Gateway Arch: Tram Ride to the Top
The 630-foot stainless-steel monument on the Mississippi riverfront, with a ride in a tiny five-person tram pod to the observation deck at the top, a free museum underneath and timed tickets that sell out early.
Missouri
St. Louis
St.
Louis is the Gateway to the West, a river city on the Mississippi where the stainless-steel curve of the Gateway Arch rises 630 feet above the levee and a tram of tiny five-person pods carries visitors to the windows at the top. Beyond the Arch, the city is one of the great surprises of the Midwest: City Museum turns an old shoe warehouse into a climbable work of art, Forest Park holds a free world-class art museum built for the 1904 World’s Fair, the Missouri Botanical Garden has grown plants on Shaw Boulevard since the 1850s, and old brewing neighborhoods such as Benton Park keep the stories of the beer barons alive. The food scene runs from toasted ravioli and gooey butter cake to the sidewalk cafes of the Central West End, and the Cardinals give the downtown ballpark district its summer buzz. This guide books the tickets worth booking, from Arch tram times that sell out to City Museum entry and a botanical garden admission, flags holiday closures and the days museums shut, and shows how to fit the riverfront, Forest Park and the neighborhoods into a first visit.
Don't miss
Gateway Arch: Tram Ride to the Top
The 630-foot stainless-steel monument on the Mississippi riverfront, with a ride in a tiny five-person tram pod to the observation deck at the top, a free museum underneath and timed tickets that sell out early.
City Museum
A former shoe warehouse in Downtown West turned into a giant climbable artwork of tunnels, caves, slides and salvaged architecture, where adults crawl and climb as happily as the kids. Open Wednesday to Sunday.
Missouri Botanical Garden
One of the oldest botanical gardens in the United States, 79 acres of themed gardens on Shaw Boulevard with the Climatron rainforest dome, a large Japanese garden, a children’s garden and free daily guided walks.
Saint Louis Art Museum
A free encyclopedic art museum on Art Hill in Forest Park, housed in the Palace of Fine Arts from the 1904 World’s Fair, with the world’s largest public collection of Max Beckmann paintings. Closed Mondays.
Things to do in St. Louis
City Museum
A former shoe warehouse in Downtown West turned into a giant climbable artwork of tunnels, caves, slides and salvaged architecture, where adults crawl and climb as happily as the kids. Open Wednesday to Sunday.
Missouri Botanical Garden
One of the oldest botanical gardens in the United States, 79 acres of themed gardens on Shaw Boulevard with the Climatron rainforest dome, a large Japanese garden, a children’s garden and free daily guided walks.
FreeSaint Louis Art Museum
A free encyclopedic art museum on Art Hill in Forest Park, housed in the Palace of Fine Arts from the 1904 World’s Fair, with the world’s largest public collection of Max Beckmann paintings. Closed Mondays.
2-3 hoursDetails →
FreeOld Courthouse (Gateway Arch National Park)
The domed 19th-century courthouse at the west end of the Arch grounds, where Dred and Harriet Scott first sued for their freedom, now a free part of Gateway Arch National Park with remodeled courtrooms and exhibit galleries.
1 hourDetails →
Museum of Illusions St. Louis
A playful, photo-friendly museum of optical illusions, holograms and puzzles at City Foundry STL in Midtown, made for a rainy hour with kids or a fun date, and fully wheelchair accessible.
St. Louis Fun Trolley Tour with Commentary
A 90-minute narrated trolley ride past the Gateway Arch, Busch Stadium, Union Station, City Museum, Forest Park and the Saint Louis Art Museum, with a short stop inside the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis.
Lemp Haunted Neighborhood Walking Tour
A guided evening walk through the old brewing neighborhood of the Lemp family, St. Louis beer barons whose mansion and brewery are wrapped in tragedy and ghost stories. One of the best-reviewed tours in the city.
Eat Like a Lou-Natic: Central West End Food and History Tour
A guided walking food tour of the Central West End, the leafy neighborhood beside Forest Park, combining tastings at local spots with the history of the area’s grand streets. Rated 4.8 from more than 60 reviews.
FreeSaint Louis Zoo
One of America’s most celebrated zoos, free to enter every day it is open, set in Forest Park with penguins and puffins, polar bears, big cats, apes and the walk-through flight cage built for the 1904 World’s Fair.
3-4 hoursDetails →
Where to stay
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
$$$$Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis
Downtown Riverfront (North 2nd Street)
The city’s five-star address on the riverfront north of the Arch, with 200 rooms and suites looking over the Mississippi and Gateway Arch National Park, Ramsay’s Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay, a spa and an eighth-floor outdoor pool terrace.
Rates on Expedia →
$$$The Royal Sonesta Chase Park Plaza St. Louis
Central West End
The grand historic hotel of St. Louis in the Central West End, a 1922 hotel joined to a 1929 Art Deco tower, with a five-screen cinema, three restaurants and a lounge, a large fitness center and Forest Park about a mile away.
Rates on Expedia →
$$St. Louis Union Station Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton
Downtown West (Union Station)
A hotel inside the landmark 1894 railway station in Downtown West, with a vaulted Grand Hall that hosts a 3D light show, about ten bars and restaurants, and the St. Louis Aquarium and the St. Louis Wheel on site.
Rates on Expedia →21c Museum Hotel St. Louis
Downtown West (Locust Street)
A boutique art hotel in a historic former YMCA on Locust Street, with a contemporary art museum in its public spaces, Idol Wolf tapas restaurant, the Good Press cafe, an indoor pool and City Museum about five minutes away on foot.
Rates on Expedia →
$$Drury Plaza Hotel St. Louis at the Arch
Downtown (Gateway Arch)
Our value pick, one block from the Gateway Arch, with 351 rooms in a historic downtown building, free hot breakfast, the free 5:30 Kickback with hot food and drinks every evening, an indoor pool and free Wi-Fi.
Rates on Expedia →St. Louis guides
First Time in St. Louis: What to Book, How Many Days and Getting Around
The practical primer for a first visit to St. Louis: how many days to plan, what to book ahead from Arch tram times to City Museum, November 2026 hours and holiday closures, getting around, and where the Arch, Forest Park and the neighborhoods fit.
Where to Stay in St. Louis: Downtown, Downtown West or the Central West End
How to choose your base in St. Louis, from a five-star riverfront hotel with Arch views to a value hotel one block from the Arch, a hotel inside the 1894 Union Station, an art hotel near City Museum and the grand historic hotel of the Central West End.
