St. Louis, MO

It's kind of a mix. The Missouri Botanical Gardens are beautiful and it's cool going up in the Gateway Arch. Might be a few other attractions as well. However, areas outside the Downtown area can get extremely dangerous. Criminal activity has occured even on the south side around Shenandoah Avenue. The north end is very dangerous. Even Caligula would be disgusted by the war zone that is East St. Louis, a city nearly as dangerous as Baghdad. East St. Louis is tremendously far worse than Detroit, it's actually more dangerous than the Chicago suburb of Ford Heights. East St. Louis is worse than shootings and robberies, roadside bombs are commonly detonated in East St. Louis, and there are rumors that the Mayor of East St. Louis was even behind the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. East St. Louis is enormously far far far worse and more dangerous than all other North American cities. East St. Louis is more dangerous than St. Louis ... Read more

If anyone's objective opinion is seriously influenced by a website full of ignorant comments from people who spent one or two days in St. Louis and think they know the entire city, then you deserve the lousy advice. St. Louis is older than the United States (founded in 1764). It is loaded with history and character, wonderful urban neighborhoods, a vibrant music scene, outstanding cultural institutions and impressive restaurants. The metro area has nearly 3 million people, making it the 18th largest in the USA. Anyone who writes off a city that big as being "dead" or "boring" is really just boring themselves. St. Louis has an awful lot to offer, more than most cities in my opinion. I have lived in four countries and eight US states, for whatever that's worth.

I took a vacation with a couple of friends a few months ago and would not recommend this city for a family vacation.The downtown area is very dirty and alot of places were run down.Some people there were friendly but most were snobby and rude.There is also not alot to do there besides the free zoo and the arch toures.

St Louis is not dangerous, only some of its neighborhoods. Living one mile south of downtown, I strolled the streets at night and seldom locked my front door. The dangerous neighborhoods are north of downtown and across the river in East St Louis, IL. The most attractive (IMO) are Soulard, Tower Grove and Lafayette Park. Fear has caused large parts of the city to be deserted. On some streets all or most houses are boarded up. The city's population is down more than 50% since its peak in 1950. The metro area has 2.8 million but the city is down to 350,000. In other words, people and businesses fled to the suburbs. People really do ask what high school you went to. That and flight from the city are both about social class distinction.

After reading the reviews below I feel it's safe to say that--people who focus on negatives, are never going to be happy in life. Saint Louis has a lot to offer. We might not have the night life of L.A. or New York, but we're not the size of those cities either. For the size of our city I think we're doing quite well. There is plenty to do. We have great parks, museums, the nation's best zoo, fun sports teams, and toasted ravioli. C'mon now. For those people that rated St. Louis with 1 or 2 stars--Good luck being satisfied in life.

Didn't stay for that long, but we went to the Gateway Arch and it was great! Oh, and GO RAMS!

it may surprise you to know the St Louis consistently ranks as one of the most dangerous cities in the US.  I have been there a couple of times, and I believe it.  The suburbs are nothing spectacular, either.

I always liked St. Louis. I first saw it, other than as a child, in the early 1960's while Gaslight Square was still going strong. That is long since abandoned, alas. Lots of history and stuff to see. The North Side is Black and the South Side is White and never the twain shall meet.

Total disappointment. Even the arch wasn't that great. Haven't been since the new Busch Stadium though, I'd like to see that.

The skyline is impressive when you're driving through. We drove through at night and the way it looked sitting by the river was nice. Then we stopped at a gas station at 3 am and saw this big booty girl pumping gas. Man....her ass was so plump and JUICY!! St. Louis gets the thumbs up from me for that.....

I was born and raised in Chicago, 23 years. I went to St. Louis and was pleasantly surprised..obviously compared to the magnitude of Chicago it would be impossible for me to be thoroughly impressed, but I was refreshed by the much slower pace (which I guess is to be expected, seeing that I've lived in Chicago my entire life.) Overall, not bad, not bad.

St. Louis makes Hartford look like dreamland. Even Fred G. Sanford moved away! Downtown St. Louis is about as lively as Des Moines at night....

Great sports town (particularly baseball). Way too conservative and not where it should be from cultural standpoint, given its rich history (was once one of major cities in country - pre-1920). Racial polarization rivals the Deep South of the 1950's. Coolest area is the Delmar Loop in University City (slightly reminiscent of Cambridge, but on much smaller scale). Soulard Mardi Gras is the big event and is quite impressive as far as crowd size.

