Things to Do in Old St. Lou.

In My Humble Opinion
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I’m going to see Radiohead on Sunday night at the UMB Bank Pavilion in St. Louis, MO. We’re driving up on Sunday and hanging around on Monday before driving back on Monday night. My SO wants to see the Arch, so we’ll be downtown during the day on Monday.

St. Louis Dopers, please give us some suggestions as to what to do. I am ashamed to say I haven’t spent much time in the city, even though it’s only about a three-hour drive north of here. In particular, we would be interested in vintage clothing stores, vegetarian restaurants (or just plain good eatin’ places), good music and book stores, and a good bar to hang out in after the show. Extra points for experiences unique to St. Louis.

Thanks in advance!

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Some of these will take you a little ways from downtown, so bring a good map.

For good eats of the ethnic variety, I’d recommend both the University ity Loop area along Delmar and the South Grand/Tower Grove Park neighborhood.

The best independent book store in the area is probably Left Bank Books in the Central West End. That’s a very good neighboorhood for walking, and both it and the Delmar Loop are within walking distance from MetroLink (our light rail). You can board it from near the Arch grounds.

I know there are some vintage clothing stores, but because I’m not into that, I couldn’t tell you the good ones.

For an absolutely unique St. Louis experience, you should go to the Zoo in Forest Park. It’s one of the best in the nation, it’s centrally located and it’s FREE!

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(Psst. Don’t tell them it costs $8 to park at the Zoo.)

Oops.

I understand the City Museum, just west of Downtown, is pretty cool, with all sorts of different exhibits. Not your standard civic museum.

Much of Forest Park is under construction, but I think all of the museums are still accessable. kunilou’s other suggestions sound good, too.

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The Arch (which has a much longer and stuffier name) is a busy attraction. Get there early in the day to get your tickets, or you won’t get to go up at all. The riverbank there is a nice scenic walk, and if you need to kill some time before your ticket time, Laclede’s Landing is just north of the Arch. It’s a collection of restaurants, bars, and shops in very old buildings.

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I spent most of 3 months in downtown St Louis on business a few years ago. Here’s what I remember:

-Union Station is worth killing an hour or two walking around the mall (don’t remember what types of stores, though) and scoping the architecture.
-The riverboat casinos can provide entertainment and food
-The area called “The Hill” just outside downtown has great Italian restuarants
-The Bowling Hall of Fame (OK - I never went there, but I did pass it everyday. Maybe you could pick up some retro bowling shoes or something.)

I remember the city proper shutting down shortly after 5:00. Seems that nobody lives downtown, they all commute in.

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Actually, this is starting to change. There are a lot of loft apartments opening up in downtown, especially along Washington Avenue. The nightlife there is beginning to grow.

And I forgot all about the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame. If you are interested in bowling, then it’s your place, I guess. I took a couple of friends there a couple of years ago, one of whom was a big bowling nut, and he loved it. I’m no big bowling fan, but I wasn’t bored to death - it was pretty interesting.

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They got some crazy little women there. Maybe you should get you one.

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I was just there. Great resteraunts, some old F7 trains, neat place. Make sure you see the grand lobby.

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Well, if you’re into vintage clothing and fun stores, and since you’re going to see Radiohead I’m going to assume we’ve got similar tastes. I am too poor to see Radiohead, although I’m sure it is going to be well worth your money… Anyways, here’s a few things to do:

Downtown: Arch (obviously), and the riverfront is pretty nice. There are a lot of bars downtown, but I think they’re all pretty crappy. You can always eat at ‘The Speghetti Factory’ which seems to be high on the tourists ‘to-do’ list, but I don’t think it’s really great. There’s also the Budweiser Brewery that you can tour, it’s a couple minutes from downtown. I haven’t been there for a while, but you do get free beer I think.

