With a gorgeous park at its heart and charming Victorian-era homes that double up as bars and cafés, this neighborhood offers St. Louis living at its best.
Few would have thought that this one-time farmland for French settlers would go on to become the destination du jour for fashionable Victorians to today’s urban playground for hipsters, but that’s indeed the story behind Lafayette Square. Come here to experience the lifestyle of St. Louis’ cool crowd.
Lafayette Park is the neighborhood’s geographical and social center. It’s easy to fall in love with the park’s natural charms, especially in summer when concerts, an outdoor cinema club and picnics are often the order of the day. Check the park’s official website for a list of upcoming events and print out a map to go on a walking tour of this beautiful urban space. Time your visit so that you can take the family to a fun day at Vintage Baseball; the Saint Louis Perfectos recreate the traditions of the game as it was in the 1860s.
Stay in the 19th century for a while and pay a visit to the “painted ladies” showing off their elegance around the square. This isn’t actually a group of female residents but a collection of 400 colorful Victorian-era houses. While most are still family homes some have been converted into stylish shops and lofts. The welcoming homeowners even open their doors for the biannual Lafayette Square House Tours.
Return to this millennia and join the hipsters taking yoga classes and sipping coffee on Park Avenue, Lafayette Square’s main commercial hub. Satisfy your sweet tooth by indulging in gooey butter cakes, one of St. Louis’ most-famous accidents created by a German baker. There’s one cafe that has over 70 regular and seasonal variations of the iconic pastry. Finish your day back where you started, in the streets surrounding Lafayette Park, for fine dining, live music and whiskey tasting.