Audubon's Hotel (City)

Audubon’s Hotel

At 9 North Main Street in the heart of historic downtown Ste. Genevieve, Audubon’s combines seven beautifully renovated boutique hotel rooms with one of the town’s favorite restaurants and bars. Housed in a building that has been part of the community since the early 1900s, it’s an ideal place to settle in for a weekend of history, good food, and a little small-town revelry.

The location is hard to beat. Historic homes, museums, galleries, shops, and some of Ste. Genevieve’s best dining and entertainment are just a short walk away. Better yet, Audubon’s has a restaurant downstairs serving scratch-made French, Cajun, German, and Italian dishes. You can spend the day exploring town, enjoy a proper dinner, have a nightcap, and make it back to your room without ever looking for your car keys.

A Storied Past

Audubon’s has been a part of downtown Ste. Genevieve for more than a century, and its history is nearly as colorful as the town itself.

The story begins in 1901, when Charles Petrequin purchased the property for a little over $2,000. By 1903, it was home to the Palace Bar, a popular local watering hole whose name still inspires a little nostalgia among longtime residents. The City Hotel followed in 1904, welcoming travelers to the heart of downtown.

Over the years, the building has housed a barber shop, a plumbing business, and even the first television in Ste. Genevieve County. One can only imagine the conversations that took place around that television when it first arrived.

After falling into decline and closing in the early 2000s, the property was brought back to life by Herb and Norma Fallert and the Ferguson families, who reopened Audubon’s restaurant in December 2014. In 2018, the upstairs hotel received a complete renovation, transforming its accommodations into seven contemporary guest rooms.

Brock and Megan Gibson purchased Audubon’s in the fall of 2024, continuing the building’s long tradition of welcoming both travelers and townspeople. The Gibsons retained the experienced restaurant staff and have embraced Audubon’s place in the community, preserving what people already loved while looking for ways to make it even better.

Seven Rooms, All the Comforts

Although the building has more than a century of history behind it, the accommodations are decidedly modern.

Audubon’s seven boutique-style guest rooms feature contemporary furnishings, comfortable beds, quality linens, private bathrooms, and modern climate control. Some rooms offer spacious walk-in showers, and guests regularly compliment the hotel’s cleanliness and comfortable accommodations.

Rather than trying to recreate the hotel’s appearance from 1904, the rooms offer a clean, contemporary retreat within a genuinely historic building.

It’s a nice balance. You can spend the afternoon wandering through centuries of French Colonial history, then come back to a room with all the modern comforts you’ve grown accustomed to. There’s no need to commit quite so thoroughly to the historical experience.

Dinner Is Just Downstairs

One of the greatest conveniences of staying at Audubon’s is having a full-service restaurant and bar right below your room.

The kitchen serves a diverse menu of scratch-made dishes inspired by Ste. Genevieve’s French, Cajun, German, and Italian culinary traditions. You’ll find everything from pork schnitzel with spaetzle and Cajun pasta to bacon-wrapped shrimp, French onion soup, burgers, and brick-oven pizza.

The menu manages to be both familiar and adventurous. Whether you’re craving a hearty German-inspired dinner, something with a little Cajun kick, or a good old-fashioned burger, there’s plenty to choose from.

The full-service bar offers cocktails, wine, and beer, making Audubon’s a comfortable place to linger after dinner. Weekend breakfast and brunch provide another good reason to head downstairs, particularly if your idea of a relaxing morning involves someone else doing the cooking.

Audubon’s is also a popular dining destination for locals, so even if you’re staying elsewhere, the restaurant is well worth a visit.

The Biergarten & More

Across the street from the hotel, Audubon’s beer garden offers an outdoor setting for drinks, conversation, and seasonal live music.

On Saturday evenings during the warmer months, the space comes alive with local and regional musicians, making it a pleasant spot to spend an evening downtown. Grab a drink, find a seat, and enjoy the music. You might even make a few new friends before the night’s over.

Audubon’s also offers catering for special occasions, including rehearsal dinners, anniversary celebrations, and private gatherings, with both on-site and off-site options.

And beneath the building is a finished cellar that the owners have identified as a space with potential for future use. Given how many different lives this building has already enjoyed, there’s something fitting about the possibility of another chapter.

Everything Is Within Walking Distance

It’s difficult to overstate the convenience of Audubon’s location.

Step outside the hotel and you’re on Main Street, surrounded by the architecture, shops, galleries, restaurants, and historic attractions that make downtown Ste. Genevieve so special.

The Ste. Genevieve Welcome Center, Sainte Genevieve Catholic Church, Felix Vallé House State Historic Site, Bolduc House Museum, and the Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park are all within easy walking distance.

You can spend the morning touring historic homes, browse the downtown shops in the afternoon, enjoy dinner and live music in the evening, and stroll back to your room when you’re ready.

For those interested in exploring farther afield, Ste. Genevieve County’s wineries, scenic drives, and outdoor recreation areas are an easy drive away.

