St. Louis was incorporated as a city in 1823, and it’s been a booming center of commerce ever since.

In St. Louis, they say, “There’s More Than Meets the Arch.” More, as in more than a thousand different restaurants, more than 20 museums and more than a dozen theatres – in a city of more than 2.5 million people.

The most famous feature, of course, is the Gateway Arch-Jefferson National Expansion Memorial on the St. Louis riverfront. Built in 1965, more than 4 million guests each year tour the 630-foot monument, the tallest manmade monument in the nation. If you climb to the top, you can see for 30 miles, across the city of St. Louis and beyond. The city is the geographic hub of the United States, with most major cities located within a 2- to 3-hour flight from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

Whether you’re into parks, the blues or the St. Louis Blues (hockey team), there’s something for everyone in the city. And many attractions are free of charge: the Saint Louis Zoo; the Missouri History Museum; the Science Center; Route 66 State Park, and the Annheuser-Busch Brewery, just to name a few.

When President Thomas Jefferson sent explorers Lewis & Clark from St. Louis to chart the new Louisiana Territory in 1804, more than 1,000 people, mostly French, Spanish, Indian and both free and slave blacks, lived in the city. When they returned two years later, St. Louis had become a major jumping off point for pioneers and trappers. Visitors can follow the adventures of Lewis & Clark at several museums, historic sites and the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Throughout the 19th century, Germans and Irish also migrated to St. Louis, making it one of the most culturally rich destinations in the country.