A boat cruise can be one of the best ways to tour a city, and one of the worst ways to tour a desert. Put the venerable vessel to its natural use with today's Groupon: for $15, you get two tickets for a one-hour sightseeing cruise from Gateway Arch Riverboats (a $31 value, including the $3 ticket-processing fee). You may also put this Groupon’s $31 value toward a specialty cruise. Tickets for children under three are always free.

Gateway Arch Riverboats, which won Riverfront Times' Best View of Downtown award in 2009, offers intellect-tickling and eyeball-exhilarating excursions down the Mississippi. One-hour sightseeing cruises commence at the levee below the Gateway Arch aboard one of two 19th-century replica steamboats: the Tom Sawyer or the Becky Thatcher. Like a real-life third person, the captain of the craft will omnisciently narrate the adventure along the St. Louis riverfront with historical factoids and geographical trivia. If you crave a more distinct cruise, opt to apply the $31 value of your Groupon to a specialty trip, such as a voyage to the charming riverside town of Kimmswick, Missouri, or a rollicking live blues jaunt.

Because exercising vision and hearing can excite other senses, boxed lunches may be ordered in advance ($8 for a box lunch, $4 for a hot-dog lunch). You can also sniff, peruse, and purchase concessions while aboard—or enjoy a bite to eat at Gateway's Arch View Café before or after your tour. Sightseeing cruises depart at varying times in September and October; check the website for a complete monthly schedule, and call ahead to reserve your cruise.

This Groupon expires on October 31, 2010.

Reviews

Five Yahoo! Travelers and four Insider Pagers give Gateway Arch Riverboats four stars:

• St Louis is a River town, always has been. you are not going to see the paddle boats stacked up four deep along the levee like it was a 100 yrs ago,but [sic] you will safely see a part of the Midwest that is not interstate or cornfields. – looks at boats, Yahoo! Travel
• We took an one hour cruise on the riverboat when visiting St. Louis recently and it was so fun. It was very reasonable for a family fun outing...It is air conditioned inside and also has a nice little snack bar and they even have restrooms on the boat. They provide a nice little talking guide of what is going on as you down the river so you also get a little history lesson which turned out to be very interesting. – L C., Insider Pages