Missouri 2008 Official Vacation Planner - (Page 60) Northeast DIANE KROUPA, ST. LOUIS, MO. One big city, two big rivers, countless adventures! L et’s start in St. Louis and its famous landmark, the riverfront Gateway Arch. Watch the Mississippi River roll, or soar to the top of the Arch for a top-end view of metropolitan St. Louis and its places of culture, history and irresistible appeal. Forest Park, site of the 1904 World’s Fair, is one such place. Today, the park’s 1,300 acres hold the esteemed St. Louis Zoo, Missouri History Museum and St. Louis Art Museum. Other quintessential St Louis stops: nightlife on The Loop, famed Italian restaurants on The Hill, Victorian homes in Lafayette Square, music clubs in Soulard, chic cafes in the Central West End and the magnificent beauty of the Missouri Botanical Garden. If you have young ones in tow, both they and you will be thrilled with the zany museums designed just for kids. Traveling west from St. Louis, along the Missouri River, you’ll meet a blend of history, art and viniculture in charming St. Charles. Wineries and vineyards dot both sides of the river west of Augusta. The trail culminates in Hermann, a village with a German heritage, gorgeous views, a bevy of bed and breakfasts, lively festivals, and, yes, lots of wineries. North of St. Louis, follow the Great River Road (Route 79) along the Mississippi River. This route is great for a number of reasons. It offers spectacular vistas. It’s one of the nation’s great flyways for waterfowl and wading birds, and a haven for wintering bald eagles. And artistic, riverfront communities total “50 miles of art” from Clarksville to Louisiana to Hannibal. Hannibal, of course, is the home of Mark Twain. It was from his childhood experiences here that Twain wove his adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. And Northeast adventures just keep coming. ST. CHARLES CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU Heritage Days parader, St. Charles 60 Missouri Vacation Planner 2008 Art and nature collide at the Henry Lay Sculpture Park, near Louisiana.
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