A weekend in St. Louis involves staying at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel in the Central West End.

I’ve lived in St. Louis for over 11 years now and writing up a Weekend in St. Louis Guide has been long overdue!! I talk to so many of you who are either visiting St. Louis or having a St. Louis staycation. Soooo here we go! I am so excited to share this “A Weekend in St. Louis” with all of you.

And I’m pumped to partner with Chase Park Plaza - my number one hotel recommendation when you are visiting St. Louis!

Whether you live in or around St. Louis and are looking for a St. Louis staycation or you are traveling to St. Louis, this weekend in St. Louis guide will help share where to stay and must-do activities and places to eat. We stay at Chase Park Plaza for all of our staycations without kids, but I will add some things to do if you are with your family, because it would still be my number on place to stay with kids, too!

WHERE TO STAY

Chase Park Plaza in the Central West End

First of all, I’ll share WHY I always recommend Chase Park Plaza for the hotel to stay at while you are in St. Louis. Not only do I love the atmosphere when you walk through the doors (the feeling I get from a place is a big deal to me). But, I also find the location is perfect to do all the St. Louis activities on your list. It is located in the Central West End (CWE), and right on Forest Park. The CWE offers an array of shops, restaurants, coffee shops… so you would have plenty to do that is walking distance from the hotel. You would also be able to enjoy Forest Park and all the attractions in the park. CWE is also very centrally located to many other places in St. Louis, like downtown. It’s a short drive to other areas of the city.

I also love the Chase Park Plaza for the pool. It’s my favorite hotel pool in St. Louis and a major reason why it’s our St. Louis staycation go-to! We have stayed for birthdays, anniversaries, and babymoons. We love lounging by the pool and ordering food and drinks from the Chase Club and enjoying them poolside. It’s an oasis!

Chase Park Plaza is our favorite place to stay in St. Louis!

WHERE TO EAT

A lot of places I would recommend to go are walking distance from Chase Park Plaza! CWE is a lively neighborhood with restaurants and shops - and it’s perfect for a date night. Some of our go-to places in St. Louis are found there! When I first moved to St. Louis in 2012, I lived in Central West End and stayed there for 7 years, so it also holds a really special place in my heart and still is one of my favorite neighborhoods in STL.

DInner + Drinks

The Preston and Chase Club - These are two of Chase’s Hotel restaurants. Great options that are super convenient. We love to get lunch at Chase Club and eat poolside - it is right on the pool!!! You can sit at the tables next to the pool. Or you can eat and drink poolside at your pool chairs. The Preston is a restaurant inside the Chase and is more upscale if you want a more fancy dining experience!

Maryland House - This is a new favorite right around the corner from Chase on Maryland Plaza! It’s a rooftop (kind of hidden!) and trendy with really great cocktails. Perfect for a cocktail and app! This is a great option on a beautiful day when you want to sit outside, and why I love rooftops. Make a reservation so you have no trouble getting in!

Brennan’s - This is a super cool lounge-type bar that is the same owner as Maryland House. I love the vibe so it’s no surprise I love them both so much!! Another great option for an app and drink.

Brasserie and Brass Bar - This is a little farther away from Chase, but still walking distance down Euclid - the main street in CWE. Brasserie is a great place to eat dinner (feels a little more upscale) and the bar connected to it is a fun, new bar to get drinks!

YellowBelly - If you like seafood, this is a fun restaurant to visit and walking distance from the Chase.

Edera Italian Eatery - This has a great & private outdoor courtyard area right behind Chase Park Plaza! With a pretty ivy wall and lights. I just love the atmosphere.

Pi Pizzeria - This is a family friendly pizzeria. So if you have kids with you, I definitely recommend it! You can walk to it from the Chase and grab ice cream at Jeni’s afterwards that is across the street from it!

Cocktails by the pool at the Chase Park Plaza are a must-do activity for your weekend in St. Louis — Chase Club is located right by the pool so you can eat on the patio, or enjoy cocktails and food poolside.

The Preston is located inside Chase Park Plaza

Breakfast and Lunch

Bowood by Niche - This is my number one brunch or lunch spot in St. Louis! It is in a large greenhouse called Bowood Farms that you can shop around as you wait for your table. The food is amazingggggg and everything about this place I just loooove. Another oasis in CWE that I just makes me feel happy. The drinks are amazing, too.

First Watch - This is a brunch place that you cannot go wrong eating at!! It’s super busy on the weekends at prime time (think 10am-12pm), but if there is a wait, you can walk around CWE while you wait.

Kingside Diner - I love breakfast at this diner. Which makes this another great CWE brunch spot. It’s right on the corner down from Chase and also has a great patio. Super kid-friendly too, we go here often with our kids.

Boathouse in Forest Park - You can drive into Forest Park and eat on the water! There are paddle boats and a dock to enjoy the scenic view of the Forest Park pond/rivers. This is also a family-friendly place if you are with your kids.