South Grand: This is a good place to be if you want to check out some vintage clothing stores and some good little places to eat. It’s a little strip on Grand Ave. To get there, you’ll take hwy 64/40 West from downtown and take the Grand exit (and head south). Or, if you’re in the west part of downtown, you can just hit Grand from some of the streets there. I really would suggest eating at ‘The King and I’ if you enjoy Thai food. It’s a nice little place, and I THINK that they’re open for lunch, but don’t know for sure. Right by the restaurant, there are a few stores that you might enjoy.

Central West End: This is an ok place to go, there are again a few stores of interest and a few places to eat. Not too bad all in all. To get here, you’re going to head west on hwy 64/40 and take the Kingshighway North Exit. There are some pretty funky stores around here, but the streets are nice to walk down. Just make sure you don’t stray from the shops too much, it’s a rough world out there.

University City: I like U-City, but I’ve only been there during the day a few times. This is an area that is really getting a nice (and much needed) facelift. You can find some interesting shops there, and all kinds of fun things. There are some good restaurants, and good music/book/clothing stores to visit. Plus, while you’re there, you can get a tattoo.

Kirkwood: This is for the Yuppie in you. You may want to stop by, but There isn’t a whole lot to see. It is pretty though.

Forest Park: This is nice if you feel like walking around, or seeing the zoo. We’ve been having penguins escape from the new puffin/penguin exhibit, so if you’re lucky, you’ll get hit by a penguin. The zoo is nice, and free, and big. The rest of forest park has some nice stuff to look at, but not a lot to do other than walk or golf.

There are a few other things to do in STL, you could visit Grant’s Farm which is nice, there is the Shafly Brewery (which is really close to my house), the Limp Mansion which is haunted (you can eat there and take a tour I think), there’s a few malls, but you can see those anywhere.

Well, hope this helps you out, and now that I’ve done this for you, I’m going to Memphis (well Tunica actually) in October, so sometime I need a guide to your city! :slight_smile:

Here are some links that will at least give you an idea of where places are, and you can map out your plan of attack.

Here is a poor overview of the city:
http://www.bradleyanddana.com/images/stlmap.jpg

Here are some links to places in neighborhoods I mentioned. Directions to any of those places will get you to the neighborhood.

South Grand (The King and I): King & I in Saint Louis, MO 63118 | Citysearch

U City (Blueberry Hill):

Central West End (The Grind): http://stlouis.citysearch.com/profile/5736860/

Forest Park (The zoo):

Kirkwood (Humble Abode Furniture):
http://stlouis.citysearch.com/profile/5749330/

Downtown (The Arch):

Budweiser:

Hope this helps, and let me know if you have any questions! I made these recommendations based on the fact that you like radiohead and were looking for something different. There are a lot of places that are more ‘tourist oriented’, but these places are pretty neat.

-Brad

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Well, I can’t edit for some reason, but anyways, as for a bar to go to after the show, it really depends where your hotel is. There is a Dave & Busters out that way that is an ok place to go. I’d say U-City would be a good pick though. Ah, also, if any of your directions say to go down Forest Park Parkway, they’re wrong, that’s closed.

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I can’t help you with St Louis, but I can ask you for a Radiohead review.

Please?

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mrbuddylee (by far my favorite commercial character, by the way), The King and I is unfortunately not open on Mondays. However Pho Grand is there for Vietnamese, there’s a Japanese place over there now, a couple of Chinese places, another Vietnamese place or two (Mekong comes to mind). . .lots of stuff on south Grand.

Also, the zoo is great, and free, and as for parking, you do not have to park in the zoo parking lot. On most streets in the park near the zoo, you can park on the side of the street for free. On a Monday, I wouldn’t think this should be a problem (sometimes on busy days the park is crowded and these spaces are harder to find).

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You’re wise to leave before dusk:

I hate to see that evening sun go down,
I hate to see that evening sun go down,
‘Cause my lovin’ baby done left this town.

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Not open on Mondays… Hmm, thanks for the info, I did not know that. Also, thanks for the other restuarants, I’ll have to give those a shot next time I’m in the area.

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Thanks for the suggestions, everybody! Keep 'em coming.

gex gex, I’ll post a show review in the Cafe on Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on how busy I am at work.