The things to do in St. Louis that we could check are the Gateway Arch, the free Saint Louis Zoo, Art Museum and Science Center in Forest Park, City Museum, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Anheuser-Busch brewery tour and Union Station. The MetroLink train runs from the airport to downtown for $2.50. The Terminal 1 station is closed until about mid-December and the Terminal 2 station closes on 2 November, so check Metro before you fly. We read each official page on 15 October 2026.
The sights, with address, hours and price
Gateway Arch National Park
Address: 11 North 4th Street, St. Louis, MO 63102. Phone 314-655-1600 (National Park Service, hours page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: Visitor center and museum 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily in spring, fall and winter. From Memorial Day to Labor Day it stays open until 8:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The last tram leaves one hour before closing. The park grounds are open 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. The Old Courthouse is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The park is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day (same page)
Price: The museum is free. Tram Ride to the Top: adult 16 and over $15 to $19, child 3 to 15 $11 to $15, National Park Pass holder $12 to $16. The page says prices vary by date. Documentary movie $7 adult and $3 child. Riverfront cruise (1 hour) $26 adult, $24 senior 60 and over, $16 child (gatewayarch.com, buy tickets page, read 15 Oct 2026)
The NPS page says advance reservations are strongly recommended. We did not read a price for the Old Courthouse.
Saint Louis Zoo
Address: 1 Government Drive, St. Louis, MO 63110 (Saint Louis Zoo, visit page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: The page showed 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the day we read it and lists the Zoo as open daily. Hours change by season, so check your date (same page)
Price: Admission is free. Parking is $20 a car for non-members "starting Feb. 27, 2026." Parking is cashless, and vehicles over 24 feet are not allowed in the lots. The page says prices are subject to change (Saint Louis Zoo, parking and maps page, read 15 Oct 2026)
The Zoo's visit page suggests an Adventure Pass for paid attractions. It gives no prices for them.
Saint Louis Art Museum
Address: One Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park, St. Louis, MO 63110. Phone 314-721-0072 (Saint Louis Art Museum, visit page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Closed Mondays (SLAM, hours and parking page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Price: Admission to the museum is free every day. Garage parking is $15 from March through October and $10 in off-peak months. Free public lots are on the north side of Fine Arts Drive, across from the museum. Ticketed exhibitions are extra, and the page lists no prices (same page)
St. Louis Science Center
Address: 5050 Oakland Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110. The McDonnell Planetarium has a separate entrance at Clayton Avenue and Faulkner Drive in Forest Park (St. Louis Science Center, visit page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: Regular hours: Monday and Wednesday to Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed Tuesday. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, Sunday opens at 9:30 a.m. Last entry is 30 minutes before close (St. Louis Science Center, hours page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Price: Entry is free: "Entry is always free!" Parking at the Oakland building is $15, and members park free. We read no price for the planetarium lot, the planetarium or the OMNIMAX theater (visit page and directions and parking page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Missouri History Museum
We could not read the Missouri Historical Society's site, which returned an access error. We cannot give its address, hours or price. Check mohistory.org before you go.
