Going to St Louis

[Autism Mom]

I am going to St Louis this week with my husband and three small children. I know they have a lot of free things to do, but looking for some suggestions. Also, on restaurants. I don't want to spent a fortune on eating out all week!

thanks

 

[Alesia]

Grant's farm is is great for small children. And the zoo is nice, too. The magic house isn't free, but it's fantastic for younger kids and well worth the price.

The City Museum is my favorite place in St. Louis for school age kids, but I don't recommend it for younger kids.

 

[Monykalyn]

places to start. Not all free but good suggestions. Especially Ted Drewes (don't let then long lines deter you- moves quickly!)
http://explorestlouis.com/mobile/#/see-and-do

 

[Narnia_girl]

Free zoo, science center, history museum, art museum. The MUNY offers free tickets if you stand in line. The base of the Arch is free, it costs to ride to the top.

I agree with Alesia, the Magic House and City Museum are not free but pretty amazing!

For food, my friends swears by the Food Network app--he uses it to find the places profiled on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Often not the fanciest places, but great food.

 

[ICF]

If you like BBQ, I highly recommend Pappy's.

 

[Autism Mom]

Thanks everyone, this should keep us pretty busy!

 

[LeahZ]

City Garden downtown is free and neat for kids. It's basically a sculpture and art garden and kids can climb all over everything. There's not much left at Union Station anymore, but you can feed the fish outside. Put a quarter in a machine and get a handful of food. My kids love doing that. I second the idea of checking out places from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. My brother and his family live there and are always finding unique places to eat at. And as already mentioned, the Magic House is awesome! We can easily spend a full day there. Check out Groupon, you may find a ticket deal, but even if you don't, it's worth it. We've actually signed up for a year membership before, because they have a reciprocal agreement with other children's museums around the country and we found that we could save money that way. The Science Museum is another neat place. Have fun, St Louis is great!!

 

[dmank]

If you go to the magic house, both powder valley nature center and luameier sculpturepark are both in a one mile radius. Both are free and both have very easy short walking trails. Powder valley has an excellent indoor kids area as well and you are almost guaranteed to see deer roaming there. Laumeier is an outdoor sculpture park. I go there a lot with my kids to let them roam and be loud and play as opposed to the art museum which is inside.

City Garden (free) was mentioned and should not be missed. Bring swim suits. There are lifeguards on duty for the wading pools. So fun.

The zoo of course and botanical gardens while not free does have a super children's garden. I think entry is free wed evenings for summer concerts but be sure to check.

I must warn you the whole river front area by the arch is under major construction. The arch is open to go up but the old free museum underneath is completely torn out. You can go to the base of the arch and look up and the steps leading to the river are fun to play on. I think the river may still be flooded. Not sure.

Enjoy your time.

 

[Juliet25]

What area are you staying in?

 

[Becki Quoss]

We love the zoo. Also try searching "kids eat free". I spent a week in Little Rock with my sister and we paid a total of $5.00 all week for our kiddos to eat. It really saved some money.

 

[LoveMyMoos]

You have to try Imo's pizza!

 

[Autism Mom]

We are staying in St Louis, close to downtown and also staying in Hazelwood for a few days too.

And once again, thanks for all the great suggestions. I have not had much time to research!

 

[a1970model]

STL is great! Here are a couple more links:

http://www.familyattractionscard.co...-Do-in-St-Louis/c37s/5522d9220cf215f35a4422be

http://www.familyvacationcritic.com/st-louis-family-vacation/dat/

For kids, Grant's Farm, the St. Louis Zoo, the Science Center, and the Magic House can't be beat. If your kids are a little older, don't miss the City Museum. It is a truly unique creation. We're heading to the zoo ourselves this week to see our new polar bear! Also, my coworker's son loves the Museum of Transportation... you might want to check it out.

As far as restaurants, we have just about anything you'd like. Imo's Pizza (they're everwhere) and Ted Drewes (ice cream) are our local flavors that should be experienced.

I hope you have a great vacation!

 

[tvguy]

Do not miss the Magic House. And P'sghetti's pasta house is only about 5 miles away. Great kids restaurant.

 

[Narnia_girl]

Eat some St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake!

 

[ajwolfe]

I would recommend Fitz's for a meal - my kids love watching them bottle the root beer there.
O'Charley's used to offer a kids eat free promotion and there are several of those in the area - so you might check on that.

Groupon had a deal on it for the Museum of Transportation the other day - if you have kiddos that enjoy trains/cars.

Otherwise, you have some great suggestions here!! My kids love the St Louis area.

 

[Sunnywho]

There's a free mound to climb on the west side of the city (there are stairs) that is a nuclear waste dump, with a small museum that explains all the steps they take to contain the nuclear waste. We had a great stop there, some learning, some exercise, some sunshine. There is also the Lewis and Clark Historic site, again in a beautiful setting, on the northeast side of the city.