St Louis is known for its Cardinals Baseball team, the significant Gateway Arch riverfront, and the surrounding expansive lawns and lavish southern-style homes. Among the cultural and educational institutions as well as ample recreational opportunities, the city maintains the ambience of an intimate hometown style.
     Downtown St. Louis has the most unique spaces and places. From specialty shops to three- and four-star restaurants and hotels, you can make it your favored shopping excursion. Two great shopping malls you definitely need to check out are the St. Louis Mills and the Westfield Northwest. The Saint Louis Zoo is an inspiring world with animals from around the globe living in natural habitats that is a must see. Within this magic entrance one can see Fragile Forest, a home for the Zoo's chimpanzees and orangutans. Fragile Forest also joins Cypress Swamp, the River's Edge, Hippo Harbor, Penguin & Puffin Coast. Another point of interest is the awe-inspiring Missouri Botanical Garden.
     Millions of visitors stream to the St. Louis Arch for a journey to the top where there is a dramatic glimpse of the St. Louis region from a dizzying height of 630 feet. The Arch provides a history lesson on the way to the top. Using the south leg, you will return to an era in the 1800s when the St. Louis riverfront was bustling with steamboats, fur traders, and merchants. Using the north leg, the passage will transport you back to 1965 when construction workers wedged the last triangular Arch section into place. Travelers can also journey to the past while enjoying spectacular Mississippi River cruises aboard the Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher. These steamboats are beautiful replicas of 19^th-century ones that combine the traditional charm of days past, yet have the modern conveniences of today.
     St Louis has an array of annual events that are definitely a good time. A few of the well known festivals are the Fair St. Louis Festival, the Mardi Gras Celebrations, Polka Festival, the beautiful Balloon Races, the activities at the Faust Folk Festival, and the St. Louis Strassenfest. This few events promise to show all types of crowds a good time.