Overview
St. Louis County is an area in the St. Louis Area of Missouri. Its current boundaries were set in 1877, when St. Louis City split off to become an independent city separate from any county. It is the most populated part of the St. Louis area, though it has fewer sites of interest than the City. It mostly consists of suburban residential areas.
7 sights · 17 things to do · 32 places to eat · 15 places to stay
Updated from Wikivoyage on 1 October 2026 · Something wrong or missing? Improve it on Wikivoyage
Best things about St. Louis County
Delmar Loop
The vibrant Delmar Loop district is shared between St. Louis city and the inner suburb of University City. This culturally, ethnically, and economically diverse neighborhood is a popular area for college students and pos…
Laumeier Sculpture Park
Accredited by the American Association of Museums, Laumeier Sculpture Park is one of a handful of open-air museums around the world and a unique compliment to the cultural landscape of St. Louis. Free to all and well wor…
Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site
This is the one time home of President and General Ulysses S. Grant's father-in-law, Frederick Dent. The estate was known as "White Haven" consisting of over several hundred acres, but as the Dents came under hard times,…
Grant's Farm
Anheuser-Busch Companies runs and administers this attraction. Part historical site, part zoo and part fun, this location takes you to the ancestral home of the Busch family. Here you will see animals from common goats t…
The Magic House
A children's museum known for its exhibits such as Wonderworks.
Six Flags St. Louis
An amusement park with 40 rides, including 9 roller coasters and a water park.
Plan your trip
Best time to visit & weather
Most comfortable: Apr–Oct. Summer highs reach about 90°F; winter lows dip to about 24°F. Very hot (Jul) — plan outdoor time for mornings. Cold months (Jan) can bring snow and ice; check road conditions. Wettest: May and Apr. (climate data from nearby St. Louis)
Blue bars: average daily high and low (°F). Purple columns: average monthly rain and melted snow (inches).
Getting there
- From you: to see whether to drive or fly, and how long it takes.
- STL St. Louis Lambert International Airport, St Louis — 8 mi away (major hub). Directions
- BLV Scott AFB/Midamerica Airport, Belleville — 33 mi away. Directions
Budget & where to stay
- Places to stay listed here: about $30–$60 a night (typical $60), from 3 listed prices.
- Estimated daily budget per person (room, two meals, local transport and an activity): budget ~$70, mid-range ~$140, comfortable ~$230.
Options are grouped as Budget, Mid-range, Splurge in the Sleep guide ↓.
Sample 3-day itinerary
Day 1
- Morning Museum of Transportation, Greentree Festival, Downtown Kirkwood
- Lunch Gus’s World Famous Hot & Spicy Fried Chicken
- Afternoon Laumeier Sculpture Park, Sky Zone Fenton
- Dinner Balkan Treat Box
Day 2
- Morning Sky Zone St. Louis, Rockwoods Reservation, Hidden Valley Ski Resort
- Lunch BARcelona
- Afternoon Greensfelder County Park, Rockwoods Range Conservation Area
- Dinner City Coffeehouse and Crèperie
Day 3
- Morning Delmar Loop, Westport Plaza
- Lunch Benito's Gelato
- Afternoon Ryze Adventure Park, The Magic House
- Dinner Pomme
Stops are grouped by area so each day needs little backtracking. Check opening hours before you go.
Food for you
The Loop features excellent dining, and has everything from sidewalk cafes to upscale restaurants. This is a great street to walk and find something that appeals to your palate. Many ethnic restaurants, including Lebanese and Thai, are on the Loop.
Cuisine (tap to filter)
What to ask about, for your diet
Diet labels come from each listing's description and cuisine; “likely” means the cuisine usually has good choices, not a promise. Check with the restaurant. Open the food finder
Map
Every listing with a location. Tap a pin for its Google Maps link.
Get in
By plane
- Lambert St. Louis International Airport (STL) is the largest airport serving St. Louis, with annual passenger traffic of approximately 13 million people. The airport is 14 miles northwest of the city center and is directly served by the MetroLink light rail line. A 2-hour MetroLink transfer ticket costs $4 from the airport. Uber vehicles are not allowed to pick up at the airport, although they may drop off passengers.
Go Creve Coeur Airport (1HO)
Serves charter and cargo flights only. It has a large collection of flying antique aircraft as well as the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum.
Get around
For the most part, public transportation in St. Louis County is not a viable option. Bus routes are slow, sparse, and infrequent. So unless you are willing to do a lot of waiting and walking, you need a car.
However, a few central locations are located near light rail (MetroLink) stops, particularly the Delmar Loop, downtown Clayton, and the Galleria shopping mall. MetroLink is a fast, comfortable, and relatively frequent way of getting around.
