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The Atlas Obscura Guide To St. Louis

39 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in St. Louis, Missouri

Updated February 14, 2025

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Atlas Obscura Itineraries

6 Wondrous Places to Get Tipsy in Missouri

Celebration or desperation aside, these six spots in Missouri are proof that imbibing is only half the fun of bar culture. From a mountaintop drive-through golf-cart bar to the state's oldest waterhole hole—nestled more than 50 feet underground in a limestone cellar—the “Show-Me State” has no shortage of boozy fun to show you (as long as you're 21+, of course).

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Stories About St. Louis

This diagram from Modern Swindles shows how card cheats work—and what happens to them when they’re caught.

A Peek Inside a 'Scam Manual' Written to Help Immigrants Avoid Becoming Victims

Early 20th-century migrants from Europe had to be on their guard against marriage brokers, card sharps, ghost mediums, and more.
by Nina Strochlic

Podcast: Meramec Caverns

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team
Charles Henry Turner was the first scientist to prove certain insects could remember, learn, and feel.

How a High School Teacher Changed Early 20th-Century Insect Science

Systemic racism kept him from a position in higher education—but it didn't stop Charles Henry Turner from rewriting our understanding of bees, ants, and cockroaches.
by Edward D. Melillo

Podcast: Bloody Island

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team

Podcast: City Museum

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team
Monks Mound at Cahokia.

How Did Cahokian Farmers Feed North America’s Largest Indigenous City?

Native American farming was more sophisticated than your history textbook told you.
by Reina Gattuso
The skate park hidden inside St. Liborius’ walls.

How a St. Louis Church Became a Skate Park

Welcome to heaven on earth for skaters.
by Evan Nicole Brown
The Ribbon Map of the Father of Waters—pictured rolled up (left) and fully extended (right)—was meant to be wrapped around a spool and brought on steamboat trips.

This 11-Foot 'Ribbon Map' Puts the Whole Mississippi River in Your Pocket

Steamboat tourists of the late 1860s wrapped it around a spool.
by Cara Giaimo

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