods that have real character — the Gateway Arch and its underground museum, the art and science museums in Forest Park, the Anheuser-Busch Brewery tour, and the intact Italian corridor of The Hill are the essential four. St. Louis is unusual among American cities in that its best experiences are largely free or low-cost. This guide covers the full range, from the riverfront landmarks to the neighborhood streets that locals know best.
St. Louis has a way of surprising people who come in with modest expectations. The Arch belongs on every itinerary, but the city around it is the real story: a dense inventory of world-class things to see and do in a metropolitan area that remains human-scaled and navigable. This guide serves visitors planning a St. Louis weekend and longtime residents looking to approach their city like a tourist — often the best way to rediscover it.
Our Top Things to See and Do in St. Louis
1. Gateway Arch and the Riverfront — Start Here
The Gateway Arch on the western bank of the Mississippi River is the reason St. Louis looks the way it does from every approaching highway. At 630 feet, it's the tallest monument in the United States, and the stainless steel form Eero Saarinen designed in the 1960s remains one of the most elegant structures in American architecture. The tram ride to the observation deck at the top — a five-minute journey in a small pod that tilts with the arch's curve — is a genuinely unusual experience that should not be skipped on the basis of being "touristy."
The 2018 renovation reconnected the Arch to the riverfront with improved landscaping and an underground museum covering westward expansion and St. Louis history with far more depth than most visitors expect. The Arch is particularly dramatic at night when the stainless steel picks up the city lights.
2. Forest Park Museum Cluster — A World-Class Afternoon
Within a half-mile of each other in Forest Park, all facing Art Hill and the central meadow, sit the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Missouri History Museum, and the Saint Louis Science Center. The Saint Louis Art Museum in its Cass Gilbert hilltop building houses one of the finest collections in the country — particular strengths in German Expressionism and pre-Columbian art — and the main collection is free. The Missouri History Museum covers the 1904 World's Fair and Lewis and Clark with exceptional exhibition quality. Also free. The Science Center anchors the south end and is free for general admission.
A full museum cluster day is legitimately one of the best cultural days available in the Midwest. Start at the Art Museum when it opens, lunch on Art Hill, afternoon at the History Museum.
3. The Muny — Outdoor Theater in Forest Park
The Muny is the country's largest outdoor theater — a 12,000-seat amphitheater in Forest Park that has been presenting Broadway-caliber musicals under the open sky since 1919. The summer season runs June through August with seven shows; productions consistently draw top talent, and the experience of watching a full-scale musical with the summer sky overhead and the park trees framing the stage has no equivalent in other cities.
The first several rows of the top section are free — a genuine commitment to public access that has persisted through over a century of programming. Book early for popular shows, which sell out well in advance.
4. Anheuser-Busch Brewery Tours — St. Louis History in a Glass
The Anheuser-Busch Brewery in South St. Louis near Soulard is one of the largest and most historic breweries in the United States, and the tour operation is among the best public tours of any industrial facility in the country. The 19th-century brick brewery campus — a National Historic Landmark — includes the Brew House, the Lager Cellar, and the famous Budweiser Clydesdales stables. Tours vary from a basic complimentary walk-through to longer premium experiences; complimentary samples follow most.
The Clydesdales are housed in a Victorian stable worth seeing independently. Reserve tour times in advance during summer and fall.
5. The Hill — Italian American Dining, Lived-In and Authentic
The Hill in Southwest St. Louis is one of the most intact immigrant neighborhood commercial corridors in the country — red and green fire hydrants, bocce courts, old-school delis, and a density of Italian American restaurants built by the neighborhood's early 20th-century Italian immigrants. Zia's, Cunetto House of Pasta, and Charlie Gitto's on the Hill are longtime local institutions. The Hill's delis — Viviano's, Volpi — stock Italian charcuterie and housemade items worth picking up.
The neighborhood is dense and walkable, making it easy to browse before committing to a restaurant. Leave room for toasted ravioli, which was invented here and appears on every menu.
6. Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis — Mosaics on a World Scale
The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis on Lindell Boulevard in the Central West End is one of the most visually staggering interiors in the United States and one of the most undervisited. The building's 1914 Romanesque-Byzantine exterior is imposing; the interior contains the largest mosaic collection in the world — 41.5 million pieces of glass tesserae covering the ceilings and domes in a program completed over 76 years. The central dome alone spans 83 feet in diameter.
Photographs fail to communicate the scale accurately. Allow at least an hour to take in the interiors properly. The Cathedral is a working Catholic church — visit during non-service hours.
7. Soulard — The City's Oldest Neighborhood
Soulard, directly south of downtown, is St. Louis's oldest neighborhood and one of its most vibrant. The Soulard Farmer's Market — operating continuously since 1779 and one of the oldest public markets west of the Mississippi — anchors the Saturday morning scene from its municipal market house on 7th Street, with seasonal produce, butcher stalls, and prepared food surrounding it on the street. Arrive before 9am in summer to see it at its best.
The residential streets — Federal Revival rowhouses on Belgian-brick blocks — are beautiful and walkable. The bar and live music scene centered on 9th Street and Geyer Avenue is the most concentrated in the city. Soulard Mardi Gras is the second-largest in the country.
8. Central West End — The City's Most Walkable Neighborhood
The Central West End, radiating from the intersection of Euclid and Maryland Avenues, is St. Louis's most concentrated example of walkable urban neighborhood done right. Maryland Plaza's fountain anchors a tree-lined stretch of restaurants, boutiques, coffee shops, and bars framed by early 20th-century residential architecture. Blood & Sand, The Royale, and Brennan's at the Coronado are institutions; Euclid Record Hall is one of the better independent record stores in the city.
The Central West End sits adjacent to Forest Park, making it the natural landing spot for dinner or coffee after a park or museum visit.
9. Cherokee Street Antique Row — Vintage St. Louis, South Side Style
Cherokee Street in South St. Louis runs through a stretch of antique shops, vintage stores, galleries, and Mexican restaurants that constitute one of the city's more interesting commercial corridors. The antique density is real — over a dozen independent dealers within a few blocks, from estate furniture to mid-century modern collectibles at prices that reflect a market not fully discovered by outside buyers.
The Mexican restaurants on Cherokee reflect the neighborhood's substantial community and are among the best in the city. La Vallesana draws from across St. Louis. A Saturday on Cherokee — coffee, morning of antique browsing, lunch at La Vallesana — is an excellent South City day.
10. Mississippi Riverboat Cruises — St. Louis from the Water
The Gateway Arch Riverboats operate sightseeing cruises from the levee below the Arch, and the perspective from the river is the one view of St. Louis that residents skip and visitors always remember. The panorama of the Arch from the water — the full riverfront with the downtown skyline behind it — is the canonical image of the city. The basic cruise runs about an hour; dinner and jazz cruises run seasonally. Check the Gateway Arch Riverboats website for current schedules.
Explore More of St. Louis
St. Louis rewards deeper exploration — the Delmar Loop in University City, Lafayette Square's 1890s residential architecture, the contemporary art scene in Grand Center. Subscribe to the STL Gateway Living newsletter for seasonal picks, neighborhood guides, and local event coverage every week.
This guide was last updated in 2026. We revisit recommendations seasonally based on reader feedback and new openings.
