Saint Louis – My 8 Free Things To Do in the Gateway City

Late summer this year we were happy to spend a week visiting family members and exploring a little more of the Saint Louis area.  I started doing a little research about things to do and was shocked at how many FREE things you can do in Saint Louis. Some of them are parks and such, but some are museums. I just had to do a post and share all of this with you guys.  Here are my top 8 things I hope we can do during our visit. Hope you find it helpful when you visit Saint Louis.

Saint Louis Zoo

Ranked as one of the best in the entire country, the Zoo is home to more than 5,000 animals from all seven continents, offering a new and unique experience every time you visit. It is recognized as a leading zoo in animal management, research, conservation, education and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Gene’s brother Dan visited once while we were there. He had a great time, and we hope to visit again on a future visit.

Saint Louis Science Center

We have actually been to the Saint Louis Science Center and you can read my post here. But I will also say that the center is truly a hands-on experience for the whole family. We had a great time walking around and looking at all the exhibits. They also have an OMNIMAX Theater for a fee. With over 750 exhibits in a complex of over 300,000 square feet, it is apparently among the largest of its type in the United States.

The Saint Louis Art Museum

I love art and hope to get to see this. They state that it is one of the principal U.S. art museums, with paintings, sculptures, cultural objects, and ancient masterpieces from all corners of the world.  Apparently they have more than 30,000 paintings, drawings, sculptures and also boast one of the world’s top collections of 20th-century German paintings.

Grant’s Farm

If you like animals you will probably also like Grants Farm, as it is another great place to see animals from around the world. It is the home to hundreds of animals, including the famous Budweiser Clydesdales. Sounds like it would be fun to check out. As a note of history, the property was at one time owned by Ulysses S. Grant and prior to that, by the Dent family. It is now owned by the Busch family, who owned the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company. We have not been to the farm on any of our visits, but it is definitely on our to-do list on a future visit.

The Missouri History Museum

The museum’s signature collection includes both national artifacts, as well as Missouri and Saint Louis related materials, such as local colonial and native artifacts, Louisiana Purchase Exposition artifacts, and items relating to Charles Lindbergh and his trans-Atlantic flight in the SpSaintfdfdfdfdfdffdfdfdfdfdfdfdfdfirit of St. Louis. I am related to John Colter of the Lew and Clark Expedition, and Gene is really into aviation, so this is definitely on both of our to-do lists.

Anheuser-Busch Brewery Tours

We have done this a couple of times, but it’s always fun. We even visited once during their Holiday Brewery Lights. Free public tours of the brewery are given. The tour takes visitors through the complex, and those of the legal age can enjoy two free glasses of any Anheuser-Busch product in the Hospitality Room after the tour. Tourists can see beer being made and packaged in a working part of the brewery. During one visit Gene and I did this with my aunt and uncle.  It is a great tour.

Cathedral Basilica

While in the area we are going to try to check out the Cathedral Basilica.  Apparently it is more than just a church and the home of one of the largest collections of mosaics in the world. It took nearly 80 years to install the more than 40 million mosaic glass pieces that adorn the inside of the church. Wow, that sounds so amazing. Hope we get to see it sometime.

Laumeier Sculpture Park

This sounds like a fun park to check out while in the area. The Laumeier Sculpture Park houses over 60 outdoor sculptures and features a 1.4-mile (2.3 km) walking trail and educational programs. There is also an indoor gallery, an 1816 Tudor stone mansion, which was the former residence of Henry and Matilda Laumeier.