I spent my undergrad years in a small town in Southern Illinois surrounded by corn fields and a wonderful artsy, musicy community. St. Louis was a 45 minute drive west through rural prairies and across the muddy Mississippi and we went there all the time. I love St. Louis and I consider it my adopted hometown. To me it is the perfect small, big city.
My perfect day in the city would start with brunch at Rooster. The menu is full of amazing things from local farms, bakeries, and coffee roasters. It’s such a charming place to eat!
photo by Dave Bailey
left photo by Dave Bailey & right photo by Courtney Hunt
I pretty much always get the french toast with berries and crème fraîche. It’s delicious and so much food, perfect for splitting. You can see the french toast in the photo on the right.
St. Louis has some beautiful buildings and we always took friends from out of town to see the Cathedral Basilica which is one of the largest mosaics in the world. The interior is covered in intricate designs and depictions of stories from history and the Bible.
photo by Harry Llewelyn
photo by Joel Goodman
Next up The Loop. It’s a funny part of town, kind of a mashup area with record shops, bubble tea, fancy clothing shops, lots of university students and locals and on the weekends, tourists. It’s a fun place to walk around for an hour or two.
My favorite record shop in The Loop has to be Vintage Vinyl. So many records!
photo by Harry Llewelyn
There’s also Fitz’s known for it’s root beer; it’s very Americana.
photo by Harry Llewelyn
When you’re tired of the book shops, vintage shores, Thai restaurants, and other Loop hangouts, you can head over to the St. Louis Art Museum. Admission is free and the galleries are small enough that you can see most of the collections in an afternoon but not so small that you get bored.
museum interior, click photo for credit
One of my favorite pieces, I don’t mind if it sounds cliche, is one of Monet’s Water Lilies. It’s breathtaking and displayed so well and you can get close enough to see the brush strokes.
photo by Joel Goodman
Next I’d wonder down to the Central West End for a little bookshops hoping. My favorite is Left Bank Books they have a nice selection of new and used books and lots of hard to find art and fashion magazines like Frankie. Oh and they have a super fluffy and friendly shop cat, named Spike!
Left Bank Books, click photo for credit
Didn’t forget The Arch! The Arch is the icon of St. Louis and it always makes me smile when I see it. We’ve probably taken more than our fair share of photos with/at the Arch…
Joel and me at the Arch, photo by Harry Llewelyn
The view from the riverboats…
The Arch from the River, photo by Joel Goodman
The park attached to the Arch is so pretty, especially in the fall!
left photo by & right photo by Joel Goodman
My perfect day in St. Louis would finish up with an evening at John D. McGurk’s with friends. It’s a wonderful Irish pub that takes up three row houses full of dark wood tables and floors, brick fireplaces, cozy booths, three bars, live Irish music and the absolute BEST fish and chips in the world.
click photo for credit
That’s just a little snippet of my perfect day in my adopted hometown; there are tons of other great things to see and do and be a part of in St. Louis! I hope you enjoyed the tour!
Tags: my hometown, st. louis mo, travel
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