The St. Louis region offers many opportunities in sports, recreation, and cultural events. St. Louis is the home of the baseball Cardinals, the football Rams, and the hockey Blues. Not far from campus are areas known for hiking, canoeing, and spelunking. Culturally, St. Louis boasts the second oldest symphony orchestra in the nation, and several dance companies. Theatrical productions are staged by, among others, the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and the Fox Theatre; during the summer, musicals are performed at the outdoor amphitheater of the Muny in Forest Park, and UMB Bank Pavilion is a popular spot for concert-goers.

St. Louis has experienced a surge of renovation and expansion in recent years. Union Station, a National Historical Landmark, first opened in 1894, has been restored with its former passenger train station now a festive indoor marketplace. Minutes from campus, the St. Louis Galleria mall is popular with students. The 66,000-seat Edward Jones Dome, is home to the St. Louis Rams, and a new baseball stadium for the Cardinals is under construction. MetroLink, a light rail system, links the airport in west St. Louis to the Washington University Medical Center and the downtown area and across the river to Illinois. An extension is scheduled to open along the northern edge of the Hilltop Campus into Clayton.

Shopping, dining, and entertainment can be enjoyed on Laclede's Landing along the Mississippi riverfront or the University City Loop, a short walk from campus, offering an eclectic mix of shops and ethnic restaurants and performances at the Pageant.

Within walking distance of campus is Forest Park, which provides 1,400 acres of land for tennis, in-line skating, biking, golf, and other sports and activities. The Saint Louis Art Museum, the Saint Louis Zoo, the Jefferson Memorial, and the St. Louis Science Center are in the park.

The Missouri Botanical Garden, the first of its kind established in the United States, is a National Historic Landmark. Special features include the Climatron, the Japanese Garden, and Tower Grove House. Several of the scientists at the garden are also members of the faculty in the University's Department of Biology in Arts & Sciences.

Neighborhoods Near Campus

The Central West End is an eclectic, cosmopolitan showplace of St. Louis. Located just north of Forest Park, the area is a popular gathering place filled with a fine selection of trendy boutiques and art galleries, imaginative restaurants and neighborhood pubs, elegant homes, and specialty and antique shops. The breathtaking St. Louis Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, covered inside with the world’s largest collection of mosaic art, is one of the anchors of this interesting district.

Clayton, Missouri is a thriving metropolitan area located just west of the Washington University campus. Upscale condominiums and tall, contemporary office buildings housing many Fortune 500 companies frame the central business district of Clayton. Visitors can browse through a fine selection of art galleries, bookstores and specialty boutiques. Several wine shops, jewelers, florists and music stores and numerous antique shops can also be found. Dining in Clayton is a gourmet delight with over 65 restaurants. Spend a leisurely afternoon at one of many outdoor cafes or enjoy elegant dining by candlelight at a fine restaurant. Visit the Clayton Farmer’s market featuring live music, cooking tours, and demonstrations for free on Saturday mornings.

University City Loop is located just north of the Washington University campus along Delmar Boulevard. The vibrant six-block area features some of the most eclectic shopping in the city with craft stores, art galleries, record shops, bookstores and gift shops. The neighborhood features a unique selection of ethnic restaurants including Vietnamese, Indian, Thai and Japanese. Visitors can walk on the Saint Louis “Walk of Fame”, enjoy a concert in the Duck Room at Blueberry Hill, take in a movie at the Tivoli Theatre, or enjoy a tour of Fitz’s Root Beer Bottling Company.

Museums

The City Museum is an exciting museum for children and adults. Art, science, history and fun weave together to form a one-of-a-kind, magical world forged of recycled, recovered and reshaped treasures. City Museum unleashes the fascinated, childlike spirit stored within every explorer who passes through its doors. The Saturday night social event will be held at the City Museum.

The Kemper Art Museum is considered one the finest university collections in the country. Exhibits include significant holdings of 19th- and 20th-century American and European paintings, sculptures and prints and major contemporary works. The museum is located at Washington University and is free to the public. Closed Mondays, University holidays, and summers.

Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum is the official repository for more than 100 years of baseball history in St. Louis, presenting history through photographs and memorabilia from the 1880’s to the present. Located inside the International Bowling Museum (right across the street from Busch Stadium).

Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis is a nationally recognized contemporary art museum dedicated to exhibiting the visual arts and artists of our time. The Contemporary shows six to eight exhibitions a year, featuring local, national and international, well-known and “newly established” artists from diverse backgrounds, working in all types of media.

