Hi there! Welcome to my itinerary for a weekend getaway in St Louis, Missouri! St. Louis is a lovely city to visit, and one that makes a great weekend trip or road trip destination. In addition to the famous Gateway Arch, St. Louis is home to incredible museums, parks and restaurants. Keep reading for my guide and itinerary for a weekend getaway in St Louis – the gateway to the West!
Sleep – Hotels + AirBnb
I decided to stay in an AirBnb in Downtown St. Louis. I picked our AirBnb for three main reasons; the first being that it was very cute, the second was its great location, and the third being that it was a great space to work from home. I loved the modern design of our AirBnb, and we were able to walk to most all of the major tourist spots downtown. When we visited in the summer, the AirBnb was $150 a night, which I thought was very reasonable for the space.
Although we really loved our AirBnb, on my next trip to St. Louis I would love to check out some of the awesome hotels in the city! Below are some great options that I can’t wait to visit.
Weekend Getaway in St. Louis Hotels Recommendations
- St. Louis Union Station Hotel – $$
- The Last Hotel STL – $$
- The Moonrise Hotel – $$
- The Cheshire Inn – $$
- Hotel Indigo – $$
- The Chase Park Plaza Royal Sonesta – $$$
Itinerary for a Weekend Getaway in St Louis
Day 1 in St. Louis
Donuts and Coffee from Pharaohs Donuts
Start your morning with coffee and donuts from Pharaohs Donuts in downtown. This little donut shop is not cute or fancy, but they do have delicious donuts! The donuts are very fresh, and so good that I ended up eating three. Take them to go, and enjoy them in the park. They are the perfect way to start a day of exploring in St. Louis.
Check out City Garden Sculpture Park
Located walking distance from Pharaohs Donuts, in downtown, you’ll find the lovely City Garden Sculpture Park. This is a great park to visit in the morning with a cup of coffee, and to take a walk to see interesting and unique sculptures. This is also a great place to bring kids for a place to play!
Visit the Gateway Arch + Ride to the Top
Of course, one of the main reasons most people visit St. Louis is to see the amazing Gateway Arch. The Arch is so cool to see in person – and it’s definitely a great place to take photos. The park around the Arch is free to visit, and you can spend as long as you want walking around and taking in the views.
If you’re feeling brave, you can also ride to the top of the Gateway Arch. It’s supposed to be a wonderful experience, with even better views! I really wanted to ride to the top of the arch, but, unfortunately, I tried booking tickets too late and they were already sold out for my trip dates. My best piece of advice is to book early so you can take the ride to the top! Tickets are $16 or less, depending on the day, time, and rider’s age.
Have Lunch at Sauce on the Side
Sauce on the Side serves up delicious and unique calzones in a casual setting. The restaurant came recommend by both our AirBnb host and taxi driver, so we knew we had to give it a try. They have both indoor and outdoor seating, and a huge menu with tons of calzone options. They also have great vegetarian calzones – and you can even choose your own fillings.
Visit the City Museum
The City Museum is one of the most unique places I’ve ever been to. It’s basically a giant indoor playground for people of all ages! There are tons of structures and tunnels to climb on, in addition to games, slides, ropes to swing on, and more. They even have a small aquarium where we saw seahorses! Most of the museum is made using pieces/materials of old city buildings and I love that they’ve repurposed and recycled these materials.
The museum is a ton of fun, and definitely a great place to bring kids! However, you certainly don’t need to have kids to visit the museum. We’re in our 20s and we had a great time!
You could very easily spend hours and hours in this museum, it is so fun and there is so much to see and do!
Have Dinner at Schlafly Tap Room
After visiting the City Museum, take the nice 10 minute walk to Schlafly Tap Room, a microbrewery in downtown St. Louis! I leaned that St. Louis is known for their microbreweries, and Schlafly came highly recommended.
