Top five attractions in St. Louis, MO
Milwaukee to St.Louis & Springfield
We headed from Milwaukee to St. Louis through the famous US 66! It was pretty exciting to travel the historic route. We stopped in between to visit the US 66 museum at Pontiac, Illinois. There is no entry fee and they have a variety of interesting collections portraying the historic significance of Route 66. We wished that we had time to head all the way to Los Angeles.
Few pictures in and around the Pontiac museum
St. Louis Attractions -Our Top Five!
1. City Museum:
This was the last place we visited while in St. Louis, but was the most fun and unforgettable place to spend your day. That’s why its no. 1 in our list here.
We scheduled it last because we were deceived by its name. City MUSEUMMM ??!! We thought it’s just a place like any other museum, where we walk around to see the exhibits. But this is a total FUN spot where you can spend your whole day sweating & running around. Yeah guys, if you are visiting this place better be in your work out shoes. Seriously! Adults will equally enjoy here as Kids. We did! 🙂
There
are lot of attractions built inside where you crawl into narrow caves, slide, swing, find your way out from a treehouse maze, 10 storey spiral slide, aquarium, toppling chair and lots more for toddlers too. We missed the roof top as it was closed. Ten storey spiral slide was our favorite. We felt like we had a week’s workout while we came out.
It’s a must place to visit if you love rides and challenging physical activities. Kids would love this place. Better try to spend a full day here.
2. Gateway arch:
The main reason we visited St. Louis was for this attraction. This famous 162ft high gateway arch was designed by Architect Euro Saarinen and structural Engineer Hannskarl Bandel in 1947.Built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States, it is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and has become an internationally famous symbol of St. Louis. The arch sits at the site of St. Louis’ founding on the west bank of the Mississippi River. You can find its historic significance & Architectural innovations in lots of other sources.
So I am just gonna tell you about our visiting experience & tips for your visit. After taking lots of pictures of the exterior from different angles & locations, we entered the building through its south entrance in the noon of a weekend. We were shocked to see the long queue just for entering through security check. By the time we were inside the visitor center, to our surprise all our ride tickets were booked for the day. So a person working there, suggested us to come the next day as first thing in the morning.
Next day, though we reached there by 9.00am, we were able to get tickets only for 11.45am ride. This ride to the top starts from both North & South sides. You will be put in a small 5 seated capsule, which will have a tiny door through which you can see the narrowing down of the structure as it proceed to the top.
Once you reach top, there will be a series of 1’ by 4’ windows on either sides, where you can enjoy the great river & city views at 192m high. The view was spectacular! Watching the stadium below was amazing. But peeking into tiny windows was that much exciting as I expected. You can spend as much time as you want on the top and can return back down through either of the trams.
3. Ebsworth house
Well, we visited lots of Frank Lloyd wright’s buildings in and around Wisconsin & Illinois. Now we found one in St. Louis too which was very interesting. Visit here for more pictures and details.
4. Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis:
This cathedral has a breathtaking interiors I would say. Unfortunately we couldn’t take any pictures of its interiors as a prayer session was going on. The intricate decorations, paintings and mosaics on wall, ceiling were truly delightful to eyes. We were totally mesmerized with its beauty together with the positive vibration of the prayer that was going on. You should definitely have a look at this place while you visit.
5. Hannibal Ghost tour:
Hannibal is a small town on NW of St. Louis at 2 hrs driving distance. This Hannibal ghost tour was on our attractions list. Unfortunately, we had to cut it off due to our time constraint in the trip. There were only few reviews but good ones about this tour experience. If you happen to experience about this tour, share them with us. We will try to make it next time we visit this side.
Click here to visit the official website of the Ghost tour.
SPRINGFIELD, IL
On our way back, We visited Springfield, IL . This place has many historic attractions that are mostly about Abraham Lincoln.We visited his house, Lincoln museum & Lincoln memorial. That day of visit was more informative than fun!
Share with us your experiences about these places when you visit!
