About St. Louis

Looking for ways to enjoy your visit and learn more about all the exciting activities and features of St. Louis? Kent Needler, associate director of admissions, shares with you his favorite eleven things to do in the Gateway City.

1. Go to a Cardinals’ game. If you go in the morning on game day you can get a voucher for two tickets at $5.50 a piece. After the first pitch, you go to the ticket window and get an envelope with two tickets that were turned back in as unused, some of them by the players themselves. Your tickets could be anywhere, from the bleachers to front row.
2. Visit the City Museum. Ever have a desire to slide down a five-story long twisty-slide? How about climb into a fighter plane suspended four stories up? Crawl through a tunnel shaped like the mouth of a whale? You can do all of these things and more at the City Museum. It’s not really a museum so much as it is a grown-up (and kids too) playground. Cost: $12. After 5 p.m.: $10. Open until 1 a.m. on the weekends.
3. Spend an afternoon in Forest Park, one of the nation’s largest urban parks which contains many of St. Louis’s free museums.
4. See some big cats at the St. Louis Zoo. St. Louis is one of the few places that has a top-quality, free zoo. You can take a walk through the River’s Edge and see elephants at play, stop by red rocks and see lions and tigers in their natural setting, or take the kids to the Discovery Corner where they can pet friendly rabbits and goats.
5. Check out some art at the Saint Louis Art Museum. Based upon the belief that great art should be free to the public, the art museum has a number of fine galleries totaling over 30,000 works of art. The main travelling exhibit, however, is not free, except on Fridays.
6. Catch a show at The Muny. Short for the St. Louis Municipal Theater, the Muny is the nation’s oldest and largest outdoor amphitheater. In the summer the Muny hosts a number of different broadway musicals. And the last ten rows are always free!
7. Go sledding at Art Hill. If you get to experience St. Louis in the winter, there’s a chance that snow will be involved. Why not make the most of it? The hill in front of the art museum in Forest Park is the premier spot for sledding in the city. Park officials are even kind enough to set up straw bales at the bottom to ensure that no one ends up in the fountains!
8. Pet some animals at Grant’s Farm. Owned by the Busch brewing family, the farm is home to over 100 species of animals, many of which are available for petting. It is also home to the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales. Admission is free but you have to pay $10 to park.
9. Hike through Castlewood State Park. Located just 20 minutes from the Seminary, Castlewood’s bluffs overlook miles of forested Missouri hills. You wouldn’t know that the city of St. Louis lies behind you.
10. Shop for . . . just about anything. The Seminary is located just fifteen minutes from 4 different malls. Yes, 4. So from Neiman Marcus to Wal-Mart your retail needs can be met easily. Chesterfield Mall, Plaza Frontenac, St. Louis Galleria, West County Center.
11. Visit the tallest national monument in the United States…the Gateway Arch. That large piece of metal is what makes the city of St. Louis so recognizable. For $10 you can ride up into the top and feel it sway up to eighteen inches on a windy day. Or for the elevationally-disinclined, you can appreciate it for free from below. When coming into the city from the East it makes a nice landmark to greet you after crossing the Mississippi River, and to say “Welcome home!”