But for a weekend spent discovering downtown, you can park the car when you arrive and largely forget about it until checkout.

Where Locals and Visitors Meet

Audubon’s has always been more than a place to spend the night.

From its early days as the Palace Bar to its current life as a hotel, restaurant, and bar, the building has served as a gathering place for the Ste. Genevieve community.

That tradition continues under owners Brock and Megan Gibson, who have embraced the idea of making Audubon’s a place where visitors and locals feel equally at home.

The restaurant draws regulars from around town alongside hotel guests and travelers stopping in for dinner. It’s the kind of place where you might strike up a conversation with someone at the bar and leave with a few recommendations that never appeared in your travel guide.

Audubon’s own tagline captures the idea rather nicely: “Where the past meets the present, and the visitors meet the locals.”

In a town with as much personality as Ste. Genevieve, that’s a pretty good place to start.

Practical Information

• Name: Audubon’s Hotel
• Address: 9 North Main Street, Ste. Genevieve, MO 63670
• Phone: 573-883-2479
• Website: audubons.com
• Building History: Dates to 1901; home to the Palace Bar beginning in 1903 and the City Hotel in 1904
• Renovation: Hotel accommodations renovated in 2018
• Ownership: Brock and Megan Gibson, since fall 2024
• Accommodations: 7 contemporary boutique guest rooms
• Room Features: Private bathrooms, comfortable beds, quality linens, modern climate control, and walk-in showers in select rooms
• Restaurant: Full-service, scratch-made dining featuring French, Cajun, German, Italian, and American favorites
• Restaurant Hours: Previously listed as Monday–Friday, 4–9 PM; Saturday, 8 AM–9 PM; Sunday, 8 AM–2 PM. Confirm current hours before visiting.
• Bar: Full-service bar with extended evening hours
• Weekend Breakfast: Saturday and Sunday service; confirm hours
• Beer Garden: Across the street, with seasonal Saturday live music
• Catering: On-site and off-site services for private events and celebrations
• Recognition: Listed in the AAA Diamond Program
• Nearby: Welcome Center, National Historical Park, historic homes, shops, galleries, restaurants, and downtown entertainment
• Reservations: Contact Audubon’s directly for room availability and booking

Perfect For

• Couples planning a weekend in historic Ste. Genevieve
• Visitors who want to explore downtown on foot
• Travelers looking for contemporary accommodations in a historic building
• Food lovers who appreciate having a good restaurant downstairs
• Weekend getaways with friends
• Wine country visitors looking for a downtown home base
• Business travelers seeking convenient accommodations
• Guests who enjoy live music and nightlife
• History enthusiasts who appreciate buildings with a story
• Small groups gathering for celebrations
• Anyone who likes being in the middle of things without having to drive everywhere

A Downtown Tradition

There’s a reason Audubon’s has remained an important part of downtown Ste. Genevieve for so many years. The building has changed names, owners, and purposes, but its role as a place where people gather has remained remarkably consistent.

Today, the Gibsons are continuing that tradition with a comfortable boutique hotel, a restaurant that welcomes both regulars and newcomers, and a bar that remains part of downtown’s social life.

The renovation has brought new life to the upstairs rooms without erasing the character of the building, and the restaurant gives guests another reason to spend time here beyond simply having somewhere to sleep.

It’s a business with deep roots in the community, and that’s part of what makes staying here special.

Your Stay at Audubon’s

Imagine arriving in Ste. Genevieve on a Friday afternoon, checking into your room, and heading downstairs for a cocktail before dinner.

The restaurant is right there, so there’s no need to make another trip across town. Enjoy something from the kitchen, settle in at the bar for a while, and head upstairs whenever the evening feels complete.

Saturday morning, step outside and start exploring. Historic homes, museums, independent shops, and galleries are all just a few blocks away. Stop for coffee, take a tour, wander into a shop that catches your attention, and enjoy a downtown where there’s no particular hurry to get anywhere.

Spend the afternoon visiting a winery or continue exploring town. When evening rolls around, you might catch live music in the beer garden or discover another downtown venue worth visiting.

On Sunday, enjoy breakfast before one last stroll around Main Street.

There’s something especially satisfying about a getaway where everything feels close at hand, and Audubon’s makes that kind of weekend remarkably easy.

Stay in the Heart of Ste. Genevieve

Whether you’re visiting for the French Colonial history, the wineries, the restaurants, or simply a few days away from your usual routine, Audubon’s puts you right in the middle of it all.

With seven contemporary guest rooms, a popular restaurant and bar downstairs, seasonal entertainment across the street, and a century of local history behind its doors, it’s a distinctive place to make your home base.

Visit audubons.com or call 573-883-2479 to check room availability, make a reservation, or learn more about the restaurant.

Park the car, check into your room, and see where Main Street takes you. With dinner downstairs and most of downtown just steps away, you might find that the only difficult decision all weekend is what to order.