The International Bowling Museum & Hall of Fame collects, preserves and displays the 5,000-year history of one of the most beloved sports in the world. Admission includes four free frames of bowling fun.

The Missouri History Museum is located in Forest Park and admission is free. Permanent exhibitions currently on view include Seeking St. Louis, an exciting, state-of-the-art, interactive, two-gallery exhibition which tells the history of the region from earliest times to the present, and a full schedule of changing special exhibitions. Meriwether’s, a full service gourmet restaurant with spectacular views of Forest Park sits at the top floor.

The Old Courthouse has remained over the past 150 years as one of St. Louis’ most prominent architectural landmarks. It was the site of the first two trials of the pivotal Dred Scott Case and linked with the Underground Railroad. Galleries depict the history of St. Louis from its French and Spanish roots to its role in westward expansion. Admission is free.

The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts seeks to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of art in the context of architecture through exhibitions, its building, and its program collaborations with other arts institutions. The Pulitzer is open only on Wednesdays and Saturdays and admission is free.

The Saint Louis Art Museum was built as the Fine Arts Palace of the 1904 World’s Fair. Today, it is one of the nation’s leading comprehensive art museums. Collections include works of art of exceptional quality from virtually every culture and time period. Located in the beautiful Forest Park, it is free to the public.

St. Louis Science Center contains 700 hands-on exhibits on environment, aviation, technology and more, life-size dinosaurs and the James S. McDonnell Planetarium’s Boeing Space Station experience. Located in Forest Park, the center is free to the public. Shows in the OMNIMAX® Theater and traveling exhibitions are also available for a nominal fee.

Performing Arts

Dance St. Louis brings the full spectrum of dance to St. Louis: from classical ballet, contemporary ballet, and modern dance to ethnic, ballroom, tap, jazz, hip-hop, and cutting-edge artists of every sort. Performances are held year-round in various theatres around the city.

Edison Theatre presents the highest quality national and international artists in music, dance, and theater, focusing on innovative new works or contemporary interpretations of classical works which are not otherwise seen in St. Louis. The theatre is located on the Washington University’s campus.

The Fox Theatre, first opened in 1929, today presents live entertainment with Broadway productions, family shows, country stars and rock, pop and jazz artists. The glitzy and intricately designed 4,500-seat theatre is located in a 53-acre national historic district known as Grand Center.

Grandel Theater is located in the heart of Grand Center Arts and Entertainment District. It is the home of year-round live performances of Shakespeare’s plays and other dramatic classics

The Muny offers fabulous Broadway-style entertainment under the stars at America’s oldest and largest outdoors musical theatre. Performances are held nightly in beautiful Forest Park. Annie Get Your Gun will be the featured performance July 4 through 10, 2005.

The Opera Theatre of St. Louis produces opera in a fresh and very American style: sophisticated and musically impeccable productions sung by outstanding young artists in an intimate, 987-seat theater. All the operas are performed in English and accompanied by members of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis is St. Louis’ premier live professional theatre. The Rep presents a wide variety of shows year-round at the Loretto-Hilton Center located on the campus of Webster University.

The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra is celebrating its 125th season as the nation’s second-oldest orchestra. Performances include classical, pops, and chamber orchestra concerts.

The Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis, staged in Forest Park, presents the highest caliber professional Shakespeare theatre for free to the public. The Tempest will be presented this May and June.

Stages St. Louis is a professional theatre company dedicated to producing the indigenous American art form of musical theatre. This season, they will be performing Man of La Mancha, Footloose, and Hello, Dolly!

UMB Bank Pavilion is one of the country’s premier outdoor concert venues. It has a state-of-the-art sound system and six video screens, allowing concert-goers to experience a front-row view. UMB Bank Pavilion provides a musical variety of rock, alternative, pop, country, jazz and rhythm & blues…along with special events and festivals of all kinds.

Shopping

Plaza Frontenac is St. Louis’ premier fashion center where shoppers can enjoy an upscale shopping experience amidst elegant surroundings. Shop at Missouri’s only Neiman Marcus, St. Louis’ only Saks Fifth Avenue, Talbot’s, J. Crew, Williams-Sonoma, The Pottery Barn, Tiffany & Co. among more than 40 specialty shops. The Plaza Frontenac also has a premier cinema and fine dining and casual restaurants.

