St. Louis, Missouri never ceases to impress me. The first time I visited and my view from the highway revealed the 630-foot-tall Gateway Arch gleaming in the sun against a blue sky, I was hooked. Subsequent visits have only continued to make me a fan. As a really major added bonus, there are so many things to do in the city that are free, it’s very easy and affordable to make the most of a visit. Here’s my Editor’s Pick list of free things to do in St. Louis to help you make the most of your time there (and a few things that are really worth paying for).
Save this roundup of free things to do in St. Louis to Pinterest to help you plan your visit. Photos and graphic by RealFoodTraveler.com.
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Free Things to Do in St. Louis MO
Walk Around the Gateway Arch
While taking a ride up into the arch and taking in the view from the top costs money, it’s absolutely free to walk around the Gateway Arch National Park. The first time I visited, the Park was still under construction but it’s now a lovely place to picnic, stroll and from which to take countless photos and videos pretending you’re holding up the arch and other silly fun.
Editor’s Tip: Return at various times of day over the course of your visit. The light changes and the tint of the metal on the arch changes with it.
The Arch itself and the Gateway Arch National Park is the site of countless photo ops.
Visit the Museum Under the Gateway Arch
It amazes me that this museum is free and open to the public, even if you haven’t bought tickets to go up into the arch. Located underneath the arch and the Gateway Arch National Park (see above), it’s a sprawling museum that provides the history of St. Louis itself and the design and construction of the Arch itself, in interactive, very interesting ways. Wisely, they also have a decommissioned tram car on display. Have a seat inside with your group, or some strangers, to get an idea of how close together you’ll be in this windowless mode of transportation, as you climb your way to the observation deck at the top. For some people, it’s just fine and loads of fun. For others, it’s cramped and claustrophobic so it’s brilliant that they provide a chance to try it out before committing.
Once at the top, you have about 10 minutes to look through narrow windows at the views all around. There’s another display in the Museum that shows what it’s like in that observation room, with real-time views. Again, it’s so smart that they do this because some people will say “YES! We have to do this!” while others may look and say “Naw, I’m good.”
Editor’s Tip: Allow at least an hour and a half to really take in this museum. I also recommend you make it one of your first stops in St. Louis because it will set the stage for so many other things you’ll be seeing during the course of your visit.
Clockwise: An exhibit space at the Gateway Arch Museum; the viewing area at the top of the arch; a view of the Gateway Arch National Park below, plus Capital building and city; the National Park, Museum and Arch entry area.
Visit the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum on the University of Missouri Campus
Many universities and colleges have museums that are open to the public and are free. “The Milly” is a fine example of that. In a sleek building, the exhibits are interesting, daring, and engaging. Take a stroll afterword and enjoy the varied architecture on campus, including a building across from the museum that is right out of Harry Potter.
Shop the Soulard Market
Established in 1779, the covered farmers market came to be when wealthy resident and landowner Julia Soulard gave two blocks to the city of St. Louis with the stipulation that the area be a public market. This is where locals do their shopping from a crew of regular vendors with whom they share pleasantries and catch up on the latest news. One of my favorite things to do in St. Louis, it’s a great place for visitors to capture that charming scene, get fresh food and other local goods. The Soulard Market is open Wednesday-Saturday with the most vendors present on Friday and Saturday. Grab a bite from one of the brick-and-mortar businesses in the center, from sandwiches to Cajun food to famous St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake.
Shop with the locals at Soulard Market, a 5 times/week place to get very fresh food and a variety of goods.
Devote a Day to Forest Park
Many of the free things to do in St. Louis came to be because of endowments from wealthy residents way back when and taxpayers now who understand the benefits to locals and visitors. Forest Park itself is beautiful, with more than 30 miles of walking and biking trails that traverse a mix of manicured flower gardens, water features, grasslands, forested areas, a creek on which you can paddleboat, kayak and canoe, and expanses of grass. That includes a huge hill outside of the Saint Louis Art Museum which just begs to be rolled down and picnicked upon. There are also interesting architectural features like the Art Deco-designed Jewel Box with hundreds of flowers in bloom. The Park was the primary site of the 1904 World’s Fair!
Visiting Forest Park, with its varied landscapes and scenery, is one of the best free things to do in St. Louis MO.
Free attractions within Forest Park include:
Saint Louis Art Museum
Filled with a beautiful collection of paintings, sculptures, furniture, textiles and more, with rotating and permanent exhibits, you’ll want to allow time to see it all. Don’t miss the outdoor sculptures on both sides of the museum. The Art Museum is the only remaining building from the 1904 World’s Fair which you’ll learn more about at the Missouri History Museum, below.
Editor’s Tip: Don’t skip the lower level for fascinating discoveries tucked around every corner, through dramatic archways, and in various rooms. That’s also where the café is with awesome cookies, and a really good museum gift shop.
Saint Louis Zoo:
You may have to walk a bit to get free parking for the free Zoo. Or, pay $15 (at the time of our last visit) to park in the Zoo’s designated parking lot which still makes for a great deal considering you’re getting parking and admission to the zoo for everyone in your car. The zoo itself is very impressive, sprawling, and beautiful in buildings and landscaping. It’s easy to spend hours here alone.
