2026 Missouri Travel Guide: must-see attractions, popular food, hotels, transport & travel experiences (updated in August)

Location - Saint Louis Science Center (GameXploration) Address - 5050 Oakland Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States Operating Hours - 9.30am to 5.30pm (Close on Tuesday and Wednesday) Getting There - By Uber, Car with parking available or walk from forest Park with Oakland underpass Saint Louis Science Center is a free attraction located next to the St. Louis University high school. this is a popular attraction for school trip among locals. The Center has 3 level in the main building and an seperate exhibition spread over 3 level in the James S. McDonnell Planetarium. GameXploration is located on the first floor and offers a unique gaming experience for visitor. The most iconic piece there is the giant gaming device for Super Mario Brother that requires at least 2 person to play together. The area also have many interactive exhibits from board game, tube tennis to arcade machine. #createwithtrip

Location - St. Louis Science Center (Outdoor Garden) Address - 5050 Oakland Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States Operating Hours - 9.30am to 5.30pm (Close on Tuesday and Wednesday) Getting There - By Uber, Car with parking available or walk from forest Park with Oakland underpass Saint Louis Science Center is a free attraction located next to the St. Louis University high school. this is a popular attraction for school trip among locals. The Center has 3 level in the main building and an seperate exhibition spread over 3 level in the James S. McDonnell Planetarium. On level 1, right opposite the entrance you can find a door leading to the outdoor area of the Science center. The area is known as the GROW exhibit where you can find fruits and vegetables growing there. There is also a greenhouse showing aquaponics plants as well. #createwithtrip

Location - Saint Louis Science Center Address - 5050 Oakland Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States Operating Hours - 9.30am to 5.30pm (Close on Tuesday and Wednesday) Getting There - By Uber, Car with parking available or walk from forest Park with Oakland underpass Saint Louis Science Center is a free attraction located next to the St. Louis University high school. this is a popular attraction for school trip among locals. The Center has 3 level in the main building and an seperate exhibition spread over 3 level in the James S. McDonnell Planetarium. There is also an outdoor farm with outdoor classroom on first floor. You can find dining option at the Science cafe & starlight cup on first floor and The loft at level 2. Apart from exhibitions, there are also a movie theater next to The Loft showing omnimax film with ticket available on site. #createwithtrip

Location - Forest Park Access - Oakland Address - Oakland @ St. Louis Science Center EB, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States Forest Park Access, Oakland is an underpass that go under the interstate 64 and lead you from Forest Park to the Saint Louis Science Center across the interstate highway. Once you cross the underpass, you will see St. Louis Science Center on the right and St. Louis University High school on the right. The underpass is clean and well lit but it is a shared path got both cyclist and Pedestrian so you have to keep a look out for on coming bicycle. This is also a common route for hiker getting to Forest Park from the King Oak region of St. Louis. #createwithtrip

Location - St. Louis Zoo (Centene Grizzly Ridge) Address - 1 Government Dr, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States Operating Hours - 8am to 5pm (Sunday to Tuesday, Thursday), 8am to 4.30pm (Wednesday), 8am to 7pm (Friday and Saturday) Getting There - By Uber/Car with on-site parking available The Saint Louis Zoological Park is a zoo in the beautiful Forest Park of St. Louis. The St. Louis zoo is also free for visiting but you would need to pre-book your visit online. The Saint Louis Zoological Park is a zoo in the beautiful Forest Park of St. Louis. Once you set into the Zoo, the first animal exhibit you will see is the Centene Grizzly Ridge where you could spot the Grizzly bear resting, playing among themselves or hiding from the sun. This enclosure includes both a dry grass patch area as well as a pool and stone Ridge. #createwithtrip

Location - St. Louis Zoo - Flower Spotting Address - 1 Government Dr, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States Operating Hours - 8am to 5pm (Sunday to Tuesday, Thursday), 8am to 4.30pm (Wednesday), 8am to 7pm (Friday and Saturday) Getting There - By Uber/Car with on-site parking available The Saint Louis Zoological Park is a zoo in the beautiful Forest Park of St. Louis. The St. Louis zoo is also free for visiting but you would need to pre-book your visit online. The Saint Louis Zoological Park is a zoo in the beautiful Forest Park of St. Louis. While strolling along the zoo, it is not hard to notice many different type of flowers placed throughout the park. You will different flower in different zone. There are also huge grass patches at the historic hill site where many visitor choose to set themselves down and picnic right there which enjoying the sun and being surrounded by the well maintained greenery. #createwithtrip