Oh come on people, St. Louis aint that bad. It's not an A-lister city so it should not be rated or compared to any. Yes it is scary in some parts but there are a lot of great neighborhoods to visit here. St. Louis has a lot of character and rich history. I found it to be a very genuine city and not too overgentrified like a lot of the overpriced coastal cities. The people I encountered were very friendly and not pretentious which I found refreshing. Visiting the arch is a lot of fun and this is a great town to catch a ball game in as they are very passionate about their Cardinals. The bars here are a lot of fun and many have a great atmosphere. The blues are still alive here and it's easy to land yourself in a bar where a band will be playing jazz or blues. Union Station is probably one of the nicest restored train stations I've seen anywhere and there are archetectual gems all over the city like the painted lady victorians in Lafayette Square. Getting on a riverboat is a lot of fun ... Read more

Here's the thing about St. Louis. If you're a stuck up yuppie who expects all the glitz and galmour of Hollywood then you won't like it here and the people here won't like you. And indeed - when people say St. Louis sucks - it does however most who say St. Louis only mean the actual city. The entire area as a whole is much larger and the only really 'bad' areas you will encounter are there. When you broaden the horizons a bit you find a sprawling metropolican area it can take almost an hour or more to drive from end to end on. Several world class venues for sports, music and entertainment. Thousands of bars, nightclubs, restaurants and more. Everything from heavy metal to shmphonies and operas. Several gambling facilities. Major and minor league sports. Now in opposition the last time I traveled I was in Chicago. Stopped off near Lake Shore Drive to get something to eat and watched the cops beating on some drunk guy near the Burger King in the area. Went back by the Aquarium and list... Read more

When you come to St Louis... come with low expectations. Then you won't be so dissappointed, like I was. The good thing about STL is that it is cheap to live here - but there's a reason for that. The place is boring, after you have gone to the park, zoo, city museum, botanical garden, and science center, there is nothing left to do... you basically have finished STL. The locals aren't too bad.. although, I wish they were a little less brain dead. The driving is appalling.. for a people who have no where near the traffic of a real city. Watch out for the lack of turn signals and the notorious left turns people take at 4-way red-light intersections.. Culture? ha.. well, other than 1904 World's Fair, which they will mention again and again and again until your ears bleed, there's not much culture here. I was really dissappointed in the midwest becuase of STL, but luckily, Chicago (5 hours drive away) is a good escape and has redeemed the midwest in my opinion. Can't wait to finish ... Read more

Some of these responses are laughable. You holier-than-thou snobs claim to be so cultured but it's obvious you have no sense of exploration. St. Louis is an amazingly interesting, cultured, and historic city full of treasures originality. Just because you're from LA or Chicago or [insert "hip" city] doesn't automatically give you good taste, nor does it make you an authority on all things urban. Get out and explore you predictable bores. If you actually venture off of the highways you'll find some of the country's finest neighborhoods and colorful people.

You have to know where to go and what to expect, like in any city, but this town has all the bases covered, from nightlife to daytime places for kids - and most of the big attractions are free.

If I could rate this place zero stars I would, one star is not worthy. I will start by saying the people of this metro area are some of the most uptight, uneducated and quite frankly rudest individuals I have ever come across. I lived in Clayton for a year before leaving for Chicago (thank god) and I swear to you not a week would pass where some old crusty jew from the are would go to the grocery store and actually open up a bag of bagels and take one out to taste it then put it back on the shelf...gross! Not a day it seemed would pass when someone would ask me where the fcuk I attended high school. Are you kidding me? it seems as if this question is meant to qulify your economic staus to deem it worthy to chat with you or not. I would lie and say Soldan some city ghetto high schoool. Bottom line is this, if your old toothless fat or just bored this is the perfect place for you. Otherwise run or resign if your asked to move there. This place has absooutly nothing to offer trust me! P... Read more

I've lived all over the east and midwest and St Louis was the worst palce I have ever lived. Unfriendly, rude snobby and many other things come to mind. The first thing they ask is where you went to high school so they can judge your social status and income. The people are superficial and won;t hesitate to make comments about anyone who doesn't meet their "standards" - to the persons face or loud enough for them to hear. I lived there for 4 years and will never recommend it to anyone.

The place blows big time. The people are fat, speak with god awful accents, are brain dead, and consider St.Louis to be a big city.A big city it is not. Summer is hellaciously hot and all their is to do is go to Cardinal games. Downtown is a ghost town, even with people buying up lofts downtown it is on life support. No grocery store, no cleaners, awful transit, and an ever persistent crime element that always seems to follow you around when in anypart of the city. Tourists watch out, the african americans downtown will approach you for money and if you don't ahve it, you will beaten or shot trust me!!! I left St.Louis 7 years ago for Chicago and love the windy city, it is the very best!!!!