City Museum
Address: 750 North 16th Street, St. Louis, MO 63103. Phone 314-231-2489 (City Museum, home page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: Hours change by date. The museum's hours page has a 2026 calendar instead of a week table, and the home page showed 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the day we read it (City Museum, home and hours pages, read 15 Oct 2026)
Price: 2026 daily tickets start at $20 each and are valid any day in 2026. Children 2 and under are free. Members get $5 off the main parking lot. We did not read the general parking price (City Museum, tickets and memberships page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Missouri Botanical Garden
Address: 4344 Shaw Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63110. Phone 314-577-5100 (Missouri Botanical Garden, home page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., last entry 4:30 p.m., for the day we read it (same page)
Price: General admission $16 for ages 13 and up. The page then lists $6 for the St. Louis resident rate and $4 for seniors 65 and over, followed by "Proof of residency required," so ask whether the $4 rate is for residents only. Members are free. We read no price for children under 13 (Garden, hours and admission page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Anheuser-Busch brewery tours
Address: 1200 Lynch St, St. Louis, MO 63118 (Anheuser-Busch, budweisertours.com home page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: Tours Sunday to Friday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Biergarten is open every day, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The page lists closure dates: closed 8 November, 11 November, 1 December and 2 December, with early closings on 19 and 20 October (same page)
Price: Tour prices are not confirmed. The site lists the Day Fresh Tour, Beermaster Tour, Clydesdale VIP Experience, Finisher Tour and King of Beers, and loads prices from a booking system that our reader could not open
Soulard Market
Address: 730 Carroll St., St. Louis, MO 63104. Phone 314-622-4180 (City of St. Louis, Soulard Market page at stlouis-mo.gov, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: Closed Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday to Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The page's contact box says Saturday 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., so the page disagrees with itself. Closed Sunday except for Sal's Produce, and the page says to call first (same page)
Note: The page gives no entry fee and no parking information
Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis
Address: 4431 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108 (Cathedral Basilica, home page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: The Cathedral is open 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. The Mosaic Museum is open Monday to Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Sunday noon to 4:00 p.m. (Cathedral Basilica, plan your visit page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Price: Self-guided tours are available during regular hours with no reservation, and the page recommends calling ahead on weekends. A $2 per person contribution is requested at the museum. Guided tours are by appointment on weekdays, about 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., on 314-373-8241. On most Sundays a public tour follows the noon Mass (same page)
The page says the building holds one of the largest mosaic collections on earth. We did not count or measure it.
Union Station, the aquarium and the Wheel
Address: 1820 Market Street, St. Louis, MO 63103. The St. Louis Aquarium and the St. Louis Wheel are at 201 S. 18th St. in the same station building. Phone 314-923-3900 (St. Louis Union Station website and the Wheel's website, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: Wheel: Monday to Thursday 12 p.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 12 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Aquarium's regular hours are not confirmed (the Wheel's website; the Aquarium's home page lists only a special notice)
Price: Wheel: adult 13 and over "$18+", child 3 to 12 "$12+", 2 and under free. The page does not explain the plus sign. We read no Aquarium price and no parking price
Free things to do in St. Louis
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The museum under the Gateway Arch is free to all. The tram and the movie are extra.
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The Saint Louis Zoo is free to enter. Parking is $20 a car.
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The Saint Louis Art Museum is free every day. Free public lots are on the north side of Fine Arts Drive, and the garage costs $15 from March through October.
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The St. Louis Science Center says entry is always free. Parking at the Oakland building is $15.
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The Cathedral Basilica is open daily 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The museum asks for a $2 contribution.
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The Gateway Arch grounds are open 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. We did not read whether the grounds are free of charge, so check before you go.
St. Louis with kids
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Zoo and Science Center: free entry, with parking charges.
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Arch tram: $11 to $15 for ages 3 to 15, depending on the date.
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City Museum: children 2 and under are free. We read no child price.
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St. Louis Wheel: $12 or more for ages 3 to 12, and free for ages 2 and under.
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Metro bus and rail: ages 5 to 12 pay half price, and ages 4 and under ride free.
Where to stay in St. Louis
We did not check any hotel's rate or room list, so we give no prices. This is our read of the sight addresses and the MetroLink stop list above.
| Area | What it is near |
|---|---|
| Downtown | The Gateway Arch, and the Stadium, 8th & Pine and Convention Center rail stations |
| Union Station area | Union Station, the aquarium, the Wheel, and the Union Station rail station |
| Central West End | The Central West End, Cortex and Forest Park-DeBaliviere rail stations, and the Cathedral Basilica at 4431 Lindell Blvd. We did not check the walk or ride to the Zoo or the Art Museum |
| Soulard | Soulard Market (730 Carroll St.) and the brewery (1200 Lynch St.). We did not check transit to either |
Downtown or the Union Station area is the easiest if you want to use the train. Rates change a lot with events and seasons, so look up your own dates.
