Welcome to St Louis!
While we're noted for being a metropolitan area, with all the amenities and tourist attractions of a major metropolitan area, St Louis is noted for it's friendly, welcoming smile.
Many years ago, the City of St Louis decided that the County growing up around it was going to be a drain on it's financial resources. As a result, the City literally divorced itself from the county. The City of St Louis lost when it did that because the City then became land and river locked and couldn't grow. The County proceeded to grow and expand, gradually pulling the wealthier sections of the population with it. Today we have St Louis City which is it's own county, and St Louis County as 2 seperate entities, tied together through their mutual need for each other.
The City has 79 Distinct neighborhoods, while the County has over 90 different municipalities, ranging from some that are literally a city block big (but have their own government!) and those with over 100,000 people living in them. Driving down some of our streets in the winter can be a challenge when different municipalities have different snow removal priorities and equipment!
As the metropolitan area has continued to expand, the Counties of Jefferson, St Charles, and Franklin on the Missouri side are considered part of the "metro" St Louis area. On the Illinois side, the metro area encompasses a large area as well.
St Louis boasts a Major League Baseball Team (the Cardinals) and a ProHockey Team (the Blues). We have the National Bowling Museum and National Transportation Museum, along with the St Louis Art Museum, Zoo, The Missouri History Museum, a wonderful Botanical Garden and much more. We have many parks starting with our crown jewel, Forest Park.
Lookng for something for the kids? Check out the Zoo, Planetarium, Science Center, Children's Museum, Magic House and Butterfly House for starters. Then we have a doll and toy museum. Faust Park has an antique villages with period actors in the summer.
The waterfront is always a treat - from going up in the Arch, to having dinner on a steamboat as it cruises the Mighty Mississippi. Or perhaps you'd care to join the many boaters, fisherman and others enjoying our rivers (just be carefull of the currents).
St Louis truly has something for everyone!