Location - St. Louis Zoo (Red Rock Zone) Address - 1 Government Dr, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States Operating Hours - 8am to 5pm (Sunday to Tuesday, Thursday), 8am to 4.30pm (Wednesday), 8am to 7pm (Friday and Saturday) Getting There - By Uber/Car with on-site parking available The Saint Louis Zoological Park is a zoo in the beautiful Forest Park of St. Louis. The St. Louis zoo is also free for visiting but you would need to pre-book your visit online. The Saint Louis Zoological Park is a zoo in the beautiful Forest Park of St. Louis. Red Rock zone is located at the Far right corner of the Zoo. This area is where you can find animals from the Africa zone such as camel, okapi, takin zebra as well as giraffe. All the big cats are also placed together into zone call the big cat country so you can expect to find tigers, jaguars, lion and leopard all within the same area. #createwithtrip

Location - St. Louis Zoo (Treetop Shop) Address - 1 Government Dr, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States Operating Hours - 8am to 5pm (Sunday to Tuesday, Thursday), 8am to 4.30pm (Wednesday), 8am to 7pm (Friday and Saturday) Getting There - By Uber/Car with on-site parking available The Saint Louis Zoological Park is a zoo in the beautiful Forest Park of St. Louis. The St. Louis zoo is also free for visiting but you would need to pre-book your visit online. The Saint Louis Zoological Park is a zoo in the beautiful Forest Park of St. Louis. Treetop shop is no doubt the last spot you will head to when visiting the Zoo. It is located in the living world building and is the mandatory route to exit the zoo. In the Treetop shop, you will find a wide range of mechandise from animal themed soft toys, animals themed shirts, puzzle, toys, magnet and other gifts. You can also find dinosaur related mechandise here since they do have a dinosaur exhibits area within the zoo. #createwithtrip

Location - Soulard Farmers Market, St. Louis Address - 730 Carroll St, St. Louis, MO 63104, United States Operating Hours - 7am to 5pm Getting There - By Uber or Drive Soulard Farmers Market is one of the bigger and more happening farmers market in St. Louis. Despite the official opening hours is till 5pm but if you head there anytime after 11am, most stall would have already close or with very limited things left unsold. I would definitely recommend coming here to get some fresh fruits, vegetable or even grab a bite as the food stall here. The price here is definitely more friendly than the supermarket. #createwithtrip

Location - Kids Friendly activities at Soulard Farmers Market, St. Louis Address - 730 Carroll St, St. Louis, MO 63104, United States Operating Hours - 7am to 5pm Getting There - By Uber or Drive Soulard Farmers Market is one of the bigger and more happening farmers market in St. Louis. Despite the official opening hours is till 5pm but if you head there anytime after 11am, most stall would have already close or with very limited things left unsold. Along the aisle that sell fresh produce, there is an unusual stall that not only have plenty of chicken in a cage, there also have a vending machine by the side that sell chicken feeds that cost a quarter. Despite the being an unusual within the farmer market, this stall is very popular among children. You can see children crowding there, feeing the chicken and taking picture by the side as well There is also a penny machine not far from the chicken stall to get a souvenir penny press home. #createwithtrip

Location - Historic Soulard Farmers Market Building, St. Louis Address - 730 Carroll St, St. Louis, MO 63104, United States Operating Hours - 7am to 5pm Getting There - By Uber or Drive Soulard Farmers Market is one of the bigger and more happening farmers market in St. Louis. Despite the official opening hours is till 5pm but if you head there anytime after 11am, most stall would have already close or with very limited things left unsold. Apart from the fresh produce, fruits, vegetable and craft sold there, something especially unique about this place is the historical structure that house the market. The Market has been around since 1779 and despite so many years has passed, the bricks wall, high ceiling and the layout still feels like we are in a very old tradional market. #createwithtrip

