Under $100: St. Louis, Missouri

The gateway to the West, St. Louis is not a city to be overlooked on your travel itinerary. Offering lots to do and a food scene that the locals rave about, this town is not only fun, it’s also affordable.

The Southwest Diner opens at 7 a.m. and is a great place to start off the day with big breakfast servings topped with longhorn cheese and served with a side of home fries. Breakfast combos begin at $5 for either the buttermilk cornmeal pancakes or two eggs with bacon, home fries and a sopapilla.

Gateway Arch © Kenny Tong | Dreamstime

Afterward, you have to see the one attraction that everyone knows St. Louis for — The Gateway Arch. Standing at 630 feet and hailing as the United States’ tallest man-made national monument, it was completed in 1965. There’s a general admission fee of $3, but you can pay an extra $7 to ride the tram to the top of the Arch.

Pick up some St. Louis-style barbecue for lunch, along with some other unexpected treats. Sugarfire Smoke House brings to the table not only your normal barbecue fare such as brisket and pulled pork, but also some unexpected items like their smoked fried artichoke with lemon aioli and their pork belly hush puppies with jalapeno jelly. Most of their menu items start at around $9.

The Anheuser-Busch Aging Cellars © Nan Palmero | Flickr

Anheuser-Busch holds daily, free brewery tours in the afternoons. Tours include a guided walk through their historic brewery, a visit to the Beechwood Aging Cellars and a chance to meet the famous Budweiser Clydesdales at their stables for a quick picture. Since the tours are free and do not require a ticket, admission is on a strict first-come, first-serve basis.

Laclede’s Landing, The Historic St. Louis Riverfront © Tyson Blanquart | Flickr

For dinner and drinks, wander down to the historic Laclede’s Landing on the St. Louis riverfront for a bite to eat at Drunken Fish, an award-winning St. Louis and Kansas City sushi restaurant. Dinner entrees start at $13, and they also have a variety of non-sushi and vegetarian offerings as well. They have a long list of signature drinks with fun names like the Naughty Ninja and the Dirty Kimono, as well as a wide variety of sake. Cocktails begin at $9.