Moon Minneapolis & St. Paul

DISCOVER MINNEAPOLIS & ST. PAUL

“I like Hollywood. I just like Minneapolis a little bit better.” Those are the immortal words of Minnesota’s favorite son, Prince Rogers Nelson, who famously made his home and recorded his music in the suburb of Chanhassen. You’d be hard-pressed to find a native Minnesotan who disagreed. Nothing against the rest of the world: We just like it a lot here. That kind of hometown pride is visible on T-shirts and caps you’ll see all around town. And it’s also evident in the way we live our lives. We’re out, enjoying what every corner of the cities has to offer. That means hitting the trails, seeking out the water (you won’t have to look far), finding a festival, going to a play or a concert every night, becoming a regular at a taproom, and developing strong opinions on the best bánh mì in town.

St. Paul is compact, pretty, and offers plenty in the way of sights and classic neighborhood bars. Minneapolis is the glitzy twin and the hub of the arts and music scene. Both cities are buzzing year-round. Far from hibernating, we embrace the winter. Joggers put on an extra layer, windsurfers transform into ice surfers, cyclists install winter tires, and skiers exult. And when temperatures climb back above freezing, the whole process begins again: the lakefronts, river paths, and outdoor restaurants fill with people who enjoy spring more than anyone else on earth. Yes, it can get a little cold here. And we love it.

You know how they say that the best part of having out-of-town guests is getting to play tourist in your own home city? Well, in Minneapolis and St. Paul, people turn that aphorism on its head: The best part of being a tourist in the Twin Cities is pretending you’re a local. The truth is, there aren’t any touristy areas here, because the best things to do are what the locals do.

10 TOP EXPERIENCES

EXPLORE MINNEAPOLIS & ST. PAUL

THE BEST OF THE TWIN CITIES

Divide and conquer is the best way to squeeze the best the Twin Cities have to offer into just two days. If you go by foot, plan on three or four miles of walking a day.

DAY 1

Start your tour where Minneapolis began, on the Mississippi River. On a summer Saturday, grab a pastry, coffee, and even an early-morning bratwurst at the Mill City Farmers Market.

There’s plenty right on the riverfront to fill a morning: the Guthrie Theater’s endless bridge, the 1.8-mile St. Anthony Falls Heritage Trail, the stunning Stone Arch and Hennepin Avenue Bridges, Mill Ruins Park, and the Mill City Museum (don’t miss the film Minneapolis in 19 Minutes Flat).

To get an even closer view of St. Anthony Falls, the only waterfall on the Mississippi, stop at Water Power Park.

Spend the afternoon strolling down Nicollet Mall. Start at the Minneapolis Central Library and head southeast. Along the way, see the skyways by ducking into just about any store or office building and following signs. On Thursdays between May and October, the Nicollet Mall Market, a farmers market, sets up along most of the mall. At 12th Street, head down the Loring Greenway—a parklike path between two high-rise condo buildings—to Loring Park.

Directly across the park from the greenway is the yellow-and-blue Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge, which leads to the Walker Art Center and Sculpture Garden, home of the iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry, by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.

Your evening options from here are great: Treat yourself to fine dining at Burch steak house or at one of the half dozen restaurants ringing Loring Park. For less expensive ethnic fare, head to Eat Street (Nicollet Ave. between 13th St. and 29th St.).

After dinner, if you don’t have theater tickets, the bars along 1st Avenue are always hopping. Or unwind with lawn bowling on Brit’s Pub’s rooftop or a jazz show at the Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant.

DAY 2

Start your day in St. Paul with Swedish pancakes at the St. Paul Hotel, then step right outside and enjoy beautiful Rice Park, flanked by some of the city’s most recognizable buildings. Spend a few minutes admiring the interior of the Landmark Center or spend an hour or so at one of the small museums inside. Before leaving the park, take a peek inside the reference library at the James J. Hill Center, find out what’s showing at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, and snap a few pictures with F. Scott Fitzgerald and his friends the Peanuts characters, cast in bronze.

Your next stop is the Minnesota History Center, which deserves as much time as you’re able to give it (the gift shop is a great place to get souvenirs).

The Cathedral of St. Paul, a short walk away, welcomes both the faithful and the respectfully curious.

A little less than a mile away, the Minnesota State Capitol offers tours on the hour, or you can wander on your own. Leave a little time to explore the memorials on the grounds.

For dinner and entertainment, head back to downtown St. Paul proper. The classic American St. Paul Grill and the French Meritage are on Rice Park. For something way more fun than classic, try the New American dining at Saint Dinette.

Most of the Twin Cities’ livelier nightlife takes place in downtown Minneapolis, but a couple of taprooms, including Tin Whiskers Brewing Company, have opened in downtown St. Paul, and Vieux Carre hosts live jazz nearly every night.

DAY 3

If you’ve got an extra day in the Twin Cities and you’ve exhausted those rather ambitious itineraries for the first two days, it’s time to head out of the two downtown cores.

Get some fresh air on the walking paths around the Chain of Lakes in Minneapolis or in St. Paul’s sprawling Como Park. Take a short hike around Minnehaha Falls, which inspired Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic poem The Song of Hiawatha.

On warm days, dine alfresco at Sea Salt in Minnehaha Falls Park.

If you’re in the mood to shop, then St. Paul’s Grand Avenue is your best bet. To venture any farther out of town, you’ll need your own car. The only real exception to this is the Mall of America, which is a good option on a cold winter day.