Shake Shake - This is super low key, but if you need a burger and fries and shakes… this is a top fav. It’s fast food, but sometimes you don’t want a sit down place and need something a bit faster. Also a good place to go with your kids after a morning at the Zoo.

Coffee

Kaldis Coffee - this is walking distance from the Chase. Kaldi’s is a well known coffee shop in St. Louis - and a personal favorite! It also has food, if you want to eat there, too. I love grabbing coffee here and walking into the park or around the historic CWE neighborhoods.

Northwest Coffee - A longer walk from Chase - but if you are walking around the CWE, check it out.

Ice Cream

My top two ice cream places in St. Louis are both walking distance from the Chase…

Clementine’s Naughty + Nice Creamery - This is right down from the Chase and a great ice cream shop with lots of fun flavors. They also have boozy ice cream!

Jeni’s Ice Cream - You cannot go wrong with anything from Jeni’s, we love this ice cream shop and it’s down on Euclid across from Pi Pizzeria. It’s also right next to a cute bookstore, Left Bank Books.

ACTIVITIES TO DO

Walk or run in Forest Park - The Chase Park Plaza is right on Forest Park!! So you can walk out the front of Chase and cross the street and you are in the park! Forest Park is such a gem in St. Louis. It’s soooo pretty and has sooo much in it! There is a 5-mile paved running path around the park. This path is my favorite to walk or run on. You can also go behind the Art Museum and there are pretty wooded trails. If you are going on a walk, grab coffee at Kaldi’s Coffee and then walk into the park, and up to Art Hill and enjoy the view!!!

Pool at the Chase - It’s the best!!! Grab a drink from Chase Club and sit and relax by the pool. You will definitely feel like you are on vacation. I know I always do!!!

Movie Theatre at the Chase - What is also so fun about staying at the Chase Park Plaza is that there is a movie theatre right in the hotel! It’s actually also my go-to theatre in St. Louis when we want to go to a movie.

St. Louis Art Museum - The Art Museum is such a pretty place to visit. It’s located on “Art Hill” on Forest Park. I recommend taking a trip up to Art Hill (you can walk here from the hotel if you are up for a walk!). It’s such a pretty view!!

Family Activities: Here are my top activities to do with kids - but of course you can also do these without kids!!!!…

St. Louis Zoo in Forest Park - I always recommend going first thing in the morning to avoid any crowds for the train and carousel!! You can park on the streets around the park for free or it’s $15 to park in the lot. The zoo itself is free to get in!! It’s such an amazing zoo.
St. Louis History Museum - They have a great children’s area in the museum, too, if you have young kids with you. This is right in Forest Park and you could walk to it from the hotel or a really quick drive.
St. Louis Science Center - I personally think this is best for older kids! (My 4 and 2 year old don’t find this as entertaining). This is right on Forest Park and a quick drive from Chase.
The Boat House Paddleboats - This is great to try out without kids, but another great option for older kids. The boathouse has paddleboats you can take out into the ponds that are by Art Hill. You can eat right on the water at the Boat House too, and on the side of it there is a fun outdoor bar area.
The Carousel in Downtown St. Louis - My kids love this! There is a playground and mini golf by the carousel, too. And some places to eat. About a 10-15 minute drive from Chase.
Missouri Botanical Gardens - Not only are the gardens ammmazing to walk through - it’s beautiful and so peaceful - but they have a really great kids area to play (it’s like a playground in the trees!!). My kids love it. Bring quarters to feed the fish on the bridge at the back of the gardens on the path you take when you walk around it. The Botanical Gardens is another place I love going to right when it opens. There are great places to eat around it, too. Like Union Loafers (great salads and sandwiches at lunch) or Olio (my fav restaurant in St. Louis and also a top date night spot).
Playgrounds - If you are traveling with younger kids and looking for a playground, we loooove the playground called DeMun Park. It’s right on Forest Park, on the other side from Chase, so you drive to it from the hotel. It’s down from a coffee shop, ice cream shop and next to a candy shop… so take a walk down the street before or after playing and enjoy a treat. DeMun is a really cute area in St. Louis and even without kids, I love visiting it… it also has some great restaurants like Louie on Demun and Sasha’s Wine Bar.

Art Hill in Forest park - You can walk up to the top of the hill where the Art Museum is for a great view!

FINAL THOUGHTS

This guide had my top recs for a weekend in St. Louis, but of course there are soooo many others places in and around the city I love that I just cannot fit into one guide without making it a novel! But, I love connecting with all of you who have staycations here or travel to St. Louis - so always reach out if you need more recs or have questions about where to stay and go!!!

And thank you Chase Park Plaza for partnering with me on this post! I was so excited to partner with my top hotel that I stay at for staycations and also always recommend to all of you!

A Weekend in St. Louis - Where to Stay, Eat and Must-Do Activities