The Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center showcases the rich cultural history and diverse natural resources of Southeast Missouri. Indoors, the nature center features hands-on exhibits for all ages, a 160-seat auditorium, three classrooms, a scientific research laboratory, freshwater aquariums, an indoor wildlife viewing area, and a gift shop.

Murals have become a popular way for communities to exhibit their heritage and culture. Cape Girardeau has a large number of murals that make visiting them an attraction of their own. In Cape Girardeau the floodwall along Water Street of the old downtown district has become a canvas for Chicago artist Thomas Melvin’s Mississippi River Tales.

Cape Girardeau was once known as the City of Roses. In the 1940s, an incredible garden lined Highway 61 between Cape Girardeau and Jackson. A present-day reminder of those bygone days is the Capaha Rose Garden that is maintained by the Council of Garden Clubs that  maintain 42 beds devoted to over 200 varieties of roses and almost 1,000 plants.

Bollinger Mill State Historic Site is unusual in that it features both a workable mill and a covered bridge, side by side. The Burfordville Covered Bridge is the oldest of the four covered bridges still remaining in Missouri. The site features a tree-shaded picnic area, a quarter-mile of stream bank, fishing in the Whitewater River, and a historical cemetery.

Tower Rock Conservation Area

Tower Rock, also known as Grand Tower, is a large landmark limestone island carved by the Mississippi River. The mainland offers picnic facilities and a 1/4 mile hiking trail to a viewing platform that offers a scenic view of Tower Rock.

The Saxon Lutheran Memorial is an outdoor history museum in the setting of a log cabin village located on the homestead and farm on the Bergt Farm Complex. The entire facility depicts aspects of the Saxon migration and settlement, and displays the domestic and farming artifacts of the 19th century Missouri German rural settlements in Perry County.

St. Mary's of the Barrens is a religious complex that is located on the site of a Catholic Church that was founded in 1818. From 1823 until 1863 the site served as a seminary. Saint Mary's of the Barrens was a parish church until 1965 when a new parish church was built.

The Lutheran Heritage Center is a complex that interprets the settlement of Lutheran Germans in eastern Perry County in the late 1830s. The complex includes a museum that is integrated with the original 1845 church building, commonly known as the "Big School."