Every city has its highlight reel: the monument you must visit, the museum that's a point of local pride, the landmark restaurant that earned a James Beard award. You can find all the above in St. Louis. But in a city with more than its share of nooks and crannies, you'd miss a lot by sticking to the guidebook version.
And so in this year's City Guide, we're hoping to inspire longtime residents and visitors alike to push past their comfort zones and into the real St. Louis. We've surveyed all the unusual places where you can find art flourishing. We've walked the streets of Little Bosnia and Ferguson. We've gotten recommendations for the places real chefs eat and drink, the bars that stay open well past 2 a.m., the canoes that will get you right on the Mississippi.
That doesn't mean you should skip the highlight reel. We've got twenty tourist destinations we've personally vetted and are thrilled to recommend, including Cherokee Street's Antique Row (see "20 St. Louis Tourist Attractions That Are Actually Worth a Visit" for nineteen more). But why not make that list just one part of your exploration? Why not also take a walk on the wild(er) side?