Location - Saint Louis Galleria - Huge Selections of Candy Vending Machine Address - 1155 Galleria, St. Louis, MO 63117, United States Operating Hours - 10am to 7pm (Monday to Saturday), 11am to 6pm (Sunday) Saint Louis Galleria is a go to shopping mall at St. Louis with many brands, department store, restaurants and also a cinema located inside. It is located right next to the exit of interstate 64 and has a huge car parking for shoppers. Some popular store can you find inside includes Nordstorm, Footlocker, build-a-bear Workshop, Macy's etc. At the center of the shopping mall where the lift is located, you can find a massive selection of Candy vending machine. You can get gum ball, skittles, and even M&M there. #createwithtrip

Location - Forest Park - General Franz Sigel Statue Address - St. Louis, MO 63110, United States Getting There - By Uber, Car with many parking options nearby, or walking distance from Central West End Metro after cutting through Washington Medical Campus and hospital Forest Park is a well known park in St. Louis located at Central West End Neighbourhood. There are many apartments and residence along the edge of the park as it serve as a well loved community space for hiking, jogging as well as cycling. Located not far from the Union Boulevard, at the intersection of Grand Drive and Union Drive, you can find General Franz Sigel Statue on a horse. This historic statue is part of the St. Louis's early history during the Civil War era. It is a beautiful Statue which is not difficult to spot and is filled with flowers and grass patches all around. It is also a good photospot with the Forest Park as background. #createwithtrip

Location - St. Louis Science Center, Blue Angel Jet Display - Forest Park Address - 5050 Oakland Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States Getting There - By Uber, Car with many parking options nearby, or walking distance from Central West End Metro after cutting through Washington Medical Campus and hospital Forest Park is a well known park in St. Louis located at Central West End Neighbourhood. There many great photospot, Lake, musuem, zoo and beautiful spot to explore. At the edge of the park nearer to the St. Louis Science Centre, next to the James S. McDonnell Planetarium, you will find many interesting sculpture and displays. One of it is the, St. Louis Science Center Blue Angel Jet Display. According to the information board there, this aircraft is 56 feet long, 40 feet 5 inches wide, and 15 feet 4 inches tall, and clocks a top speed of Mach 1.8. It was manufactured in St. Louis at McDonnell Douglas. The Jet is Display right next to the Dinosaur sculpture. They are located outdoor and you can visit any time to have a great picture taken with them. #createwithtrip

Location - St. Louis Science Center, Looking Up Sculpture Address - 5050 Oakland Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States Getting There - By Uber, Car with many parking options nearby, or walking distance from Central West End Metro after cutting through Washington Medical Campus and hospital Forest Park is a well known park in St. Louis located at Central West End Neighbourhood. There many great photospot, Lake, musuem, zoo and beautiful spot to explore. At the edge of the park nearer to the St. Louis Science Centre, next to the James S. McDonnell Planetarium, you will find many interesting sculpture and displays. One of it is the, St. Louis Science Center looking up Sculpture. This polished aluminium structure is at least 10m tall and is right at the middle of the roundabout in front of James S. McDonnell Planetarium. This Looking Up structure is made of polished stainless steel, and was texturized by a process of molding and lost-wax casting. You still spot his exterior with #createwithtrip

Location - The Gateway Arch St. Louis - Guided Tour Address - Gateway Arch, St. Louis, MO 63102, United States Operating Hours - 9am to 8pm Getting There - By Uber/Car or walking distance from 8th & Pine Metro Station St. Louis Gateway Arch is located at Gateway Arch nation Park right behind The Old Courthouse and in front of the Mississippi River that seperate Missouri from illinois. You can spot clear sign and direction to get there once you exit the metro station. Within the Arch, you can sign up for guided tour which include a video introduction of the Arch, a photo opportunity with the green screen to get a souvenir shoot, as well as a 10minutes free time on the top of the Arch. The most interesting of all is the mini lift that get you up the top of the Arch vertically. You will be guided into a mini cabin with seats and each can accommodate a maximum of 5 persons. You can spot the interior of the Arch which the lift is moving up and the whole journey up take less than 5 minutes. #createwithtrip

Location - Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis (Grand Interior) Address - 4431 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108, United States Operating Hours - 7am to 5pm Getting There - By Uber or Car with parking space available Cathedral Basilica is one of the grand structure and Famous to do when you are ar St. Louis especially the central west end region. It is about 20minutes walk from the World Chess Hall of Fame so you could plan the 2 popular spot in the same day. Once you push open the huge door, you will be welcome with a grand mosaic interior with golden mosaic on the ceiling with many stories to tell. You can also enter into the grand Hall with the beautiful ceiling filled with mosaic overhead as well as the huge round dome with window that let natural sunlight fill the Cathedral. #createwithtrip

