Things to do

Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park

Missouri’s first town, and one of the best collections of French colonial houses in North America.

Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park

French colonists founded Ste. Genevieve in the mid-1700s on the Mississippi bottomland called Le Grand Champ, the first permanent European settlement in what’s now Missouri. After the floods of 1785 the town moved to higher ground, and its old houses still stand: one of the largest groups of French colonial vertical-log buildings anywhere, including rare poteaux-en-terre houses with their posts set straight into the ground. The historic district became a National Historic Landmark in 1960, and in 2020 the core of it became a national historical park, the 422nd unit of the National Park System. Rangers lead tours; start at the Ste. Genevieve Welcome Center on Main Street.

Green Tree Tavern

Built in 1790 by Nicolas Janis, the Green Tree Tavern is the oldest known standing building from the town’s rebuilding after the 1785 flood. It’s one of the houses the National Park Service operates; check the park’s calendar for tours.

Bauvais-Amoureux House

One of only three surviving poteaux-en-terre houses in Ste. Genevieve, built with its wall posts set directly in the ground in the old French manner, now part of the national historical park.

Louis Bolduc House and the Centre for French Colonial Life

The Louis Bolduc House is a National Historic Landmark in its own right, one of the town’s finest French colonial vertical-log houses. The Centre for French Colonial Life runs it as a museum with the neighboring historic buildings.

Felix Vallé House State Historic Site

A house built in 1818 in the American Federal style and furnished as it would have been in the 1830s, showing how Americans changed the French town after the Louisiana Purchase. Missouri State Parks gives tours and partners with the national park on a downtown walking tour.

Ste. Genevieve Museum Learning Center

The town museum, with local history and a dinosaur gallery: a juvenile Hypsibema missouriensis, Missouri’s state dinosaur, dug up in Bollinger County, is in its collection.

Memorial Cemetery

The town’s old burial ground, dating to 1787. Each October the Déjà Vu Spirit Reunion leads lantern-lit tours through it.

Parks & Natural Areas

Pine woods, sandstone canyons, and a ferry across the Mississippi.

Hawn State Park

About 4,950 acres of pine and oak hills, sandy-bottomed streams, and sandstone canyons and cliffs in the western part of the county. Take the short walk to the overlook or the almost 10-mile backpacking trail, and camp under the pines at basic or electric sites.

Pickle Springs Natural Area

A 256-acre “geological wonderland” of sandstone formations like Dome Rock, small waterfalls, and cool box canyons, with a hiking trail through it all. Leashed pets are allowed; camping isn’t. From Farmington, take Highway 32 east, Route AA east, and Dorlac Road north. Open daily 4 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Ste. Genevieve–Modoc Ferry

A car ferry across the Mississippi between Ste. Genevieve and Modoc, Illinois, a short, scenic crossing of the river. Check the ferry’s site for days and hours before you go.

Wine Country

The Route du Vin and its neighbors.

Route du Vin Wine Trail

Ste. Genevieve County’s wine trail, about an hour south of St. Louis, linking wineries in the hills around town: Chateau Sainte Genevieve and the Baetje Farms creamery near Bloomsdale, Weingarten Vineyard, Charleville Brewery & Winery, and Brix Urban Winery right downtown. See Places to eat and drink below for each one’s address.

Seasonal Events

When to plan a trip.

Food & Drink

Places to eat and drink

Shopping

Antiques, boutiques, and local shops

Recreation

Outfitters, rentals, and more to do

Camping & Lodging

Places to stay

Gas & Convenience

Gas and supplies

Add a place

Suggest a business

Know a restaurant, shop, outfitter, or place to stay that belongs here? Tell us about it and we’ll take a look.