Whether your parents will be attending Parents’ Weekend or not, the couple of days of visitation tend to offer a respite from the few downsides of college. You trade in ramen for a nice dinner out, and if you don’t have a car, it generally provides a chance to get out and see some more of St. Louis. Here, Scene staff offers its best tips for making the most of Parents’ Weekend.

My parents have never actually come, but this hasn’t held me back from enjoying Parents’ Weekend. My favorite thing to do is meet my friends’ families because it offers so much insight into their lives outside the Washington University bubble. Plus, going out with parents generally involves a delicious dinner somewhere other than Noodles & Company or Chipotle. It’s a win-win.

If you haven’t had this experience, don’t wait for others to initiate the plans; plan joint outings or float the idea to your close friends. Sometimes people need a nudge. And as long as you’re inviting yourself, you might as well have a ready suggestion for dinner. Some relatively expensive (i.e., you want parents to pay) spots around campus that you could recommend are Basso, Taste and Demun Oyster Bar. —Laura Harvey

Because my family’s Parents’ Weekend last year could be better described as “Eating Our Way Across St. Louis,” my parents and I want to actually do something this year. We’re planning on visiting Anheuser-Busch’s Grant’s Farm, the previous home of Ulysses S. Grant and current home of the famous Budweiser Clydesdale horses. You likely know these massive horses from their annual appearances in Super Bowl commercials, and this weekend you can take a tour of their stables and meet one of the renowned creatures in person.

Grant’s Farm doesn’t stop at the horses—in addition to tours of the restored 1848 cabin of Ulysses S. Grant, you can see a number of more exotic animals, including kangaroos and tortoises. And because it’s Anheuser-Busch, it offers free samples of its beverages (and German fare for visitors under 21)­. —Keatley Pihl

The baseball playoff schedule is so synchronized with Parents’ Weekend, you’d have to wonder if Matt Adams secretly goes to Wash. U. and has parents coming this weekend. Last year, the Cardinals hosted Game 3 of the World Series on the Saturday of Parents’ Weekend, and this year, those lucky enough to get tickets will have the fortune of watching Game 1 of the National League Championship Series between the Cardinals and San Francisco Giants.

St. Louis is known around baseball as “having the best fans” in the sport, and this game provides a perfect opportunity to take part in the frenzy in the beautiful Busch Stadium and become a real St. Louisan. —Tyler Friedman

Silly as it may sound, I would recommend hitting up all of cliched St. Louis spots with your parents. Even if you’ve been to them, chances are that they probably have not, and it will be an entirely new experience going with them.

If the weather is cooperative, I suggest taking a walk in Forest Park or visiting the zoo. If not, St. Louis has no shortage of museums. During my freshman year, I took my parents and sister to the Arch even though I’d been previously, and it was so much more enjoyable with all of them there. I think visiting common, touristy spots feels completely different when you go with your loved ones. —Claudia Vaughan

While many of the Wash. U.-planned events during Parents’ Weekend are a good way for parents of first-year students to be reassured of their students’ security and happiness at school, if you have the type of parents who are easily worried, it would be nice to take them on a tour around campus. Move-in and Bear Beginnings are very stressful, and parents often do not get to experience the campus fully by walking around, eating at various campus dining spots and, most importantly, getting a taste of campus culture.

This Friday night, the First Year Center is hosting a concert called “Voices and Sounds of Wash U” at the 560 Music Center, showcasing 11 of the campus’ many a cappella groups. Not only will this be a great way for parents to enjoy a lovely evening of music and experience an essential element of Wash. U. culture, it is also one of the very few opportunities when you can see so many talented a cappella groups in one venue, on one night. —Erica Sloan