St. Louis Metro East, Illinois travel guide: things to do, food & where to stay

Overview

St. Louis Metro East is a region of southwestern Illinois that includes the Illinois part of the St. Louis metropolitan area, plus surrounding counties. It consists of the counties of Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Fayette, Jersey, Madison, Marion, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair, and Washington. The most populous city is Belleville, which borders East St. Louis, once the most populous.

1 sights · 2 things to do · 1 places to stay

Updated from Wikivoyage on 1 October 2026 · Something wrong or missing? Improve it on Wikivoyage

Best things about St. Louis Metro East

Lewis and Clark State Historic Site

Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1803-04 gathering men and supplies and planning their trip west. At 3PM on May 14, 1804 they set out from this spot to explore the west. The museum includes a 55 ft long full-size repl…

Gateway Motorsports Park

Hosts NASCAR, Busch Series, and Craftsmen Truck Series races.

Raging Rivers

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.
BLV Scott AFB/Midamerica Airport, Belleville — 14 mi away. Directions
STL St. Louis Lambert International Airport, St Louis — 30 mi away (major hub). Directions

Full “Get in” guide ↓

Budget & where to stay

No prices are listed for this place yet. See the Sleep guide ↓ for options.

Sample 3-day trip

Day 1: Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site — Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Mastodon State Historic Site, Lewis and Clark State Historic Site.
Day 2: Alton — Alton Museum of History and Art, Lewis & Clark Trail Site and Museum, Lincoln Douglas debate site.
Day 3: Collinsville — Fairmount Park Racetrack, Gateway International Raceway, Catsup Bottle Water Tower.

Built from the best-covered destinations in this region; open each for its own day plan.

Photos

Places in St. Louis Metro East

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

Park · 25 listings

Alton

City / town · 20 listings

Collinsville

City / town · 13 listings

East St. Louis

City / town · 8 listings

Edwardsville

City / town · 8 listings

Belleville

City / town · 4 listings

Cahokia

City / town · 4 listings

Fairmont City

City / town · 4 listings

Granite City

City / town · 4 listings

O'Fallon

City / town · 3 listings

St. Elmo

City / town · 2 listings

Lebanon

City / town

Map

Every listing with a location. Tap a pin for its Google Maps link.

Cities

Alton - historic homes, 50 antique shops, 9 golf courses, bed and breakfasts, meeting of the Great Rivers National Scenic Byway, and Argosy Alton Casino among other things.
Belleville
Cahokia
Collinsville
East St. Louis - Historically the biggest city in the southern third of Illinois, East St. Louis has experienced grave population loss since the middle of the 20th century and while vast is now less populated than many of the area's smaller cities.
Edwardsville
Fairmont City
Granite City
Lebanon
O'Fallon - North of Belleville and was home to the U.S. Air Force's blimp squadron
St. Elmo

Other destinations

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Collinsville was the center of the largest prehistoric Native American city in the U.S. and one of only 20 UNESCO World Heritage sites in the nation.

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 (23 km) 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.
St. Louis Downtown Airport (CPS) is 3 miles (5 km) east of the city center and serves charter and cargo flights.
MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV) is 21 miles (34 km) east and only serves Allegiant flights.

Get around

By car

The easiest way to get around, since this is a quiet suburban area.

By MetroLink

The St Louis area's light rail system, it runs deep into Illinois. Many of the Illinois stations have free parking.

By bus

The Metro East is divided into Madison County (north) and St. Clair County (South).

St Clair County buses are operated by Metro St. Louis which is the main transit provider for the St Louis metro region. These buses tend to begin/end at MetroLink stops, providing local service.
Madison County buses are separately operated by Madison County Transit.

By ferry

Due to how remote Calhoun County is, ferries are used to connect it to both Illinois and Missouri. The Illinois Department of Transportation maintains two ferry services across the Illinois River for Brussels and Kampsville (normal bridge access is available at Hardin). These ferry services are free. Other private services also exist for various costs.