Saint Louis Neighborhood Guide: Every Area You Need to Know

TLDR

Saint Louis has more than 70 named neighborhoods, but only about a dozen matter to a visitor. Downtown has the Arch and Busch Stadium. Central West End has the best walking and restaurants. Forest Park contains free world class museums. The Hill is Italian. Soulard is the historic French Quarter with the farmers market and Mardi Gras. This guide covers the ones worth knowing about, what each is actually like, and what to do there.

Downtown

Downtown Saint Louis is compact, walkable, and contains the majority of the city’s signature sights. The Gateway Arch, the Old Courthouse where the Dred Scott case was argued, Busch Stadium and Cardinals baseball, Ballpark Village for before and after games, the America’s Center convention complex, the City Museum, and the main Union Station entertainment district are all here. Downtown is where most business hotels, including Hotel Majestic St. Louis, are based.

Expect weekday office activity and big crowds around Cardinals games, Blues playoffs at Enterprise Center, concerts at Chaifetz Arena, and major conventions. Evenings outside of events are quiet. Walk during the day, use rideshare after dark for longer moves. The Arch grounds and riverfront are a free outdoor attraction, worth a sunset visit even if you have already ridden the tram.

Central West End

Central West End, often shortened to CWE, sits west of downtown along Euclid Avenue. This is the most walkable restaurant and bar district in the city with tree lined streets, sidewalk patios, and restored turn of the century apartment buildings. Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis at the north end has some of the largest mosaic installations in the Western Hemisphere, over 40 million pieces, and is free to enter.

Forest Park is a 10 minute walk south. Euclid between Maryland and McPherson is the main restaurant stretch. Hotels here include the Chase Park Plaza and the Angad Arts Hotel. CWE is safe to walk at night, busy until midnight on weekends, and has the densest concentration of good food in the city outside The Hill.

Forest Park and the Museum District

Forest Park is 1,300 acres, larger than Central Park, and free to enter. Five of the city’s major attractions sit inside it. Saint Louis Art Museum has free general admission and a world class collection. Saint Louis Zoo has free admission and is routinely ranked among the best in the country. Saint Louis Science Center is free. Missouri History Museum is free. The Muny outdoor amphitheater has free seats in the back nine rows for musicals nightly in summer.

The park hosted the 1904 World’s Fair and some of the original buildings remain. Drive a loop or walk the central lake area. Boats for rent at the Boathouse. A full day in Forest Park costs almost nothing, which is rare for a museum heavy city day. Park at any of the museum lots for free or pay a small fee at the zoo.

Soulard, Lafayette Square, and The Hill

Soulard is the oldest neighborhood, a French settlement from the 1760s, with brick rowhouses, wrought iron, and an atmosphere closer to a smaller New Orleans. Soulard Farmers Market from 1779 is the oldest continuous market west of the Mississippi, open Wednesday through Saturday. Mardi Gras here is the second biggest in the country. Anheuser-Busch Brewery offers free public tours with a tasting at the end, which is a good weekday afternoon.

Lafayette Square sits just north and has one of the best collections of Second Empire and Victorian houses in the country around a small lakeside park. The Hill is 3 miles west and is the Italian-American neighborhood, small red sauce restaurants, delis, and Italian groceries. Walk Daggett Avenue for Gioia’s Deli and the classic Italian feel. All three are safe, residential, quieter at night outside the bar blocks.

The Loop, Grand Center, and Clayton

The Delmar Loop in University City is an entertainment district around the old Wabash streetcar terminus. Blueberry Hill is the Chuck Berry venue. Vintage Vinyl still exists. Independent shops, coffee, Fitz’s root beer. Active foot traffic until late on weekends. South of Delmar stays busy, north of Delmar is residential and less traveled.

Grand Center is the arts district with the Fox Theatre, Powell Hall which is home to the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, and the Sheldon Concert Hall. Shows are the reason to go, and the area is lively before and after performances.

Clayton is the business district of Saint Louis County and the region’s second downtown, 10 minutes west of Forest Park. It is cleaner and quieter than downtown with better restaurants in some cases. A good alternative base if downtown hotels are booked, with MetroLink access to the airport and downtown.

Frequently Asked Questions

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