Editor’s Tip: The Zoo is just down the hill from the Art Museum so if you are able to snag a free parking space in between, you can park once and enjoy both destinations.
The Muny:
The fact that top-notch productions, including Broadway tours, are held at this famous theater in the park, just add to the appeal of any evening of theater. While you can buy tickets for designated seating, it is stipulated, as part of The Muny’s mission, that every production has to provide nearly 1500 seats each night for free, to patrons on a first-come, first-served basis. Do what many do and arrive way early, have a picnic in the park, then get in line to try to take advantage of that deal.
The Loop Trolley:
Running early May through late October, Thursday-Sunday, the Loop Trolley runs on Delmar Boulevard and DeBaliviere Avenue between the University City Library and the Missouri History Museum.
Editor’s Tip: Check the Trolley’s schedule and try to time your visit to the Missouri History Museum (below), preceeding, or following a Trolley ride. The end of the line stop is right behind the Museum.
Missouri History Museum:
This is another place I recommend visiting near the start of your visit to St. Louis. It explores the founding of the city in 1764 to the 1904 World’s Fair and present day. The Museum’s size makes it doable to see within a couple of hours. Take note of the completely different exteriors on either side of the museum – one is historic and one is very modern. Interesting!
The Missouri History Museum is a great place to start any visit to St. Louis.
Hungry for more? Recipes from the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis to Make Now.
More Free Things to Do In St Louis
Stroll St. Louis’ Neighborhoods
Because there is so much history in St. Louis, there are entire neighborhoods that feel like you’re stepping back in time such as the French-influenced Soulard neighborhood (see above about the Soulard Market), where multi-story brick and stone buildings sit close to the street, punctuated by neighborhood restaurants and shops. Other neighborhoods, including around Forest Park, have promenades down the center with decorative gates at either end of the blocks, as well as grand mansions and decorative Victorians. Each neighborhood has its own proud identity and history and are worth perusing by foot, on bike and car.
Editor’s Tip: Although I’m encouraging meandering neighborhoods, do so respectfully because, while beautiful, they are not a tourist attraction but are people’s private residences.
Take A Drive into Wine Country
While you technically don’t have to leave the city of St. Louis to find great wine, taking a free drive out to Missouri’s wine country means pastoral panoramas. Wineries offer tastings (for a fee) and, sometimes food (both made to order and from to-go coolers). Purchase bottles to take back home (they’ll also ship them for you). What makes sipping Missouri wines so special are the grapes specific to the area including the Chambourcin, Norton and Vidal Blanc. You’ll hear about these native and hybrid grapes at each winery. One of my favorite wineries is the Volume IX Owner’s Reserve Dessert Wine from Noboleis Vineyards in Augusta, Missouri. If you like Port, you’ll love want to splurge on Noboleis’s local interpretation.
One of my personal favorite bottles from Noboleis Winery plus scenes from their vineyard.
St. Louis Festivals & Fairs
While you never need an excuse to visit and explore St. Louis, anchoring your visit around one of their many fun festivals and fairs just adds to the fun. Click the link above to get a list of what’s happening.
Editor’s Tip: The Celebrate St. Louis festival, celebrating the 4th of July, is a blast! Sit across the river and take in the fireworks show against the backdrop of the Gateway Arch. Stunning!
BONUS: 3 Things to Do in St. Louis That Are Not Free But Totally Worth It
- Go to the top of the St. Louis Arch. Although the lines to wait may be long and the trams a little cozy, it’s pretty amazing to know you’re at the tip-top of the Arch, especially after having taken in the park and museum below.
Editor’s Favorite Story: The time I was at the top of the Arch and a woman handed me her phone and asked me to take a selfie of her. Awwww.
The viewing area at the top of the Gateway Arch.
- Visit the City Museum and allow at least an hour and a half there. Yes, there will be crowds but the place is so cool and fun and unique and whimsical, it’s worth it. City Museum was created by a man who wanted to fill the former shoe factory building with things that amused him, inspired wonder, and celebrated the city.
Editor’s Tip: Be sure to go up on the roof to see the enormous praying mantis, school bus teetering off the edge of the building and other larger-than-life follies.
There’s so much to see and do on the rooftop area of the eclectic City Museum.
3. Missouri Botanical Garden is huge but doesn’t feel that way thanks to all of the different “rooms” within it. Each is a different area with themes, follies, water features and trees, flowers and other plants galore. It’s peaceful, romantic, stress-reducing and generally ahhhh-mazing. They often have special exhibits such as glass sculptures by Chihuly and special events including their stellar holiday lights.
Editor’s Tip: If you belong to a botanical garden where you live, show your membership card at the ticket counter and ask if there’s a reciprocal relationship between the two, for free admission.
A lush and shaded area within the sprawling Missouri Botanical Garden.
St. Louis is such a lovely city, with so much to offer, blending city-sleek with country charm, rich history and modern advances. Visiting the Explore St. Louis website is a great resource to start your planning. You’ll see why it’s one of my favorite cities.
-Story and photos by Courtney Drake-McDonough, Publisher & Managing Editor of Real Food Traveler.
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