Neighborhoods and regions
Place Clayton
The county seat of St. Louis County, Clayton has an important downtown business district that is also home to several hotels, many coffeehouses, and upscale dining. It is one of the older suburbs of St. Louis, and has many large early 20th-century homes wonderfully preserved by old-monied families, while the area's nouveau riche help keep the area trendy. It has a great school system and is home to the main campus of Washington University. Clayton begins where Forest Park ends on the west.
- Delmar Loop/University City - Located just north of Clayton and beginning at the northwest edge of Forest Park/Washington University is this culturally, ethnically, and economically diverse neighborhood of St. Louis. One of the more liberal areas of the region, it is a popular area for college students and post-graduates to live and interact. "The Loop" (a.k.a. Delmar Blvd) itself is one main street of storefronts, restaurants, hotels, music venues, and bookstores.
- West County - Includes most areas west of Clayton, especially upper-class neighborhoods like Frontenac, Ladue, Huntleigh, Town and Country, and Creve Coeur. The area has one of the highest concentrations of wealth in the Midwest, and home to two of the most upscale shopping areas in St. Louis Region - Plaza Frontenac and the St. Louis Galleria.
- North County - Home to Lambert International Airport, the site of historical flights by Charles Lindbergh, and Boeing. This area contains many small subdivisions of post-World War II ranch-style homes, housing ethnically diverse populations. Towns include Ferguson (which experienced rioting in 2014), Florissant (founded in the late 1700s), and Hazelwood.
- South County - A residential area, which is mostly white but less wealthy than West County. Towns like Affton, Bayless, Brentwood, Webster Groves, Maplewood, Richmond Heights, Crestwood provide a nice small-town atmosphere great for families. It is home to the appropriately named South County Mall.
See
See Delmar Loop
The vibrant Delmar Loop district is shared between St. Louis city and the inner suburb of University City. This culturally, ethnically, and economically diverse neighborhood is a popular area for college students and post-graduates to live and interact. The Loop is one main street of storefronts, restaurants, music venues, bookstores, and a great independent movie theatre.
See Museum of Transportation
Planes, trains, and automobiles! Take a step back into history and explore this unique collection of cars, locomotives, trolleys and airplanes. Train and trolley rides, guided tours, car shows and even boats are on offer here. Good fun for adults and kids alike. Rail and transit collections encompass more than 190 major exhibits, ranging from an 1833 Boston & Providence Railroad passenger coach and the largest successful steam locomotive ever built to a 6,600-hp, two-engine Union Pacific diesel #6944 (“Centennial”) built in 1971.
See Downtown Kirkwood
Kirkwood's newly developed downtown area contains many local shops and restaurants. Also located downtown are Kirkwood City Hall and Kirkwood's historic Amtrak station.
See Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site
This is the one time home of President and General Ulysses S. Grant's father-in-law, Frederick Dent. The estate was known as "White Haven" consisting of over several hundred acres, but as the Dents came under hard times, the land was sold off. Eventually, the estate passed into the hands of the President. The property now consists of about 10 acres and preserves the history of the President and the area. Another property known as "Grant's Farm," is actually part of the "White Haven" estate, although Grant's home, known as "Heartscrable" has been relocated to the property. Administered by the National Park Service.
*
See Grant's Farm
Anheuser-Busch Companies runs and administers this attraction. Part historical site, part zoo and part fun, this location takes you to the ancestral home of the Busch family. Here you will see animals from common goats to camels and tortoises. The home that Ulysses S. Grant built after resigning his commission in the 1850s has been relocated to the property.
Do
- ,
- - located in Fenton
Do Swing-A-Round Fenton
- - located in Chesterfield
Do Greentree Festival
Held every year in September in Kirkwood city park. At this festival are live band, arts and crafts, shops selling hand-crafted items, and many games and fun for kids. A staple of the festival is the addition of Folk Life which features folk crafts, foods, and displays showing what life was like nearly 250 years ago.
Parks and nature
Do Lone Elk County Park
Do Rockwoods Range Conservation Area
Hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, and wildlife watching trails.
Do Cliff Cave County Park
A large park with an expansive network of trails and a 5 mile bike path. Enjoy a cool breeze from the cave on the hottest summer days, and a great view from the top of the bluffs.
Buy
Shopping malls
Shop Plaza Frontenac
Exclusive shopping in an upscale mall. Featuring stores such as Louis Vuitton, Neiman Marcus, Sak's Fifth Avenue, J. Crew, Banana Republic, Tiffany & Co, Talbot's, and Williams and Sonoma. A small, six-screen independent movie theatre shows the latest non-blockbuster releases.
Stores
Eat
Clayton
Eat BARcelona
One of the best places in St. Louis for tapas, this place is great for large parties and hanging out with friends. One of the louder places in the city, expect a long wait - but it's worth it.