I live in St. Louis, so it is my home and I have to respect that. Also, it's home to AB, which has one of the best looking industrial complexes in the world. But aside from that, this place sucks. We only have enough attractions to entertain a typical family for a weekend, but no more. We have the highest crime rate in the country. Our downtown is non-existent. East St. Louis is the poorest city in America. Our nightlife is week, with Laclede's Landing, Soulard, Clayton, the Loop, and that's it. The arch ceases to amuse when you live right next to it. All are industry left, leaving no jobs and a population that has dropped about half a million in the past half century. We have so many abandoned buildings that they filmed Escape From New York here, since the movie needed the post apocalyptic feel. In a wave of building new, state of the art, attractive sports stadiums around the country, we build the Jones Dome, which is the ugliest building in downtown. We have the smallest... Read more

I used to think STL was a dump, until I moved to Cleveland. STL has much better nightlife and architecture. They're probably a wash in terms of ghetto-ness and crime, although that stuff is more clustered in STL (hence easier to avoid). Summer is horribly humid in STL, so the edge goes to Cleveland there.

Saint Louis sucks, Ive been there, I I dont understand the hype about it. The downtown really sucks, there are no tall buildings and the only thing that makes st louis is the arch, If this city didnt have the arch, than it what only be a small town, by the way, Im from Kansas City, and KC had a bigger Downtown, more urban, and we've invested 4 billion dollars in our downtown deveoplment.

The Arch is nice but the downtown rolls up the streets at night. I did'nt get it when I was there.

St Louis has one of the better skylines in America. The Arch is certainly unique and provides a great view of the nothingness that is Southern Illinois from the top. Riverboat tours of the mighty Mississip is fun. However, the city used to have a pop of 850,000 now has a population of 350,000. This indicates severe quality of life problems that visitors should be aware of.

As a Kansas Citian, I could get myself killed for saying this, but I've always liked the city of St. Louis. I'm tired of the bickering that goes back and forth between St. Louis and KC. Every city has it's downfalls and good points. St. Louisians are different people...trying to be more like a cosmo city like Chicago, but are tied down by the Midwest image. I'm not saying KC is any better, but there's a certain snobbery to people who are from St. Louis, I don't get it... I like the CITY of St. Louis, lots to do and see. Great place for families to visit...Grant's Farm, Six Flags, the Gateway Arch, Union Station, etc.

This city is scary let's leave it at that.

i do not care for st louis at all.after growing up in los angeles, coming to st louis was a huge step backwards.The weather is horrible(not to mention how bad it is on people with allergies.And the people act like their brain dead and they drive like morons.Cant wait to move back to the west coast.The place has nothing to offer me.

The city looks spectacular as you approach on the interstate and the gigantic arch appears on the horizon- there may be no other city so beautifully defined by a landmark like that, with the possible exception of the Statue of Liberty, and for that you need a boat. Unfortunately, the city itself is not doing so well. The abandonment of the city to the suburbs has created a decaying inner city, and until people start moving back - as they have done in places like Chicago and Milwaukee - the city is going to have problems. There are some nice areas, such as the Hill with its multiple Italian restaurants. It will probably come back eventually, but it needs to reaccommodate for its new size and draw people back from the suburbs into the city.

St louis is overrated in my opinion. It has some potential but the people are the worst I've met, they talked like there trying to make up an accent, and are very pretensious as is the city. Been there three times, done it, it's old now.

I am from StL and it is the best place ever. You can't judge it by the ugly railroad stations that you pass on the highway. By the way, for all you people that think it sucks and thats why people are leaving, you are wrong. St Louis is coming back HUGE! Not to mention St Louis challenged the u.s. census bureau which said st louis had massive population loss recently. Because of all the new housing going on stl realized that was impossible and won the case. You people overlook st louis too easily. This city has a bright future and people are beginning to realize it.

A sad, ruined city. As many of the other commentators pointed out, a place that has suffered lots more white flight and abandonment than most. In fact, St. Louis has lost over 60% of its 1950 population (by contrast, other Rust Belt trouble spots like Cleveland and Buffalo are around 50). No real comeback, except maybe in Central West End- downtown actually lost people in 90s, unlike in most major American cities. But there are positives. Beautiful architecture in the still-inhabited areas - my favorite is St. Louis Hills in south St. Louis, a kind of residential Deco district (if I am getting the architectural terminology right)- lots of houses w/turrets, etc. and still an OK area. Rest of city not great, but not visibly decaying unless you go north of Delmar.

St Louis needs to shut up and get to work. Always talking big and nothing to show for it. This place needs to live up to its Show-me attitude. The people are backwards and xenophobic, and they keep talking about the World's Fair as if it was the arrival of Jesus or something. Give it a break!

Even though St.Louis is kind of like Omaha with tons boarded-up buildings(especially North St. Louis), it still has tons of nice looking older homes and cheap, easy to get around and shop suberban areas.