For some kid-friendly sightseeing, head west to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum or south to the Minnesota Zoo.

NEIGHBORHOODS

DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS

Raised indoor walkways, known as skyways, connect 70 downtown city blocks, creating an indoor network of offices, shops, restaurants, theaters, hotels, and condos. Outside, there’s even more to discover: the Mississippi riverfront, the hip shops and restaurants of the North Loop, the Guthrie Theater, the Walker Art Center and Sculpture Garden, and Nicollet Mall, home to some of the best dining and bars in the Twin Cities. Three of the Twin Cities’ four major sports franchises—the Twins, Vikings, and Timberwolves—have their homes downtown, too.

SOUTH MINNEAPOLIS

The leafy green neighborhoods of South Minneapolis, popular with families and young professionals alike, are home to the Chain of Lakes, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Children’s Theatre Company, and The Museum of Russian Art. Recent college grads gravitate to the Uptown neighborhood, at the intersection of Lake Street and Hennepin Avenue, for shopping and nightlife. The residents of South Minneapolis love to eat well, and the area is packed with great dining options, including the multiethnic Midtown Global Market.

NORDEAST AND DINKYTOWN

Nordeast, or northeast Minneapolis, was once home to a thriving community of Eastern European immigrants, still reflected in the area’s landmarks, including Surdyk’s wine store and Kramarczuk’s deli. Today the area, still largely middle class, is also home to Somali, Middle Eastern, and Latin American communities. The area has also welcomed many of the artists forced out of the gentrified Warehouse District. Dinkytown, once Bob Dylan’s haunt, is inseparable from University of Minnesota student life.

DOWNTOWN ST. PAUL AND WEST SIDE

St. Paul is known as the slower-paced twin but has plenty to offer in terms of culture, including the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and the Minnesota Children’s Museum. The heart of downtown is Rice Park, bordered by the architecturally stunning Landmark Center. West 7th Street, heading southwest from the Xcel Energy Center, is a great destination for a night on the town. The Lowertown neighborhood anchors the eastern side of downtown St. Paul, centered on Mears Park and bordered by the Mississippi River. Artists’ lofts, trendy apartments, and hip restaurants have moved into former warehouses here. St. Paul’s West Side, southeast of downtown, now rebranded as the District del Sol, is the home to St. Paul’s deep-rooted Latino community.

SUMMIT-UNIVERSITY AND MAC-GROVELAND

The St. Paul neighborhoods west of downtown are home to five colleges and universities, with all the bookstores and coffee shops you expect. Summit Avenue is the historical seat of St. Paul’s moneyed elite and still a wide, lovely boulevard for strolling. Grand Avenue is excellent for boutique shopping and people watching. Just north of I-94, which cuts St. Paul decisively into northern and southern halves, runs the more ethnically and economically diverse University Avenue, known for dive bars and great Vietnamese food.

COMO AND ST. ANTHONY

The northern neighborhoods of St. Paul feel about as removed from urban bustle as you can get. St. Anthony Park, with its compact shopping and dining district, is almost like a separate small town, where you can browse a small selection of shops like Micawber’s Books. The “garden district” of Como Park attracts people from around the Twin Cities who want to run, boat, fish, ski, golf, or enjoy the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory.

GREATER TWIN CITIES

The older first-ring suburbs around Minneapolis and St. Paul are hard to distinguish from their gridded and green counterparts within the city limits. Once you hit the second ring and the exurbs, however, the streets start to curve, and suddenly the buildings all seem newer and more spread out. There are plenty of good reasons to venture beyond the cities proper, including Historic Fort Snelling, the Minnesota Zoo, and the excellent Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. And how could you go home from Minnesota and tell your friends you missed the Mall of America, in the southern suburb of Bloomington?

SIGHTS

Note that Sight listings include links to Google Maps. Using a WiFi connection is advised to avoid roaming charges.

Highlights

Downtown Minneapolis

South Minneapolis

Nordeast and Dinkytown

Downtown St. Paul and West Side

Summit-University and Mac-Groveland

Como and St. Anthony

Greater Twin Cities

Sightseeing Tours

When Minnesotans want to play or relax they head for the water, and visitors should do the same. The Mississippi River and lakes scattered throughout the Twin Cities are intertwined with daily life here. Both Minneapolis and St. Paul grew up on the riverfront.

The river creates the northern and eastern boundaries of Minneapolis’s downtown zone, running downstream from the historic Warehouse District and past the eastern edge of downtown at the Guthrie Theater and adjoining parkland. Once powered exclusively by the mighty Mississippi River and St. Anthony Falls, many of the flour mills and silos that put Minnesota on the map still stand but have been converted into lofts, art galleries, and museums, joined by recreation areas and restaurants.

St. Paul sits high on bluffs a few miles downstream from Minneapolis; the river separates the two cities for the most part. The stately Cathedral of St. Paul is perched on one hill to the west of St. Paul’s downtown, facing the Minnesota State Capitol, which is on another hill across the interstate. The central business district lies below these two domes, centered on Rice Park.

Getting oriented on foot in both downtowns is fairly easy and an enjoyable form of sightseeing in itself. See Minneapolis by strolling Nicollet Mall, starting from rolling Loring Park and heading toward Minneapolis Central Library. Move easily between the two downtowns using the light rail Green Line.