A visit to St. Louis would not be complete without spending time in the Soulard neighbourhood. This is the happening part of St. Louis. When the time to stay is limited, it is a good idea to have a tourist guide with advice on the best events and places to visit. Better yet, plan the visit to take place during one of the many fun celebrations occurring in Soulard such as the third-largest Mardi Gras in the world. The French and Spanish-influenced architecture will be worth a walking tour of the neighbourhood. Live music seems to be everywhere, especially in well-known restaurants and pubs in the evenings.
Events Worth Scheduling a Trip to St. Louis For
It is a good idea to check into the events happening during the year in the Soulard before scheduling a trip. Some of the notable celebrations include the huge Marti Gras, Octoberfest, the Hispanic Festival, and the Dog Parade. Then in season, there is the large farmer’s market that has fruits and vegetables, live music, and open beverage containers allowed. The attractive French-inspired architecture and the many cathedrals are worth touring to see.
The Soulard Market takes up two whole blocks and draws thousands of visitors every year. Fruits and vegetables vie for space with spice and meat vendors. Other vendors hawk their wares and people are allowed to carry open liquor containers as they shop. There is often live music and entertainment. The market is on the north end of Soulard and on the south end is the Anheuser-Busch brewery.
Some of the Yearly Events Include:
- During the holidays there is the Historic Soulard House Tour. Visitors are taken in shuttle buses to see the restored homes bedecked for Christmas. Many of these homes have beautiful gardens.
- During the summer, visitors can go on the Soulard Art in the Garden Tour. Owners open their gardens to visitors and have guest artists creating works of art.
- January features the third largest Mardi Gras festival in the world. The Dog Parade is a fun feature during the celebration. There are many fun events attached to the Mardi Graw including 12th-night festivities, Fat Tuesday, the Snow Ball Softball Tournament, Cajun Cook-off, and the Grand Parade. There are also the Family Carnival and the Wine & whiskey Taste.
- The Soulard Concert Series features blues bands May through August.
- In July there is the Bastile Day celebration of French history.
- Then there is the Soulard Oktoberfest the second weekend in October.
- The Greater St. Louis Hispanic Festival takes place in September.
There are many attractions to see while visiting this historic neighbourhood including museums, a zoo, parks, a bird sanctuary, and more. The homes, cathedrals, and other historic buildings are beautiful.
There are a number of art galleries and other fine shopping opportunities.
But, the Pubs and Restaurants are an Event All Their Own
There are guides to many high-quality restaurants and pubs and visitors can find locations here. Some of the fine Restaurants and pubs include:
- Mc Gurks Irish pub with live Irish musicians and Irish stew. This pub is known internationally.
- Lonas Lil Eats where customers can choose between Chinese cuisine, Thai cuisine, and vegetarian dishes.
- Mayo Ketsup has Puerto Rican and Dominican cuisine.
- The Wood Shak Soulard has casual dining, sandwiches, and mac and cheese.
- Bogart’s Smokehouse has barbeque and sandwiches with lots of sides. Really good ribs.
- The Pizzeoli Wood Fired Pizza has a nice atmosphere and friendly staff. In this small eating place, customers can watch their pizza being made
- Peacemaker Lobster and Crab is great for seafood.
- Polite Society has liquor, lots of menu choices, and high ratings for the food and for dessert choices.
- Chavas Mexican Restaurant and the Mission Taco Joint are two Mexican restaurants that are both highly rated.
- Tucker’s Place is a great steakhouse and traditional American food place
- 808 Maison is French food, wine bar, and cocktail bar that is fancier. This is supposed to have the best French food in town.
Soulard has a wide variety of restaurants and pubs with food choices from many cultures. There is a restaurant or pub for every taste. Many of the places offer live music including jazz and blues bands. There are Pub Crawls that visit both bars and restaurants who offer discounts to participants. Many of the pub crawls are held to benefit the causes of local organizations.
The STL BArCycle’s pedaling bar crawl has groups pedaling their way to bars on the route. Some stops include the 1860 Saloon, Joanie’s. Duke’s Sports Bar, and Nadine’s.
The Soulard neighbourhood and St. Louis were a French settlement in the 18th century and were part of America’s Louisiana Purchase. It was controlled by the Spanish empire for a time, then by France. This leaves the area with a rich and varied past with different cultural influences. St. Louis and Soulard have had their share of decline and natural disasters such as tornadoes, but have overcome them all and emerged as a rich cultural experience well-worth visiting.
If the Soulard neighbourhood does not have enough to keep a visitor busy, there are many nearby attractions in and around St. Louis. There are brewery and beer tasting tours, the Gateway Arch, Busch Stadium. The Central Public Library, Grant’s Farm, and the Saint Louis Science Center.
If all those experiences and places to visit get tiring, there are wonderful parks to relax in and high-quality hotels to stay in and use as a base. But the restaurants and pubs are also great places to hang out and eat a rich variety of foods while listening to great local blues and jazz bands.
For the best experience in Soulard, book your stay well in advance and plan out your days to take advantage of all the events and places you want to see and experience. Go online to several sites for detailed information about the times and locations of events and the best lodging. Advance planning with the advice of travel and tourist guides will prevent mistakes and missed opportunities for fun and sightseeing experiences.
