Saint Louis Hotels

Saint Louis Hotels

Hotels in Saint Louis are often required for tourists who require short term accommodation. Some tourists may want to visit the city to see the culture, history, sports, tourist attractions and society of the famous US city. Some may want to stay at large hotels or small hotels. Some may want to stay at cheap or luxury hotels. Some may want to stay at hotels that have good reputation. Some may want to stay at well known hotels ans hotels that are in the city or near the city. Some may want to stay at high status hotels.

Hotels in the city of Saint Louis areoften required for tourists who require short term accommodation. Some may want to stay at high quality hotels. Some may want to stay at well known hotels. .

St. Louis is an independent city separate from St. Louis County in the USA state of Missouri, located at the confluence of two of the world's great rivers, the Mississippi River and the Missouri River. St. Louis has a diverse multi-cultural population, and is known for architecture, festivals, sports, historical sites, and other aspects which draw visitors from around the world. St. Louis is the second largest city in Missouri, but is by far the largest metropolitan area in the state. Sometimes written as Saint Louis, the city is named for King Louis IX of France. St. Louis is famous for its multiple French and German influences as well as having a Victorian past.

As St. Louis entered the 20th century, it was the 4th largest city in the United States. Two major events held in this period, the 1904 World's Fair and 1904 Olympic Games, the first ever held in the United States, are of particular pride to St. Louisans. In the 21st century, St. Louis has transformed from a manufacturing and industrial economy into a globally known focus for research in medicine, biotechnology, and other sciences. The St. Louis region is home to 21 Fortune 1000 companies, nine of which are in the Fortune 500. The region is also home to some of the country's largest privately held corporations, including Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Edward Jones.

The city has many nicknames, the most popular being "Gateway City", as it is seen as the Eastern/Western US dividing mark. St. Louis is also called "Gateway to the West" on behalf of the many people who migrated west through St. Louis via the Missouri River (first leg of the Oregon Trail) and other wagon trails. The most popular abbreviation for St. Louis is "STL" in reference to the airport code for the city and the long-standing use of an interlocked S, T and L by the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team (the St. Louis Browns also used an interlocked STL). Many natives today refer to the city as "STL".

The city is built primarily on bluffs and terraces that rise 100-200 feet above the western banks of the Mississippi River, just south of the Missouri-Mississippi confluence. Much of the area is a fertile and gently rolling prairie that features low hills and broad, shallow valleys. Both the Mississippi River and the Missouri River have cut large valleys with wide flood plains.

Limestone and dolomite of the Mississippian epoch underlies the area and much of the city is a karst area, with numerous sinkholes and caves, although most of the caves have been sealed shut; many springs are visible along the riverfront. Significant deposits of coal, brick clay, and millerite ore were once mined in the city, and the predominant surface rock, the St. Louis Limestone, is used as dimension stone and rubble for construction.

The St. Louis Geologic fault is exposed along the bluffs and was the source of several historic minor earthquakes; it is part of the St. Louis Anticline which has some petroleum and natural gas deposits outside of the city. St. Louis is also just north of the New Madrid Seismic Zone which in 1811-12 produced a series of earthquakes that are the largest known in the contiguous United States.

Near the southern boundary of the City of St. Louis (separating it from St. Louis County) is the River des Peres, virtually the only river or stream within the city limits that is not entirely underground. Most of River des Peres was either channelized or put underground in the 1920s and early 1930s. The lower section of the river was the site of some of the worst flooding of the Great Flood of 1993.

Near the central, western boundary of the city is Forest Park, site of the 1904 World's fair, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904, and the 1904 Summer Olympics, the first Olympic Games held in North America. At the time, St. Louis was the fourth most populous city in the United States.

The Missouri River forms the northern border of St. Louis County, exclusive of a few areas where the river has changed its course. The Meramec River forms most of its southern border. To the east is the City and the Mississippi River.

The city is divided into neighborhoods. The divisions have no legal standing, although some neighborhood associations administer grants or hold veto power over historic-district development. Nevertheless, the social and political influence of neighborhood identity is profound. Some hold avenues of massive stone edifices built as palaces for heads of state visiting the 1904 World's Fair. Others offer tidy working-class bungalows, loft districts, or areas hard-hit by social problems and unemployment. Many of them have retained - quite consciously and deliberately - a camaraderie that is missing from many American towns today.

Among the best-known, architecturally significant, or well-visited neighborhoods are Downtown, Midtown, Benton Park, Carondelet, the Central West End, Clayton/Tamm (Dogtown), Dutchtown South, Forest Park Southeast, Grand Center, The Hill, Lafayette Square, Shaw (home to the Missouri Botanical Garden and named after the Garden's founder, Henry Shaw), Southwest Garden, Soulard (home of the second-largest Mardi Gras festival in the nation), Tower Grove East, Tower Grove South, Hortense Place (home to many grand mansions) and Wydown/Skinker.