I really enjoyed our dinner at Schlafly, the food and beer were both great, and I loved the casual, fun atmosphere! Schlafly’s has a large beer and food menu and there is something for everyone! I especially enjoyed my falafel sandwich, and definitely recommend it.
Day 2 in St. Louis
Brunch at Rooster
Rooster has two locations in St. Louis, and I definitely recommend checking out their brunch! The restaurant prides itself on serving farm-to-table food, and I really appreciate the focus on supporting local farmers, and using local products.
Everything on the brunch menu sounded delicious, but I ended up choosing the fried egg sandwich and chocolate chip pancakes. I was super happy with my choices, and it was a great brunch!
Visit Cahokia Mounds
Located in Collinsville, Illinois, about 20 minutes by car from downtown St. Louis, you’ll find Cahokia Mounds! The mounds (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) are the remains of a pre-Columbian Native American city, that existed almost 1,000 years ago. Visiting the Mounds and the museum are such interesting ways to learn more about this civilization, and what life was like in the area centuries ago.
The museum at Cahokia Mounds is incredible, and contains life size replicas of the village and what life was like for its residents. I also really enjoyed the guided tour, as the guide was very knowledgable and shared so much information about Cahokia and its history with us.
Visiting Cahokia Mounds is free (by donation), and it’s a great stop for travelers of all ages. I spent around two hours at the mounds, but you could easily spend more time exploring.
Explore Forest Park + Have Picnic
Forest Park is a huge park in the middle of St. Louis that features a zoo, science center, art museum and history museum! The park is over 1,300 acres, and there is a lot to do and see. Additionally, the park is a great place to take a walk or relax with a book – it is so big, and very fun to explore.
I also recommend packing a picnic and having dinner (or lunch!) in the park. We picked up sushi and fruit from a local super market, and had a wonderful evening picnic. A picnic in a gorgeous park is a lovely way to end a trip to St. Louis!
Visitors Center 
Park Picnic
I hope you enjoyed my guide for how to spend 48 hours in St Louis! Visiting the Gateway City was such a great weekend trip, and I really enjoyed my time in the city. If you found this post helpful, I appreciate you sharing it with others! If you have any questions feel free to leave us a comment below and follow and DM us on Instagram, @twosistersabroad.
♡Kate
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I especially liked your guided tour of St. Louis. It has now been added to my bucket list! A great job Kate. I love reading about your adventures.
Thank you so much, Donna! That means a lot to me 🙂
The city museum looks so fun!
I would love to re-visit St Louis. I have been to the city museum and that is very cool. I didn’t know of The Mounds. Would every interesting to see. And I have yet to go up into the arch.
They were super easy to see, and so close by! I definitely recommend visiting them.
The City Museum would definitely be towards the top pf my list. One of the reasons I enjoy staying in hostels is that many are in repurposed buildings such as jails, downtown office buildings, and movie theatres. This is the first I’ve heard of a museum incorporating so many bits and pieces from old city structures.
St. Louis is my home town! I will confirm that going to the top of the Gateway Arch is a MUST do! If you go on a windy day you will feel the sway at the top that you will think you’re about to topple over at any minute. And you’re right… the City Museum is one of THE unique places you will ever visit – especially for a mid-western city. I would add Imo’s Pizza and Ted Drewes Frozen Custard to the list of St. Louis culinary classics to make your St. Louis visit complete! St. Louis is a fun place to visit!
Hi! I was wondering it the city is safe for solo female travelers? mixed reviews about safety over the internet.
Thanks
Hi Marta! I felt totally safe in the downtown areas alone during the daytime, as those areas are generally busy. At night, unless it’s super busy area, I recommend Ubering to/from your AirBnb/hotel. I think a 2-3 day stay, packing most of your activities into the daytime, is a great idea for solo female travelers. Please let me know if you have any other questions or if I can help in any way!
Yay, love to see St. Louis represented! I am sort of biased though since I own Tesson Roofing- we serve the greater STL area. So hey if you’re a St. Louis native who needs some roofing help, check us out! 🙂