Rainy day · St. Louis · United States
8 things to do in St. Louis when it rains
Indoor sights that make a wet day feel planned rather than lost.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: hickory hardscrabble, CC BY 2.0
Quick answer
Start with City Museum, Saint Louis Art Museum and Missouri History Museum. Together the 8 picks below take roughly 13–18 hours across 5 areas; 5 are free. May is usually the wettest month, with about 12 rainy days.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 8
- Free entry
- 5
- Time to see them all
- 13–18 hours
- Areas
- Downtown, Forest Park and Central West End
St. Louis on a rainy day
Experience · Downtown
1.City Museum
Wear closed shoes, kneepads if you have them and clothes you can crawl in, and bring a torch for the caves.
- Time needed
- 3–4 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Iconic
- Rainy day
- Active
- Art
Museum · Forest Park
2.Saint Louis Art Museum
Visit the German Expressionist galleries for the Beckmanns, then walk down Art Hill to the Grand Basin.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Art
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Museum · Forest Park
3.Missouri History Museum
Start with the 1904 World's Fair gallery to understand Forest Park before exploring the rest of the park.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Rainy day
- Kids
Museum · Forest Park
4.Saint Louis Science Center
Head to the bridge over Interstate 64 for the radar guns, then catch a planetarium show.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Rainy day
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Religious site · Central West End
5.Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis
Visit on a bright day, and look up at the central dome before exploring the side chapels; check the Mass schedule first.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Art
- Architecture
- Rainy day
Architecture · Downtown West
6.St. Louis Union Station
Stop in the Grand Hall in the evening for the light show, then visit the aquarium with children.
- Time needed
- 1–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Architecture
- History
- Rainy day
Gallery · Grand Center
7.Pulitzer Arts Foundation
Combine it with the Contemporary Art Museum next door and lunch in the Grand Center arts district.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Art
- Architecture
- Rainy day
Museum · Downtown
8.National Blues Museum
Check the calendar for live performances, which bring the exhibits to life.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown | City Museum and National Blues Museum | 3–4 hours + 1.5 hours |
| Forest Park | Saint Louis Art Museum, Missouri History Museum and Saint Louis Science Center | 2–3 hours + 1.5–2 hours + 2–3 hours |
| Central West End | Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis | 45 minutes |
| Downtown West | St. Louis Union Station | 1–3 hours |
| Grand Center | Pulitzer Arts Foundation | 1 hour |
Booking and timing
Of these 8, 5 free, 1 low cost, 2 mid-priced. None needs booking far in advance. The longest visit is City Museum; group the rest by area to save travel time.
How to fit them into 4 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (Downtown): City Museum, at least 3 hours.
- Half-day 2 (Downtown and Forest Park): National Blues Museum → Saint Louis Art Museum, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 3 (Forest Park): Missouri History Museum → Saint Louis Science Center, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 4 (Central West End, Downtown West and Grand Center): Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis → St. Louis Union Station → Pulitzer Arts Foundation, at least 3 hours.
The wettest months
- May: highs of 25°C (77°F), about 12 rainy days, moderate crowds. Warm and green, ideal for Forest Park and the Botanical Garden.
- March: highs of 13°C (55°F), about 11 rainy days, quiet crowds. Changeable early spring weather, with the first blooms in the parks.
- April: highs of 19°C (66°F), about 11 rainy days, moderate crowds. Mild and blooming, with baseball's return and strong spring storms possible.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- Downtown — The Arch, Busch Stadium and the Washington Avenue loft district
- Central West End — Sidewalk cafés, boutiques and mansions beside Forest Park
More of St. Louis
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in St. Louis?
City Museum. Artist Bob Cassilly turned the former International Shoe Company warehouse into a giant playground of salvaged materials: caves, tunnels, a 10-storey spiral slide, an outdoor climbing structure of steel and aircraft fuselages called MonstroCity, and a school bus hanging over the roof's edge.
+Which of these are free in St. Louis?
Saint Louis Art Museum, Missouri History Museum, Saint Louis Science Center, Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis and Pulitzer Arts Foundation.