Want a quick mom’s eye view on a destination? MomsTravelTales.com has you covered with our new collection of Mom-servations on destinations across the globe.
I’m especially excited to read this Destination Snapshot myself as we have a trip to St. Louis coming up in just a few short weeks. I’m quite thankful to our friends Pam and Marc and for sharing it with us! They have two adorable girls and really know family travel. You might have read Pam’s Destination Snapshot on their hometown of Memphis.
Here’s what they had to share about St. Louis:
City or town name:
St. Louis, Missouri
Is there an airport there? If not, what is the nearest airport and how far away is it?
Yes – Hub for American Airlines
Is this a place you have visited more than once? If so, what keeps you coming back?
We went there for our first time recently, but it is a popular trip for many families we know and we plan to go back soon.
What makes this place great for families to visit?
There are lots of affordable things to do without the hassle of huge crowds.
How long should a family plan to stay to hit the highlights?
A family can hit the highlights in an extended weekend, but there is enough to do to spend a week or more.
What are some of the fun things to do? What were your favorites? Why? What ages would these spots appeal to?
For kids there are lots of great choices.
1) The children’s museum is called The Magic House and it has great hands-on experiences for the kids.
2) If your kids want a place to really climb, learn and get out some energy all while learning check out the website for The City Museum.
3) The highlight of our trip was Grant’s Farm. Admission is free. It is a combination of a zoo and a petting farm with a little bit of civil war time education mixed in.
4) The St Louis Zoo also had free admission and the insider tip is if you get there early you can park on the street and park for free. It is a really good zoo for the exhibits, but if you have small ones, rent a stroller. It is very spread out compared to some zoos.
5) The St. Louis Science Center is near the zoo. It has an IMAX theater, a planetarium and lots of exhibits.
6) About 20 minutes outside of the city there is a Six Flags park also.
There is also the famous St. Louis Arch. There are trips where you can go in it which our kids did not want to try, but it is a sight to see and you can walk up and touch it, take pictures with it, and the like.
St. Louis is also home to the Cardinals (baseball), the Rams (football) and the Blues (hockey).
What family-friendly places to eat would you recommend? Anything special about them?
We ate breakfast and dinner in the hotel and lunch at the activities.
What hotels or other places to stay can you recommend?
We stayed at the Drury Plaza Hotel at the Arch, which was the #1 rated hotel rated by the reviewers at Tripadvisor.com and they were right on target. The room rates could be under $100, but we splurged for a two room suite with two queen beds for $148, which included an awesome breakfast, afternoon snacks (chips, carrots, fresh popcorn, etc.), and 3 alcoholic drinks for the grownups, soft drinks, indoor pool, and health club. There is a family friendly restaurant on site that is about the same as a Friday’s, Ruby Tuesday’s, Applebee’s. The highlight of the trip for our 5 year old was the breakfast buffet with so many choices.
You can walk two blocks to the arch or to the baseball park. They even have indoor parking.
There are a few other Drury places around town that are highly rated. There is a Four Seasons which comes recommended from friends as well.
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