2 days in St. Louis

Day by day

1. Day 1: Gateway Arch and City Museum

   Gateway Arch, City Museum, Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village and Citygarden, then Delmar Loop in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Gateway Arch

      Small five-seat tram pods climb inside each leg to a narrow observation room with views over the river and city. The museum beneath it tells the story of westward expansion and the arch's construction.

   2. Late morning

      City Museum

      Adults enjoy it as much as children.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Toasted ravioli

      Italian restaurants on The Hill and appetiser menus all over the city.

   4. Afternoon

      Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village

      Louis Cardinals, one of baseball's most successful teams, play at Busch Stadium, with views of the Gateway Arch beyond the outfield. Next door, Ballpark Village has bars, restaurants and the Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum.

   5. Late afternoon

      Citygarden

      A free downtown sculpture garden opened in 2009, Citygarden mixes works by artists such as Fernand Léger and Tom Otterness with fountains, a splash plaza and native plantings, on two blocks of the Gateway Mall leading towards the Arch.

   6. Evening

      Delmar Loop

      Walk the Walk of Fame stars, then have dinner and a show at Blueberry Hill or The Pageant.

2. Day 2: Forest Park and Saint Louis Zoo

   Forest Park, Saint Louis Zoo, Saint Louis Art Museum and Missouri History Museum, then Soulard in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Forest Park

      It holds the city's free zoo, art museum, history museum and science centre, the Jewel Box greenhouse, the Muny outdoor theatre and paddleboat rentals on Post-Dispatch Lake.

   2. Late morning

      Saint Louis Zoo

      Some extras, such as the train and carousel, cost a small fee.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: St. Louis-style pizza

      Local chains such as Imo's and neighbourhood pizzerias.

   4. Afternoon

      Saint Louis Art Museum

      Housed in Cass Gilbert's Palace of Fine Arts built for the 1904 World's Fair, the free museum's collection ranges from Egyptian mummies and Chinese bronzes to Monet's Water Lilies and the world's largest public collection of paintings by Max Beckmann.

   5. Late afternoon

      Missouri History Museum

      Louis from its founding to the present, with a large gallery on the 1904 World's Fair and a replica of Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis aircraft, named for the city's backers.

   6. Evening

      Soulard

      Blues bars, corner pubs and restaurants in historic brick buildings.

Before you go

• Gateway Arch: Tram tickets often sell out on summer weekends and holidays; buy timed tickets online in advance.

If it rains

• Swap in Saint Louis Science Center (Forest Park): Head to the bridge over Interstate 64 for the radar guns, then catch a planetarium show.
• Swap in Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis (Central West End): Visit on a bright day, and look up at the central dome before exploring the side chapels; check the Mass schedule first.
• Swap in St. Louis Union Station (Downtown West): Stop in the Grand Hall in the evening for the light show, then visit the aquarium with children.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 23–31 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 9.5 hours in December to 14.8 hours in June, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

Getting between stops: Tram. MetroLink's Red Line runs from the airport through Forest Park, the Central West End and downtown to Illinois; the Blue Line connects Clayton and Forest Park with downtown.

More or fewer days

• One day in St. Louis
• 3 days in St. Louis

Questions travellers ask