Back in September, Chris and I decided to skip the presents and take an anniversary staycation instead.
I’d been to Sainte Genevieve before with my mom and loved the place we stayed in, so I thought it would be a great spot to come back to since we had minimal time!
Sainte Genevieve was founded in 1735 and is said to be the oldest permanent European settlement in Missouri. You can certainly see some of the history in the buildings alone when roaming about the downtown area. This area also appears to boast an appreciation for at, based on all the art walks they host and the local shops in the area with work from local artisans.
The surrounding areas feature a number of wineries. You can even hitch a ride on a trolley that will take you to several of them!
THE JOURNEY
Ste. Genevieve is less than two hours away, so of course we drove. It was a quick, easy drive!
GETTIN’ AROUND
The main area of town is perfect for walking. It’s cute and quaint with plenty of old historic homes to look at. We did have to drive out of town for a couple of things, but overall it was walkable.
BRAVING THE ELEMENTS
It was a perfect day for walking around town. Fall was just beginning to hit the area so it was the perfect temperature!
A PLACE TO REST…
We stayed at Main Street Inn during our visit. It is an old historic house turned into a bed and breakfast right downtown. We opted for the studio room, which has its own private street access.
(Fun fact: This room used to be a bar at one point!)
The room itself was spacious with a queen bed, trundle bed, and a little sitting area with two chairs. It had a jacuzzi tub in the room, a shower, a keurig, and a smart tv.
With your stay, you get access to all of the common areas, porches, and outdoor areas. They were in the middle of constructing a koi pond in the back that I think will look great once completed!
In the evenings, Main Street Inn provides a wine reception with a meat and cheese tray. It was a nice bonus to staying here that I haven’t experienced with any other bed and breakfasts so far. In the mornings, our included breakfast included a parfait, fruit, sweet bread, and a quiche. The innkeeper made sure to ask if we had any special preferences or dietary needs upon arrival.
LET’S EAT!
All of the places we ate were in walking distance to our bed and breakfast.
Anvil Restaurant
This old-timey bar style restaurant was only a few blocks away, so we decided to give it a try. They are known for their onion rings, so we couldn’t leave without tasting some of those! I had some sort of smothered chicken, while Chris had a french dip. The food (and onion rings!) hit the spot and were just the sort of simple, but filling meal we were looking for to prep for all the wine drinking! 😉
Sirro’s
This was a casual place to stop by lunch. I had the lunch special with pizza and salad. We had something called “hot tots” for an appetizer, which were basically tater tots covered in queso, jalapenos, cheese, and bacon. They were crazy good. A yummy, easy spot to pop in for a bite.
Bonus: We also drove out of town to Oberle Meats to get some of the garlic cheese our bed and bed breakfast served at the wine reception. We loved it so much that we wish we could find some locally!
SOO…WHAT WE GONNA DO?
It’s a small town, so while not particularly booming with things to do, we had a great time exploring!
Shopping – many of the small shops were closed since it was in the middle of the week during COVID times, but we popped in a couple of stores to look around (and buy more wine).
Bolduc House
This is a French colonial style home that was built in 1788 and is the first historic structure there to be authentically restored.We only walked around the grounds and the outside of this home. Chris and I thought the fences would be great for zombie protection!
Pickle Springs
We took a 30 minute drive to hike at Pickle Springs on a beautiful fall day before heading home. I wrote about this spot in more detail in a previous post.
Looked at old homes
Chris and I are both fans of old houses, so we walked around town and looked at all the ones Ste. Genevieve had to offer! Houses are way too boring these days.
We planned to visit a couple of wineries nearby, but were strapped on time and they didn’t end up working out. I hope to go back again and go winery hopping on the trolley!
Overall, Ste. Genevieve was a one of a kind little town with friendly people. I hope to go back on a weekend when everything is open to check out some of the shops, wineries, and more hiking spots. It also sparked an interest in exploring other small towns. They seem to have their own characters to them that you don’t quite get anywhere else.
What’s your favorite small town where you live?
I think small towns have such a charm about them and although there might not be hundreds of things to do, it’s nice to just chill and slow down for a few days! Looks like a lovely trip 🙂 xxx
They really do have such a nice charm 🙂 It was a great trip!
This sounds really a nice place. I’m glad you could go out and enjoy.
It was a great little trip! Thanks for stopping by 🙂