St. Louis

St. Louis needs 2 days: the Gateway Arch, the tallest monument in the US at 192 meters with an interior tram to the viewing deck at the top, on one, and the City Museum, a museum-playground built from recycled industrial materials in a former shoe warehouse, on the other. April-June and September-October are best. It's inexpensive for the US. Its stainless steel arch, opened in 1965, commemorates the city's historic role as the gateway to westward expansion in the 19th century, and it's the tallest man-made monument in the country -taller than the Statue of Liberty or the Washington Monument-.