The Saint Louis Galleria showcases more than 35 exclusive stores (including MAC, Z Gallerie, Restoration Hardware, The Cheesecake Factory, and Illuminations) and features 130 additional stores and dining options. Located in the heart of St. Louis, the Galleria is a convenient and exciting shopping destination with over 18 million visitors each year.

Union Station offers a diverse shopping experience that includes unique shops and colorful carts that create a lively atmosphere. There are over 80 shops at Union Station, including the nationally known Discovery Channel Store, Brookstone and Disney Store and locally loved St. Louis Dry Goods, Bud Shop, and Cardinals Clubhouse.

West County Centre (http://www.westfield.com/westcounty/), located at the intersection of I-270 and Manchester, features Missouri’s only Nordstrom, flagship stores of Lord & Taylor and Famous-Barr, JC Penney and St. Louis’ only Galyan’s Sports, aside from 150 additional stores including 30 signature retailers.

Sports

Enjoy a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game at Busch stadium! Bring your peanuts and crackerjacks and prepare for a night of fun watching the Cardinals, the 2004 World Series runner-ups, play America’s favorite sport.

Other Attractions

The Anheuser-Busch Brewery provides tours include the historic Brewhouse, Budweiser Clydesdale stables, lager cellar, packaging plant, hospitality room and Anheuser-Busch gift shop. The brewery is open daily and tours are free to the public.

The Boathouse at Forest Park is a casual restaurant, bar, and boat rental facility located in the heart of Forest Park on Post-Dispatch Lake. Guests can enjoy leisurely boat rides in paddleboats and rowboats around the lake, where they are likely to encounter colonies of ducks, herons, geese, kingfishers, schools of fish and turtles and will also come across some of the parks most treasured landmarks such as The Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis Zoo, and the World’s Fair Pavilion. Guests can also enjoy a full service restaurant with a beautiful lakeside patio that provides dining, live music, and beautiful sunsets.

At 1,371 acres, Forest Park is of the largest urban parks in the United States. In 1904, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition drew more than 19 million visitors from around the world to Forest Park. The park contains the Art Museum, Science Center, Zoo, Jewel Box greenhouse, History Museum, The Muny theatre, and contains a 7.5-mile biking, jogging and skating path, a skating rink, and many beautiful lakes.

The Gateway Arch Riverfront), highlighted by the majestic Gateway Arch, attracts more than four million guests each year. At 630 ft., our nation’s tallest manmade monument has plenty of exciting activities. Take the tram ride to the top, see a documentary film, experience a giant screen movie, visit the Lewis & Clark exhibit in the museum and go shopping. Open daily.

Grant’s Farm is a Busch family estate once owned by Ulysses S. Grant. The 281-acre Farm is home to more than 1,000 animals representing more than 100 different species from six continents. Things to do include animal shows, a petting area, and a tram ride through the wildlife preserve. Admission is free.

Laclede’s Landing features some of the most unique restaurants and sidewalk cafes in St. Louis. Visitors to Laclede’s Landing can experience the charm of cobblestone streets and century-old brick and cast iron facade buildings as they browse through specialty gift shops. At night, this downtown historic district is the site of live music, horse-drawn carriages, and dance clubs, making it one of the premier entertainment areas of St. Louis.

The Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the oldest botanical institutions in the country and a National Historic Landmark. The site features 79 acres of beautiful horticultural display, including a 14-acre Japanese strolling garden, the Climatron® rain forest conservatory, and Garden founder Henry Shaw’s original 1850 estate home.

The Norman K. Probstein Community Golf Course is located in beautiful Forest Park. The golf course consists of three 9-hole courses that can be combined to be played as 18 holes, thus lending more variety and flexibility for golfers. All three courses have lush zoysia fairways and are par 35. The golf course has its own clubhouse, complete with restaurant, pro shop, banquet facilities and a youth learning center.

The Saint Louis Zoo is a world-class zoo with more than 800 species represented on 90 beautifully landscaped acres in historic Forest Park. New exhibits include Penguin & Puffin Coast, River’s Edge, and the Insectarium. Natural habitat areas include Big Cat Country, Jungle of the Apes, and a Children’s Zoo. The zoo is open daily and admission is free.

The Triple A Golf & Tennis Club is located in Forest Park and open to everyone. The golf course is a 9-hole course with extra tees and greens that play like eighteen holes. For those who prefer tennis, you can play on 14 clay courts and one hard surface court with practice boards and ball machine. Guests also have access to the clubhouse that includes lockers and shower facilities, a card room, TV sitting room, a full service kitchen and dining facility, and the “19th Hole” cocktail lounge.