Spending a Day in St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri has never been on my bucket list per say. I do want to visit many cities all around the USA as I feel many people underrate all there is to see here. Of course the first and only thing I really think of when St. Louis comes to mind is the Gateway Arch. Luckily, my friend and I got a chance to spend the day there and get a better idea of what St. Louis is all about.

We didn’t get to do much research before visiting St. Louis. It was a bit of a last-minute decision to go. My friend was more into watching television and I was very tired, but trying to look up as much as possible. I knew for sure we had to see the Gateway Arch. A friend of mine resides in St. Louis and recommend a restaurant, Fitz’s Root Beer to us, so those were the only two concrete things on our itinerary.

Upon arrival we got an Adventure Pass for $7.50 each to be able to ride the trains and buses all day. The train, which is more like a light rail is connected to the airport. We were able to take that to the stop for the Gateway Arch. There were no actual maps to grab, so I took a photo of the train map that was on the platform before boarding.

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It was a good 30-40 minute ride before we reached the stop for the Arch. Once we were outside we noticed there were signs on the ground to lead you right to it. We thought that was pretty awesome. It was really hot outside, but we were excited by the beauty of the fountain with the Arch in the distance. We were also hungry so we stopped at a little diner called Chilli Mac nearby.

The diner was cute, we love that the menu said the attitude was free. We ordered some food, drank a ton of water, and prepared ourselves to go back out in the heat. We walked over to the Old Courthouse to get tickets to go inside the Arch and to the top. We found out we could also take a boat sight seeing tour, and access to some other things for $30 each. So we bought that.

There is some construction going on and the lady who sold us the tickets was pretty terrible. She couldn’t really give us directions on how to get to the boat, asked us if we were going to make it in time, which we had no clue if we were or not. She also couldn’t even tell us what we were going to see while on the boat tour. At this point it was probably around 102 degrees outside and a bunch of people were all walking around trying to find out where to go. Luckily we made it to the boat on time.

The boat ride was nice. We sat outside so we could get a good view. We purchased water and lemonade on board. They also had popcorn and other things. Of course we tried sitting in the shade because the heat we no joke. We learned a lot of history about St. Louis on the half hour ride. It was really nice. Once we got back to the dock we raced to the Gateway Arch as they have timed entrances. Little did we know you don’t exactly have to be there on time. They will let you in if you are late.

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We got into a very small car that holds 5 people. It takes about 4 minutes to get to the top. Once at the top there are small windows you can look out of on both sides to get some really nice views. It was pretty crowded and I only had a limited time to look out of a couple of the windows because more people were coming up and we were all asked to move. 630 feet up you get some nice views, but otherwise it was a bit underwhelming. So we went back down on the other side.

Many things were under construction so we got ourselves together and inquired at the information desk on where to go and how to get there. We were told to check out the City Museum and given bus directions. It was way too hot to wait so we ended up taking an Uber. We weren’t sure what we were getting into, but we got our bracelets. The bracelets to get to the roof were a separate fee.

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We started up on the roof. There was a school bus, a ferris wheel, a giant praying mantis, some great views, and all types of things to do and see. We hung out there for a while until we could no longer take the 104 degree heat and went to check out inside. Inside was nice and air-conditioned. We saw many adults hiding out in the cave areas while the kids ran around. There was a huge slide that was about 10 stories up.

We came upon a human sized hamster wheel that my friend gave a good try to. We soon headed back into the heat were there was a giant ball bit, an airplane, and all type of things to get into. Many of the things looked like it was made out of scraped metal. It was pretty awesome. There was so much to do there we honestly didn’t even know where to start or what to do. I would suggest getting there when it opens and staying all day to get the most out of it.

Once we were done there we took an Uber to Fitz’s Root Beer. No disappointment there. The place has all types of soda on tap. We ended up splitting a BBQ Sampler Plate. Good thing we did since there was so much food. The best part of it all was the ice cream floats. They were huge and it was fun getting a glimpse of how they make it. Highly recommend going there to eat. It is located on the Delmar Loop. There are tons of places to eat there and they even have their own Walk of Fame.

It was so hot I had to make a wardrobe change so I was glad I brought extra clothes. We had planned to take the train back to the airport, but upon walking to the train station closest to the Delmar Loop we noticed the area changed. It seemed a bit sketchy. Once we got to the station both trains came, but seeing as we weren’t close enough we missed both. There were a lot of people there and a girl was screaming to some men about us in a not so nice manner.

My friend and I were the only two left at the train station and we felt a bit unsafe. We ended up calling an Uber to take us to the airport. The driver told us that was not a good train station area and at night it gets even worse. He was happy he didn’t have to go in towards the parking lot to get us. So if you plan to wait at that station later in the day please be mindful, especially if there is no other people waiting for the train.

Other than that St. Louis was really nice despite the heat. There is plenty to see and do. I would happily go back to check out other places to eat we were recommended and see their zoo. There were also some other places that locals kept mentioning to us. See more of the adventure in the vlog below!

Have you ever been to St. Louis, Missouri?