I would give this place zero stars if I could. I live about 100 miles from St. Louis and I can tell you one thing about it: It is a DUMP. It is the most depressing, scary, dangerous place in the United States and I have been to a lot of places on both coasts and in between. Even thinking about this town gives me goose bumps! And all the other reviewers who gave this place a bad rating, believe EVERY word they said because it is ALL true. Do not visit or even drive through this god forsaken hell hole. If you absolutely must come here I will be praying for you. And it would not hurt to make arrangements beforehand with an undertaker in case you don't make it out alive.

I would have to say that St. Louis is a city with a lot of potential that most cities dream of having. Its true that the city has lost most of its middle class residence to the suburbs and that has left the inner city empty appearing to the outsider not having much to offer. However on the flip side, St. Louis is a very cosmopolitain city with a lot of cultural advantages that you can not find in other cities in the Midwest and southeast with the exception of Chicago. Such cultural institutions include forest park with several museums and lakes. Some of the popular neighborhoods include Central West End, Soulard, South Grand, University City, Clayton and Lafayette Park. Each individual neighborhood has its own distinct flavor. This adds to the other advantages living in St. Louis has such as good employment opportunity and a good air port and a new pro business attitude. Driving through St. Louis one would not be able to see what the city offers. One would have to visit or live... Read more

I honestly have never done anything in St.Louis, it is a city I've driven through dozens of times on trips to Florida from where I live in the Midwest. It was always a tradition to make sure the gas tank was full before we got to St.Louis so we did not have to stop anywhere. To be honest though, the city looks very green, very hilly, but also very old, I know it is steeped in history. It also looks very abandoned, with all commerce being evacuated to the surrounding suburbs, leaving the city itself to the poor, who do not have the means to move somewhere else.

St. Louis is a wonderful city. It is not the kind of place that jumps out at you, it's one you need to get to know. But once you do, there is no denying its urban wonder. The neighborhoods are rich with history, fabulous architecture and very colorful residents. The city is really making a comeback. After living for a short time in New York, I was so happy to see all the wonderful progress that the city has made during my absence. A downtown loft boom, coupled with massive reinvestment all over the city makes it clear that STL has turned the corner. If you haven't been to St. Louis in a while, you need to get your ass back. The dark years are over. The future is bright for this great city.

Another underrated U.S. city. St. Louis reminds me of Pittsburgh, only flatter. Nightlife at Laclede's Landing is fun, and the radio stations are excellent. On the downside, some of the highways in the area needs to be resurfaced. Also, judging by some of the comments I've seen on here, civic pride seems to be lacking, which is a shame because St. Louis is a good place.

OK, I didn't even think it was possible to find 2 dirty cities in Missouri. But St Louis is actually WORSE than Kansas City. Go figure. This place is so dirty, I felt like washing my hands the entire time I was there. And the people..OMG ! I do not know who controls the image of this city, but downtown is in serious need of reimaging, as it is falling apart and looking all sorts of array. I would be scared to go into some of those old buildings down by the Mississippi. And the Interstate that goes thru this concrete jungle is a nightmare worse than even Chicago. We were almost killed twice by the ignorant drivers there. But that is how St Louis is, one minute the freeway is bumper to bumper, and a little later, it looks like a ghost town..it is creepy. And I would recommend no one move there.

I remember it being very fun. Everything was free there too. It is a nice city. It was a very fun vacation.

They have this gigantic $6-million croquet wicket....

St Louis has rested on its laurels for too long.

I grew up in St. Louis and I still consider it home, even 5 years after moving away. Sure, it has its share of crime and pollution and traffic, but what big city doesn't? It's still a great place to live. The cost of living is one of the lowest in the country, there is a fair share of wonderful restaurants (don't miss The Hill for Italian cuisine!), museums, galleries, theaters and shopping. And it's awesome for out-of-towners, because there is SO MUCH TO DO! You need a day just to enjoy the Gateway Arch, Old Courthouse and Union Station downtown. Then you'd need several more days to enjoy Forest Park (with one of the best zoos and Science Centers in the country) Six Flags, the Botanical Gardens, and a sporting event- after all, St. Louis is one of the best sports cities in North America. I guarantee that if you just give St. Louis a chance, you will enjoy it immensely. It has an interesting blend of cultures, where East meets West and North meets South.

St. Louis, the Gateway City. I've been to all the big cities in the U.S. and I still think St. Louis is the best. We have all the perks of big city life (classic architecture, cultural institutions, great restaurants, walkable neighborhoods, unique character) without the pretensious attitude of many other cities. It's a gritty old Rust Belt city, yet it's sophisticated and laid-back. And I am convinced that people who flock to Chicago and other "hot" cities are suburbanites who have never taken the time to get to know the city. I love St. Louis.

The Gateway Arch is a must see!

bowling hall of fame, Budweiser beer tour, Mark McGwire and a big concrete arch -- what else does a city need?!