Date Night Ideas in St. Louis

Setup.No tickets, no reservations. Start at whichever museum is closest to where you parked or got off the MetroLink, and bring water for the walk between them.

1. Start at the Saint Louis Art Museum, the only permanent building constructed for the 1904 World's Fair, and give yourselves a time limit so you do not try to see everything.
2. Walk or take the MetroLink toward the Saint Louis Zoo or the Saint Louis Science Center, whichever one of you has been putting off.
3. Split up inside for twenty minutes and text each other the strangest thing you found, then meet back up to compare notes.
4. Finish at the lakes near the Jewel Box, the 1936 art deco greenhouse, and sit until the museums start closing around you.

Talk about:Which exhibit would you go back to see alone, and which one was purely for me?

Setup.Nothing to book. Citygarden sits between Eighth and Tenth streets downtown and is open year round with no admission.

1. Walk the sculptures first, touching them as you go, since the park allows it and most people do not expect that.
2. Sit at the edge of the spray plaza as the light goes and watch the fountains.
3. Head toward the long pool and its waterfall and see how the light changes over the water.
4. End the loop back near Ninth Street and decide whether you want one more pass before heading out.

Talk about:If you could touch or climb inside any piece of public art we have seen together, which one would you pick?

Setup.Wear clothes you can crawl in. City Museum sits in the Washington Avenue Loft District, a former shoe factory with hand built caves and slides running up through the building toward the roof.

1. Start low, in the hand carved cave system on the ground floors, before the crowds move through.
2. Work up through the climbing structures and slides toward the MonstroCity area outside, weather permitting.
3. Take the rooftop last: the Ferris wheel and the ramp slide are the payoff.
4. Sit somewhere quiet inside once you are both worn out and compare which floor scared you more.

Talk about:What is the most fun you have had somewhere that was technically built for children?

Setup.Bring your own bikes and access the bridge from the Riverfront Trail on the Missouri side; it has been pedestrian and bike only since 1998.

1. Ride north along the Mississippi Greenway toward the bridge, watching the river open up on your right.
2. Slow down at the bend in the middle of the bridge, the reason it was built that way, and take it in.
3. Cross fully onto the Illinois side to Chouteau Island, then decide whether to turn back or keep going.
4. Stop partway back to watch barge traffic on the river before finishing the ride.

Talk about:Would you rather live somewhere with a big river running through it, or somewhere landlocked?

Setup.No planning needed beyond picking an evening. The Loop runs along Delmar Boulevard from University City into the Skinker DeBaliviere edge of the city.

1. Start at one end of the Walk of Fame and read the plaques out loud, guessing the name before you look.
2. Keep score of who gets more names right as you walk.
3. Duck into whatever storefront or gallery window catches your eye without committing to going in.
4. End the night at a live music venue in the Loop if one has a show that night, or just keep walking until you loop back.

Talk about:If St. Louis put in a star for you someday, what would it say you were famous for?

Setup.An antiquarian or used bookshop in a literary city. Cash for small purchases. A budget.

1. Each picks the section they would never otherwise visit.
2. Spend 30 minutes there. Pick one book.
3. Reveal at the till.
4. Read at a café for 30 minutes before walking on.

Setup.A baseball, basketball, hockey, or football game. Cheap seats, they are cheap for a reason and that's fine.

1. Get there 30 minutes before first pitch.
2. Hot dog and a drink each.
3. Stay through the seventh-inning stretch.
4. Walk to a bar near the stadium afterwards.

Setup.A pumpkin patch (October only). Boots, it gets muddy.

1. Walk the whole patch before picking.
2. Hayride if available.
3. Carve at home that evening.

Setup.A pub with a weekly quiz night. Most pubs run them, usually free entry.

1. Order food before the quiz starts. Eating mid-quiz is hard.
2. Pick a team name. Submit it confidently.
3. Argue every contested answer.
4. Stay for the prize round even if you cannot win.

Setup.A loud cart-style yum cha or dim sum place. Cash for the bill.

1. Stop the first three carts that pass. Take one of each.
2. Order tea, jasmine, oolong, or pu-erh.
3. Stop ordering ten minutes before you think you should.

Setup.A national/state park with cabin or camping. Booking essential, many fill months out.

1. Drive Saturday morning, set up by lunch.
2. One real hike. One real meal at camp.
3. Coffee at sunrise Sunday before driving.

Setup.A beach with a surf school. Reef-safe sunscreen, swimwear, a change of clothes.

1. Group lesson on land first, listen carefully.
2. Whitewater only, do not chase real waves first time.
3. Lunch at the beach café afterwards.

Setup.A small brewery, cidery, or distillery with tastings. Many do a flight under $15.

1. Order the standard flight, not your usual style.
2. Score on smell, taste, finish.
3. Ask one staff member how they got into brewing.
4. Leave with one bottle from the flight.

Setup.A paddle-rental spot, most lakes and harbors have them. Sunscreen, water, a hat each.

1. Get there in the morning before the queue forms.
2. Rent for an hour minimum.
3. Paddle to the furthest point you can. Sit and float for ten minutes.
4. Snack on shore afterwards.

Setup.A 90-minute film from a country whose cinema you have never watched. Mubi, Criterion, BFI Player, or YouTube.

1. Read nothing about the film before pressing play.
2. Pause at the 45-minute mark. Each predicts the ending in one sentence.
3. Finish, then debate who was closer.
4. Add the country to a "next film from..." list in your notes.

Setup.A hotel in your own city. Often cheaper midweek. One bag each.

1. Check in at 3pm. Spend the first hour in the room.
2. Dinner walking distance. Dress better than usual.
3. Hotel breakfast in the morning, order one of everything.
4. Late checkout if you can.

Setup.A real antique store, not a curated boutique. An hour of free time.

1. Walk slowly. Touch what you are allowed to.
2. Pick the most absurd object. Each makes a case for buying it.
3. Learn one thing about one object from the owner.
4. Buy nothing, or buy one small useful thing.