Location - Dining option along Mississippi River near The Gateway Arch St. Louis Address - Gateway Arch, St. Louis, MO 63102, United States Operating Hours - 9am to 8pm Getting There - By Uber/Car or walking distance from 8th & Pine Metro Station St. Louis Gateway Arch is located at Gateway Arch nation Park right behind The Old Courthouse and in front of the Mississippi River that seperate Missouri from illinois. You can spot clear sign and direction to get there once you exit the metro station. Alternatively, you will also spot the arch from far and can walk right towards that. Within the Arch, not only will you be able to find a free musuem to find out more on the history of the Gateway arch, there is also a cafe and a Tram Ride to the Top. If you are looking for a meal or bites right outside the arch, you can find a container snacks stall and the paddlewheel cafe right along the Mississippi River. There is also horse riding experience along the river as well. #createwithtrip

Location - The Gateway Arch Museum St. Louis Address - Gateway Arch, St. Louis, MO 63102, United States Operating Hours - 9am to 8pm Getting There - By Uber/Car or walking distance from 8th & Pine Metro Station St. Louis Gateway Arch is located at Gateway Arch nation Park right behind The Old Courthouse and in front of the Mississippi River that seperate Missouri from illinois. You can spot clear sign and direction to get there once you exit the metro station. Alternatively, you will also spot the arch from far and can walk right towards that. Within the arch, you will find in musuem to introduce the history of the area, the story of the arch and also interactive zone for you to experience being in that era. There are also lifesize replica of carriage and house on display to tell a story of different era and how that time has changed and evolved. #createwithtrip

Location - Top of The Gateway Arch St. Louis Address - Gateway Arch, St. Louis, MO 63102, United States Operating Hours - 9am to 8pm Getting There - By Uber/Car or walking distance from 8th & Pine Metro Station St. Louis Gateway Arch is located at Gateway Arch nation Park right behind The Old Courthouse and in front of the Mississippi River that seperate Missouri from illinois. You can spot clear sign and direction to get there once you exit the metro station. Alternatively, you will also spot the arch from far and can walk right towards that. Within the Arch, not only will you be able to find a free musuem to find out more on the history of the Gateway arch, there is also a cafe and a Tram Ride to the Top. The Tram ride not only bring you to the top, you also get to spend 10minutes at there to admire the unobstructed view of the surrounding. You will see Illinois across the Mississippi River, the Central business district with skyscraper next door and the entire Gateway arch national Park. However, do note that you are highly recommended to get your ticket before hand to avoid disappointment since they would typically be sold out a few days before. #createwithtrip

Location - McDonald’s in Brentwood Address - 1595 S Hanley Rd, Brentwood, MO 63144, United States Opening Hours - 24hours Getting There - By Uber/car or 10minutes walk from Metro Station A typical McDonald’s is the United states would be one located next to the road with a drive through counter as well as a big parking space for diner who wish to dine in. The layout of each outlet and menu are similar to other countries such as those I commonly see in Singapore. One thing that is different from Singapore apart from price is the happy meal selection, not only would you get a fries or corn selection, each meal also come with a serving of apple as well as milk, their protein also come with a choice of 4 or 6 chicken nuggets. #createwithtrip

Location - St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station (Protect the ocean Exhibition) Address - 201 S 18th St, St. Louis, MO 63103, United States Operating Hours - 9am to 5pm (Sunday to Thursday), 9am to 8pm (Friday and Saturday) Getting There - By Uber/Car or walking distance from Union Station Metro St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station is an must go attractions and a great place to bring children. It is right next to the famous Ropes Course, the mini golf, carousels and the St. Louis ferris wheel. There is also a free exhibition relating to protecting environmental right next to the entrance of the indoor area. Within this free exhibition, there is colouring, craft and interactive game for children to learn about saving the environment. There are also some mini Aquarium with magnifying glass for children to observe some small sea creatures. The most eye catching piece in there is the whole wave like structure made from plastic bottle in blue which not only make it an iconic centre piece in there but also a good photospot. #createwithtrip

