Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis

Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis (must see)

The Saint Louis Art Museum is one of the principal U.S. art museums, visited by up to a half million people every year. Admission is free through a subsidy from the cultural tax district for St. Louis City and County. Located in Forest Park in St. Louis, the Museum's three-story building was constructed as the Palace of the Fine Arts for the 1904 World's Fair, also known as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Architect Cass Gilbert was inspired by the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, Italy.

In addition to the featured exhibitions, the Museum offers rotating exhibitions and installations. These include the Currents series, which showcases contemporary artists, as well as regular exhibitions of new media art and works on paper. The Saint Louis Art Museum began in 1881 as the Saint Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts, an independent entity within Washington University in St. Louis. Originally housed in a building in downtown St. Louis, the Museum moved to its current location in Forest Park after the 1904 World's Fair. During the 1950s, the Museum added an extension to include an auditorium for films, concerts and lectures. The collection of the Saint Louis Art Museum contains more than 30,000 artworks dating from antiquity to the present.

Why You Should Visit:
Very eclectic collection – from paintings to pottery, from sculpture to furniture...
Would you like to see Monet's famous 'Water Lilies' and an Egyptian mummy? You can see them both at this museum.

Tip:
Entrance to the museum is free; the special exhibits are free on Fridays.
Fine dining in Panorama restaurant on the first floor (reserve in advance), and café in the basement.

Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Saint Louis. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.

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Saint Louis Art Museum on Map

Sight Name: Saint Louis Art Museum
Sight Location: Saint Louis, USA (See walking tours in Saint Louis)
Sight Type: Museum/Gallery
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Walking Tours in Saint Louis, Missouri

Create Your Own Walk in Saint Louis

Create Your Own Walk in Saint Louis

Creating your own self-guided walk in Saint Louis is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Historical Religious Buildings Walking Tour

Historical Religious Buildings Walking Tour

Saint Louis, Missouri, is a perfect destination for those with a taste for great architecture, especially if it is associated with an important spiritual value. Indeed, this city features some of the most famous and interesting churches in the USA.

One such landmark is the Saint Mary of Victories Catholic Church. A stunning example of Mannerism architecture, it has been a spiritual hub for the...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 4.4 Km or 2.7 Miles
Forest Park Walking Tour

Forest Park Walking Tour

Forest Park, a massive urban park in Saint Louis, offers a wide range of attractions and activities for visitors of all ages. Renowned for its multiple entertaining and educational facilities, such as museums, zoo, and green areas, it is often and quite deservedly regarded as one of the city's crown jewels – an ideal location for a great time out! Let's see what you can find on the...  view more

Tour Duration: 3 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 5.9 Km or 3.7 Miles
Saint Louis Downtown Walking Tour

Saint Louis Downtown Walking Tour

Missouri's main city, St. Louis, is a prominent metropolis renowned for its cultural diversity, vibrancy and art. Ahead of the Europeans, the area of today's St. Louis was inhabited by the Native American Mississippian tribes.

French fur traders, who settled on the territory in 1764, named it for King Louis IX of France. That same year, the land was ceded to Spain, and in 1800, was...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.5 Km or 2.2 Miles