Saint Louis Weekend Getaway: Gateway Arch, Brewery Tour, and Culinary Adventures
My latest trip was to Saint Louis, Missouri! I wanted to take a quick trip to a state I never visited before for my birthday so I went to the Southwest airlines app and found a roundtrip ticket for around $200!
I splurged a little on the hotel and stayed at HOTEL SAINT LOUIS, AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION. Since I am a gold member, I requested an upgrade letting the front desk attendant know it was my birthday and he upgraded me to a King Balcony Suite! The hotel was nice but the area wasn’t the best. I think Covid closed down many of the businesses in the area but I still felt safe walking around town.
My son and I headed to BLT’s for brunch and it was so delicious! You walk in and grab a menu and then head to the counter when you are ready to order.
We shared a mimosa carafe, pancakes with a side of bacon, the BLT taco and a burrito!
We then walked over to the Gateway Arch park! What a view and the park was so pretty and well maintained. It was a little warm since it was June but there was a nice breeze and the walk to the entrance of the Arch wasn’t too far although we did have a hard time finding it since we walked from the side of the park versus from the street directly in front.
We bought the see everything combo ticket for $45 which includes the Tram ride to the top of the Arch, the documentary and the Riverfront cruise. The museum is free to enter and had a gift shop, plenty of benches to rest and even a place to grab a bite to eat. In between activities, we tried the toasted ravioli which is a Saint Louis staple. It was ok. I’m sure it may have been better from an actual restaurant.
I suggest arriving at least 30-45min before your first activity to get through security and to walk through the museum. The Tram ride to the top was neat and people are placed in groups of 5 to ride in roundish containers that take you 630 feet up to the top! Pretty neat experience. They only allow you about 10 mins to take pictures from both sides through small windows but the view is great!
The Riverfront boat was neat but not the best. I’ve done boat cruises before in New York and Florida so I was expecting a much better view. The cruise takes you along the Mississippi river so the water is brown and you get to see lots of old buildings. Still not a bad deal considering the price of the combo ticket.
The highlight of our trip was the 2 hour Brewmaster Tour for $40. You have to wear closed toe shoes as they take your throughout the entire campus and in live production areas. It’s a good amount of walking around 2 miles in all. You start out with a sample tasting and are given a new Anheuser-Bush hat to wear through out the tour-yours to keep. Towards the end of the tour, you get to fill a new beer glass with beer directly from one of the brew tanks! At the end of the tour, you can pick from a variety of bottled and canned beers to drink on the spot or take with you! I was so happy they had Amber Bock as this beer is not found where I currently live. They even had a Budweiser Light can which I have not had the pleasure of trying.
We also took a ride on the St. Louis Wheel at Union Station. Tickets were $17 for adults and no wait to get on at the time we went. The view was great and I really enjoyed all that the Union Station had to offer. We grab a draft beer afterwards and walked around a bit.
Eventually we made our way to Maggie O’Brien’s pub for a bite to eat and a few drinks. We shared the Shepard’s pie and tried some more local brew.
We also visited the casino at the Horseshoe and did a 90 min trolley ride. The ticket said 75 mins but it actually lasted 90 mins so be aware in case you are on a tight schedule. Overall, this was a great trip with great food! No matter where we stopped to eat, the food was great and it was relatively cheap to Uber around town.