Kansas City vs. St. Louis (Better tourist destination) (University City, Washington: hotel, neighborhoods) - Missouri (MO) - City-Data Forum

adelashk · 06-27-2010, 02:15 PM

I am visiting St. Louis for a 3-4 days. Is Kansas City worth a detour? Should I do Kansas City instead? I am 24 years old if that helps.

cyrano · 06-27-2010, 06:10 PM

That's a pretty fair detour, 250 miles each way. What do you want to do? What do you like to do? Are you talking about regular tourist stuff? I think StL wins that one, mostly due to the Arch. Ain't nothin' like it, well, anywhere. Most years, the conventional wisdom is to order your ticket to go up in the little tram/elevator in advance. They have a website to do that. Maybe tourism is down this year. If you are a baseball fan at all, a Cardinal game is a much more classic American experience than the KC team.

There's lots of threads here, especially in the speciality sections for each city, about stuff to do in each place. I suggest you browse them.

kcmo · 06-28-2010, 11:07 AM

As a 24 year old, I would say KC as KC really seems to have created a great urban nightlife scene for that age group. Many true urbanist hate the power and light district, but it's extremely popular. KC also has many other nightlife areas as well.

As a tourist, I would say StL has the edge with a bit more to see and do.

But KC has PLENTY to do and StL has a decent nightlife scene, so you really can't go wrong.

moorlander · 06-28-2010, 03:17 PM

I live in St. Louis and have several friends from the KC area as well as several KU grad friends. Most like StL better, but they're probably a little bias because they live here. Overall, Missouri is lucky to have to pretty sweet cities.
Check out the St. Louis forum for ideas on what to see. There are some really great neighborhoods that you gotta check out. St. Louis is MUCH more than downtown and the arch!

stlcitygirl · 06-28-2010, 03:48 PM

From a tourist perspective STL wins this one. There are a ton of things to do, many of these being free. I moved to STL when I was 24 and I can tell you that the night life is great for someone in that age range. There are several nightlife destinations that are unique depending on you personality. (Downtown, The Loop, Central West End, Soulard, South Grand, etc)

Kansas City also has some great things to do and I've always had a good time when visiting.

stlcitygirl · 06-28-2010, 04:03 PM

If you come to STL, here are some great things to do, as a 24 year old with no children.
-Go up in the Arch, if you are feeling it, you can take a helicopter ride around downtown and the Arch Grounds.
-Go to the city museum and ride the ferris wheel on top (there are also three bars located within the city museum, if you would like a drink.
-Go to a game at Busch Stadium, after the game it's popular to go out to Al Hrabosky's, Broadway Oyster Bar, Paddy O's (All three located right next to the stadium) or Ozzies (Washington Avenue) or any of the bars in Soulard
-Go to the Anheiser Busch Brewery Tour, stay after and check out some of the popular Soulard bars (McGurks, Hammerstones, Big Daddies, Great Grizzly Bear and many more)
-Go grab a burger at Blueberry Hill on The Loop (consistantly named one of the top 10 streets in the nation). There are a ton of bars up and down that you can check out. I suggest getting a drink on the roof top of The Moonrise Hotel, very cool.
-There is always a ton of live music, depending on the weekend, you can check outa good festival or show.
-Check out the St Louis Zoo, one of the best in the country and admission is FREE.

What weekend are you looking to come and what kind of scene are you into?

Mathguy · 06-29-2010, 08:52 AM

Can't go wrong with either place, depends on your interests. Here are the KC suggestions.

1) KC Royals games - great stadium, cheap tix, Friday night fireworks.
2) Great BBQ, ribs etc.
3) tons of festivals etc. plenty of places to hear great live music, bars etc.
4) world class art mueseum, best WW1 museum in the world but you prob. aren't into that.

Basically, both cities are quite comparable. If you like zoos St. Louis wins that one....KC wins the art museum match-up. Food, drink, baseball etc. are a draw.

moorlander · 06-29-2010, 10:18 AM

//www.city-data.com/forum/st-lo...-tour-stl.html

read this thread for suggestions for a driving tour of St. Louis. I'm pretty sure you'll be blown away.

St. Louis also has 2 light rail lines to move you around.

mike0421 · 06-30-2010, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stlcitygirl

From a tourist perspective STL wins this one. There are a ton of things to do, many of these being free. I moved to STL when I was 24 and I can tell you that the night life is great for someone in that age range. There are several nightlife destinations that are unique depending on you personality. (Downtown, The Loop, Central West End, Soulard, South Grand, etc)

Kansas City also has some great things to do and I've always had a good time when visiting.

Stlcitygirl:
Question, where is "the Loop"? I definitely missed this during our visit and now you've piqued my interest.

stlcitygirl · 06-30-2010, 08:32 AM

Its in University City along Delmar Blvd. There are restaurants, bars, The Pageant (music venue), The Tivoli (Movie Theater), a metrolink stop, two record stores, furniture stores, farmers market, martini bowling alley, lots of unique shops, an awesome boutique hotel (The Moonrise), several bookstores and some chain stores (foot locker, blockbuster, etc). Chuck Berry still plays at The Duck Room, located inside Blueberry Hill, at least once a month. They have been working on getting a trolley line: The Loop, One of the Ten Best Streets in America May Soon Get Its Own Trolley Line - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com
Some more info: http://www.ucityloop.com/

When you are in town next, go get a burger at Blueberry Hill and then walk up and down the street, there is a little something for everyone.