Getting around St. Louis
Metro Transit, the regional agency, lists these fares on its Fares and Passes page, read 15 Oct 2026. The page has no effective date. A rail cash base fare is $2.50. A bus cash base fare is $1.00. A One-Day Pass is $5.00 for bus and rail, a 7-Day Pass is $27.00 and a 30-Day Pass is $78.00. Reduced fares need a Metro Reduced Fare Permit. Children 5 to 12 pay half price, and children 4 and under ride free.
Airport to downtown on MetroLink
The Red Line runs from the Lambert Airport stations east through the Central West End, Union Station, Stadium and 8th & Pine, according to Metro's route page, read 15 Oct 2026. We found no separate airport fare on the fares page. We give no first or last train, because the airport stations are closed or closing.
Metro's NextStop post "Terminal #1 Station Closed Until December, Terminal #2 Station to Close Nov. 2," read 15 Oct 2026, says this:
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The Terminal 1 station closed on 12 October for airport construction. The work is expected to finish in mid-December, with no set reopening date.
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Until 2 November, a shuttle train runs between the Terminal 2 station and North Hanley. Riders change trains at North Hanley.
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To reach Terminal 1 by train, ride to Terminal 2 and take the free airport shuttle from Exit 10. To leave Terminal 1, take the shuttle from Exit 12 to Terminal 2 and board the eastbound train there. The shuttle adds a few minutes.
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The Terminal 2 station closes on 2 November. Metro says it will share how riders can connect closer to that date.
Read Metro's rider alerts before you fly, or call Metro Transit Information at 314-231-2345 (weekdays 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.). We did not confirm the travel time from the airport to downtown.
Do I need a car in St. Louis?
Not for downtown. The Red Line connects the airport area, the Central West End, Union Station and the Stadium station, and a rail fare is $2.50. A car, taxi or rideshare may be easier for the Zoo, the Botanical Garden, City Museum and the brewery, because we did not check a bus or walking route from a train station to any of them. Driving has a cost. The Zoo charges $20 a car, the Science Center $15 and the Art Museum garage $15 from March through October, though the Art Museum has free public lots. For a train trip into St. Louis, see our page on US cities without a car.
Best time to visit St. Louis
These are NOAA 1991 to 2020 monthly normals for the St. Louis Lambert International Airport station, read from the NCEI data service on 15 October 2026. Highs and lows are in degrees Fahrenheit.
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation (inches) |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40.4 | 23.8 | 2.59 |
| April | 68.0 | 47.0 | 4.73 |
| July | 89.6 | 71.1 | 3.93 |
| October | 69.2 | 49.1 | 3.15 |
July is the warmest month in the table, with an average high near 90 degrees and a low above 70. October is mild, with a high near 69. This is our reading of the numbers.
What we checked and what can change
Read on 15 October 2026: the National Park Service's Gateway Arch hours page, the Arch's ticket page on gatewayarch.com, the Saint Louis Zoo's visit page and parking and maps page, the Saint Louis Art Museum's visit page and hours and parking page, the St. Louis Science Center's visit, hours and parking pages, City Museum's home, hours and tickets pages, the Missouri Botanical Garden's home and hours and admission pages, Anheuser-Busch's budweisertours.com home page, the City of St. Louis's Soulard Market page, the Cathedral Basilica's home page and plan your visit page, the St. Louis Union Station website, the Wheel's website and the Aquarium's home page, Metro Transit's fares, Red Line route and home pages and its NextStop post on the airport station closures, and NOAA NCEI 1991 to 2020 monthly normals.
Not confirmed: the Missouri History Museum's address, hours and price, the Science Center's planetarium and OMNIMAX prices, the Zoo's week table, the Art Museum's ticketed exhibition prices, City Museum's parking price and week table, the Botanical Garden's price for children under 13 and its week table, Anheuser-Busch tour prices, the Old Courthouse price, whether the Arch grounds are free of charge, Soulard Market's Saturday opening time, Union Station and Aquarium hours and prices, Wheel plus-sign pricing, any transit route to the Zoo, the Botanical Garden, City Museum or the brewery, how riders reach the train from the airport after 2 November, the Terminal 1 reopening date, the MetroLink travel time from the airport, and any hotel rate. Prices and hours change, so check the operator's page for your date. We did not visit St. Louis for this page.
