The city of St. Louis was founded by French fur traders from New Orleans in 1764. They named it after Louis IX. The site was ideally situated, located in Spanish territory just 18 miles from the convergence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. The city’s location was perfect for trading with Native Americans to the west. The French regained rights to the western lands and St. Louis in 1800. The territory was sold again, however, in 1803 by Napoleon to President Thomas Jefferson as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

The attractions and amenities of the city are just as rich as its history. The Gateway Arch, opened in 1965, was constructed as a monument to Thomas Jefferson for his vision of a continental United States. The arch makes up one part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, while the Museum of Westward Expansion and the Old Courthouse -- one of the city’s historic structures -- make up the remainder. The new Lewis and Clark State Historic Site and the Lewis and Clark Center further chronicle the treacherous exploration of the West.

At Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, a United Nations World Heritage Site, visitors can climb mounds built by the Mississippian civilization. Visitors can visit the world’s largest brewery, the Anheuser Busch Brewery, during free tours offered Monday through Saturday. The Gateway Arch Riverboats offers visitors narrated trips on the Mississippi, allowing them to re-live the heyday of the steamboats.

Tower Grove, one of St. Louis’s southern neighborhoods, is home to Tower Grove House, the former residence of Henry Shaw. Shaw was an Englishman who commissioned the “Italianate country home” from architect George Barnett in 1849. Shaw opened the pleasure park of Tower Grove Park in 1868, which today offers visitors softball, tennis, corkball, Frisbee and soccer games. Also scattered throughout the park are Victorian pavilions, sculptures and more than 8,000 trees and shrubs that Shaw imported from around the world.

The city of Carondelet in southern St. Louis was originally a temporary settlement of Catholic missionaries in 1702. It was later founded and named Louisbourg by Clement DeLore de Treget in 1767. The city was incorporated by an act of the state legislature in 1851. During the 1860s, the city began to attract many industries after the opening of the Iron Mountain Railroad from St. Louis. The city today retains a strong sense of community due to its ethnic diversity (which included French, German, African, Irish, British, Spanish, Italian and Polish settlers) and its rich history and architecture.

Another St. Louis neighborhood, St. Louis Hills, is located in the southwest part of the city. St. Louis Hills is known for its sound, well-built brick houses, high-quality public and private maintenance, general affluence, extensive resident community involvement and two large, well-developed parks. “As both a place and a community, it successfully blends the best features of an established suburban setting in a central city context.” There are a number of community organizations in the neighborhood, including the St. Louis Hills Neighborhood Association, Parkway Gardens Improvement Association and Villanova Neighborhood Association.

Southampton, situated in southwest St. Louis, was originally a mixture of farms and estates. The area remained rural in character until the 19th century. Southampton is known for its strong commercial base and its numerous blocks of owner-occupied single-family homes. The neighborhood is served by its own collection of restaurants, grocery stores, florists, dry cleaners, churches and banks. It is also less than 20 minutes from the best of St. Louis’s attractions, including the Fox Theatre and Powell Symphony Hall.