Location - Central West End - Flowerlovers Address - Central West End, St. Louis. Missouri Central West End is not only a neighbourhood filled with restaurant, cafe and dessert shop, if you walk around the area, you can find plenty of beautiful flowers all over the neighbourhood. From the flower at the water fountain at Maryland plaza to apartment walkway along the road. It is definitely pleasing to the eye to explore the area and also take great photo of flowers if you are a flower lover. You can also expect these flower to be well maintained and replaced whenever the season change. #createwithtrip

Location - The Magic House, St. Louis Children’s Museum (Molly of Denali Exhibition) Address - 516 S Kirkwood Rd, St. Louis, MO 63122 Ambiance/Facilities - A place with plenties to do for children Avg. Price per Person - $12 The Magic House is definitely a go to place when you have children with you. There have lots of zone that spread over 3 different levels. There is also currently a sand playzone that was just opened with sand castle as well as a giant sand sculpture there. Within the musuem, you will find pretend play zone, a learning garden and a huge STEM learning place. When we were there, there is currently a Molly of Denali Exhibition, showing the life of an alaskan adventures. There is a huge plane where you head in to simulate flying, a alaskan market where you can get your gear, a boat, and even a camp site with sleeping bag in it for you to experience going on adventure. On top of that, there is also craft station at the entrance where you can make a bead necklace. #createwithtrip

Location - The Magic House, St. Louis Children’s Museum (STEM Learning Lab) Address - 516 S Kirkwood Rd, St. Louis, MO 63122 Ambiance/Facilities - A place with plenties to do for children Avg. Price per Person - $12 The Magic House is definitely a go to place when you have children with you. There have lots of zone that spread over 3 different levels. There is also currently a sand playzone that was just opened with sand castle as well as a giant sand sculpture there. Within the musuem, you will find pretend play zone, a learning garden and a huge STEM learning place. The STEM learning is located at Basement and it is highly recommended and a must visit if you are there. Not only that your little one get to put on a lab coat to go to different station for some hands on experiment, there is also a art classroom with literally any art supplies you can imagine. You can paint, do craft or draw. Beyond that, there is also an interactive room where you can colour your car to scan it into a live projection. That's not all, you can print you car into a 3D model and build it. #createwithtrip

Location - The Magic House, St. Louis Children’s Museum (Learning Garden) Address - 516 S Kirkwood Rd, St. Louis, MO 63122 Ambiance/Facilities - A place with plenties to do for children Avg. Price per Person - $12 The Magic House is definitely a go to place when you have children with you. There have lots of zone that spread over 3 different levels. There is also currently a sand playzone that was just opened with sand castle as well as a giant sand sculpture there. Within the musuem, you will find pretend play zone, a learning garden and a huge STEM learning place. The Learning Garden is highly recommended for children to get hand dirty to explore some vegetables and plants. You can also bring back you own seed to grow your very own plant. Next to the Learning Garden, there is a children wooden hut with kitchen and dining table in it for pretend play. There is also toy Garden with toy fresh produce for your children to play harvest and cook them. #createwithtrip

Location - Maryland Plaza (Central West End) Address - St. Louis, MO 63108, USA Maryland Plaza is a shopping stretch located at Central West End of St. Louis. You will find a stretch of beautiful houses ideal for a phototaking background opposite the stretch of shophouses. The most iconic fixture here has to be the Ted Koplar community fountain and the wel maintained flowers that are around it. Along the stretch you can also find the Italian restaurant, Mexican food, suit shop and lululemon. If you walk around the corner, you can also find one of the best dessert shop, the cup selling a variety of cupcake and sweet treats. #createwithtrip

Location: Edera Italian Eatery Address: 48 Maryland Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63108, United States Opening Hours: 5pm to 9/10pm Edera Italian Eatery is located at Central West End area of St. Louis right next to Chase Park Plaza. They offered both indoor and outdoor dining. The outdoor dining area is equiped with beautiful light, an open bar counter as well as multiple large flat screen TV broadcasting live sports of the day. There also transparent tentage if you prefer some private dining experience while dining outdoor. Apart from the amazing atmosphere, wine lover would be delighted to know that there have a 4 pages wine list apart from cocktail and beer. If you are looking for a romantic date with outdoor dining, this would be highly recommended. #createwithtrip