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Things To Do
Welcome to the Gateway to the West, otherwise known as St. Louis, Missouri. There are many things to do in downtown St. Louis and the surrounding area so you might want to plan an extra few days into your trip. St. Louis is a town rich in history, with a love of sports and great food. St. Louis was home to the 1904 World's fair and has one of the largest urban parks in the country as a result.
Getting Around St. Louis
St. Louis has a light rail system ( Metrolink ) which runs from the airport downtown. From downtown you can take the Metrolink to several popular locations such as Forest Park, the Delmar Loop and Clayton. A Metrolink one ride ticket costs $2.25, a two hour pass is $2.75 and a day pass is $7.50.
Parks and Landmarks
The
most prominent landmark is of course the Gateway
Arch. Inside the base of the arch is the Museum of Westward Expansion
which is the location of the closing gala for the conference. You can
take a trip to the top of the arch and see St. Louis from a different
perspective.
Forest Park was the site of the 1904 World's Fair. At 1,293 acres it is 50% bigger than New York's Central Park and has many free attractions including the amazing St. Louis Zoo, St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis Science Center and many more attractions. For more information visit http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/parks/forestpark/
Nightlife
Located
only a few block from the conference hotel, Laclede's
Landing is the entertainment center of downtown. (BB's
Jazz is a favorite of the Conference team) One of the oldest areas
in the downtown region this 9 block area features cobblestone streets
and numerous historical buildings which have been converted into shops,
restaurants and theaters.
Washington Avenue with its eclectic mix of bars, clubs, restaurants and shops make up this young hip district the place to be after dark.
Restaurants & Food
St.
Louis is a food town. One thing you will not have trouble finding in downtown
St. Louis is great restaurants. There is something for every taste, but
make sure you have the Toasted Ravioli at least once, you'll find this
on the menu at almost every restaurant in St. Louis. Some other famous
St. Louis favorites are St. Louis style pizza (crispy thin crust, provel
cheese, cut into squares). Lucky for you there is an Imo's
Pizza within a block of the hotel. You also can't pass up a trip
to Ted Drewe's
Frozen Custard.
See the Google map below for restaurant recommendations close to the conference location.
Sports
The conference is being held at the Ballpark Hilton, which is right next to Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. While the regular season may be over by the time the conference starts there might be playoff games going on!!
Not far away is the Edward Jones Dome, home of the St. Louis Rams.
Let's not forget the Blues, the St. Louis Blues that is, just down the street at the Scottrade Center.
Things to Do
If you are a fan of celebrities preserved in wax, then visit the Wax Museum on Laclede's Landing.
Try your luck at one of the 3 casinos located downtown (two more are
on the other side of town). Lumiere
Place on Laclede's Landing offers not only gambling but restaurants
and shopping as well.
The President
Casino is a riverboat casino on the Mississippi River. Just across
the river on the Illinois side is the smoke-free Casino
Queen.
The St. Louis Science Center in Forest Park will please both childern and adults.
The St. Louis Zoo, also in Forest Park, is one of the premier zoo's in the country and admission is free!
You can't come to St. Louis and not take a tour of the world famous Anheuser-Busch breweries. Located only minutes from downtown in the Soulard neighborhood, tours and tastings are offered daily. You might even get to see the Clydesdales!
In town with your sweetie? Take a romantic carriage ride through downtown St. Louis.
Several companies on the riverfront offer sightseeing, dinner and entertainment cruises along the mighty Mississippi River.
If Dinner Theater is your cup of tea, visit the Lemp Mansion or the Royal Dumpe Theater.
Day Trips from St. Louis
If you decide to extend your trip to St. Louis into a vacation there are a lot of great places to visit within a couple hours of downtown St. Louis.
Please click here for information on some of the great day trips you can experience if you have time.
Neighborhoods
St. Louis county is made up of 91 municipalities and 9 unincorporated
districts. You will hear each of these areas referred to many times, the
list below is some of the more common neighborhoods. You will also hear
the locals referring to different county areas, "The City" is the downtown
area, North County, South County, West County and Mid County are the other
designations.
The Hill is the Italian neighborhood where you will find great restaurants and bakeries.
Soulard is predominately German and Irish and is home to the Anheuser-Busch brewery.
Central West End is very cosmopolitan and diverse. You will find everything from 100 year old restaurants to new trendy bars.
Clayton is a secondary business district but also has many galleries and shops.
Colleges and Universities
University
of Missouri St. Louis
Webster University
St. Louis University
Washington University
Fontbonne University
Maryville University
Missouri Baptist
University
St. Louis Community
College
Harris-Stowe State
University
Lindenwood
University
Google Map
View the Google Map below for area attractions and eateries.
View SIGUCCS
2009-St. Louis in a larger map
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