Eat City Coffeehouse and Crèperie
Always busy and crowded for a reason. Best crèpes in the city - and about two dozen of them. A Clayton landmark.
Eat Benito's Gelato
A friendly staff and a colorful and chilled-out atmosphere only make the handmade gelato taste better. Try the blood orange and dark chocolate combination: yum.
Eat Pomme
A very small, very intimate French restaurant. On the pricy side, this is a great place to have a romantic, elegant, amazingly delicious dinner in Clayton.
Eat Kaldi's Coffee
St. Louis's finest coffee roaster. Delicious vegetarian food, traditional espresso drinks, hand-brewed drip coffee, and a relaxed atmosphere.
Eureka
University City
The Loop features excellent dining, and has everything from sidewalk cafes to upscale restaurants. This is a great street to walk and find something that appeals to your palate. Many ethnic restaurants, including Lebanese and Thai, are on the Loop.
Eat Salt + Smoke
Sit down barbeque with patio seating, excellent for people watching on the loop. They have an emphasis on whisky and a wide array of cocktails.
Eat Seoul Taco
Korean-Mexican fusion restaurant that started as a food truck.
Eat Blueberry Hill
A true landmark restaurant and bar, open till 3AM. Chuck Berry frequently on the calendar to play. Absolutely filled with pop-culture memorabilia spanning decades, including lunchboxes, concert posters, toys, sports trading cards, and other Americana. This place is definitely not one to miss.
Eat Fitz's Rootbeer
American bar and grill, Family friendly, watch the bottle factory go to work as you dine.
Eat The Melting Pot
Fondue. Reservations are essentially required here.
Eat Mission Taco Joint
Hip gourmet street-taco specialist with a San Francisco theme & menu of creative cocktails.
Eat Pi
The crowds don't lie - this is terrific pizza.
Eat Gokul Indian Restaurant
Kosher sit-down restaurant serving Indian/vegetarian/vegan fare.
Other
Eat Bellaluna Ristorante
Fine Italian cuisine.
Eat Gus’s World Famous Hot & Spicy Fried Chicken (Gus's fried Chicken)
Fried chicken.
Eat Imo's Pizza
Multiple locations. St. Louis style thin crust pizza. Locals favorite.
Eat Kobe Steak House of Japan
Japanese steak house.
Eat Kohn's Kosher Meat and Deli
Full-service kosher delicatessen, bakery and butcher doubling as a small grocery store.
Eat Pointer's Delivery
The Pointersaurus, the world's largest regularly delivered pizza, measures in at 28" in diameter. Pointer's has been featured on the Food Network and the Travel Channel.
Eat Robust Winebar
Excellent wine bar with good food and tapas in Webster Groves.
Eat Woofie's
A St. Louis landmark featuring Chicago-style hotdogs.
Eat Balkan Treat Box
Specializing in Balkan staples such as pide, lahmacun, döner & ćevapi.
Drink
Sleep
Hotels tend to be clustered near the Clayton business district, or near the airport.
For each of these entries, the municipality in which the hotel is found (example: Clayton) is written after the address.
Budget
Mid-range
Splurge
Stay Sheraton Clayton Plaza
Located in downtown Clayton, near business headquarters, restaurants, art galleries, specialty boutiques and shopping. Alexander’s Restaurant serves American cuisine throughout the day.
Stay safe
The southern and western parts of St. Louis County are mostly well-off suburbs which are as safe as anywhere around. However, some of the northern suburbs, particularly those adjacent to north St. Louis City, have high poverty and crime rates. In University City, the area north of Olive Boulevard is best avoided, particularly at night. Further north, the suburbs of Wellston and Pagedale are very dangerous and should never be visited on foot. However, there is little reason for visitors to go to any of these areas.
Ferguson
In 2014, the suburb of Ferguson was subject to sporadic but considerably dangerous rioting, protesting, and other violence over the Michael Brown death. However, by 2016 things were quiet again.
Kirkwood
Although most of Kirkwood is quite safe, the Meacham Park neighborhood (the area between I-44, Kirkwood Road and Big Bend Road) should be avoided after dark. Meacham Park has had a number of shootings. This small neighborhood is one of the few dangerous areas in the south or west of the county.
Nearby
Ferguson
City / town · 4 listings · 10 mi away
St. Louis
City / town · 121 listings · 11 mi away
St. Charles
City / town · 21 listings · 11 mi away
Cahokia
City / town · 4 listings · 14 mi away
Granite City
City / town · 4 listings · 16 mi away
East St. Louis
City / town · 8 listings · 17 mi away
Fairmont City
City / town · 4 listings · 19 mi away
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
Park · 25 listings · 21 mi away
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