Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota — Where to Go
Minneapolis-St Paul Sightseeing Overview
When it comes to sightseeing in Minneapolis-St Paul, there is enough to keep visitors busy for about four days. Do keep in mind that when the weather allows, both are great walking cities.
Head down to the mighty Mississippi River, which was the key to the area’s growth. Populated by immigrants from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and northern Germany, Minneapolis was founded on the west bank in 1855, opposite St Anthony Falls. The falls provided power for sawmills and flourmills, which by 1870, made Minneapolis the flour milling capital of the world. The mills are gone but food processing remains a leading industry.
In 1837, the state capital, St Paul, was established on the east bank. First named Pig’s Eye, after a saloonkeeper, it took four years before a chapel was erected and the town took the respectable name of St Paul.
It is difficult to stroll long without running into one of the city’s lakes or parks. Harriet Island Regional Park is particularly lovely
Minneapolis-St Paul Tourist Information
Meet Minneapolis
250 Marquette Avenue South, Suite 1300, Minneapolis
Tel: (612) 767 8000 or 1 888 676 6757.
Website: www.meetminneapolis.com
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1700.
Visitor Information Minneapolis Convention Center
1301 Second Avenue South
Tel: (612) 335 6337.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1630.
St Paul Convention and Visitors Authority
175 West Kellogg Boulevard, Suite 502, St Paul
Tel: (651) 265 4900 or 1 800 627 6101.
Website: www.visitstpaul.com
Key Attractions in Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota
Cathedral of St Paul
Set on a hill, overlooking the city and the Mississippi River, this impressive cathedral is one of the country’s largest churches. It seats 3000 people. Opening in 1915, it took nearly a decade to build. It is topped by an enormous 57m-high (186ft) copper dome. The Shrines of Nations honor the various nationalities that have settled in Minnesota.
239 Selby Avenue at Summit Avenue, St Paul
Tel: (651) 228 1766.
Website: www.cathedralsp.org
Opening hours: Sun - Fri: 0700- 1900; Sat: 0700-2100.
Admission charge: N.
Disabled access: N.
Como Park Zoo & Conservatory
The 100-year-old-plus facility is more than just a zoo, although there are interesting animal attractions like the seal show. With a frog pond and Japanese garden, the adjacent glassed-domed conservatory is charming. Como Town is a small amusement park for tots and right outside is a lovely covered carousel with hand-carved animals. The park itself is surrounded by a golf course, lake and walking paths.
1225 Estabrook Drive, St Paul
Tel: (651) 487 8201.
Website: www.comozooconservatory.org
Opening hours: Apr-Sept 1000-1800 daily, Oct-Mar 1000-1600 daily.
Admission charge: N.
Disabled access: Y.
Frederick R Weisman Art Museum
This museum features American artists of the early 20th century, including Georgia O’Keeffe, Marsden Hartley and Alfred Maurer, as well as work by contemporary artists. The ‘World’s Fair Mural’ at the entrance is by Roy Lichtenstein. The brick and stainless steel building is itself a sculptural masterpiece, designed by Frank Gehry, in 1993.
333 East River Road, Minneapolis
Tel: (612) 625 9494.
Website: www.weisman.umn.edu
Opening hours: Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat-Sun 1000-1700; Thurs 1000-2000.
Admission charge: N.
Disabled access: Y.
James J Hill House
Life in America’s so-called ‘Gilded Age’ (the late 19th century) is on display in the former home of Great Northern Railway magnate James J Hill. The enormous stone Richardsonian Romanesque mansion, completed in 1891, measures 3,240 sq meters (36,000 sq ft) and is an ode to opulence, with crystal chandeliers, stained-glass windows, sky-lit art gallery, intricate wood carving and a huge pipe organ. It’s best to reserve tours in advance.
240 Summit Avenue, St Paul
Tel: (651) 297 2555.
Website: www.mnhs.org/hillhouse
Opening hours: Wed-Sat 1000-1530 and Sun 1300-1530.
Admission charge: Y.
Disabled access: Y.
Landmark Center
Dedicated as a federal courthouse, in 1902, this ornate Victorian jewel, with its fairytale turrets and towers, was saved from demolition in the 1960s and is now used for art exhibitions and civic activities. Originally, the Landmark Center would have witnessed many criminal trials, as St Paul was notorious in the 1920s and 1930s as a safe haven for gangsters like Ma Barker, John Dillinger and George ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly. Interiors are extravagantly decorated with high ceilings, marble and mahogany details.
75 West Fifth Street, St Paul
Tel: (651) 292 3233.
Website: www.landmarkcenter.org
Opening hours: Mon-Wed and Fri 0800-1700, Thurs 0800-2000, Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1200-1700.
Admission charge: N.
Disabled access: Y.
Mall of America
The largest mall in in the USA boasts 520 shops, including big names like Macy’s and Bloomingdales. Restaurants and entertainment venues abound. For the kids, there is Lego, a four-story space dedicated to this popular children’s game, and Nickelodeon Universe. Other distractions include Undersea Adventures Aquarium, Silicon Motor Speedway, a comedy club and theaters.
Off Hwy 494 between 24th Avenue south and Hwy 77, Bloomington
Tel: (952) 883 8800.
Website: www.mallofamerica.com
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 1000-2130, Sat 0930-2130, Sun 1100-1900.
Admission charge: N.
Disabled access: Y.
Mill City Museum
The old Gold Medal Flour factory is now a unique museum. An entertaining Minneapolis in 19 Minutes Flat chronicles the area’s history. It recalls the time when Minneapolis was the world’s milling capital of the world. Visitors can board a renovated freight elevator, the Flour Tower, sit on its bleacher-like seats and move up and down the eight stories. With lights, sound, and commentary from actual mill workers, they learn about flour milling. On the eighth floor there is a sweeping view of the Mississippi and St. Anthony Falls.
704 South Second Street, Minneapolis
Tel: (612) 341 7555.
Website: www.millcitymuseum.org
Opening hours: Tues-Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1200-1700.
Admission charge: Y.
Disabled access: Y.
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Housed in a striking white marble Beaux Arts building, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts contains an outstanding collection of over 85,000 artworks, dating back to 2000 BC. These range from old masters and contemporary regional art to Asian and African pieces. Highlights include a fine collection of French Impressionists, a tapestry collection and period rooms.
2400 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis
Tel: 1 888 642 2787.
Website: www.artsmia.org
Opening hours: Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat and Sun 1000-1700, Thurs 1000-2100.
Admission charge: Y.
Disabled access: Y.
Minnesota History Center
A fantastic snapshot of Minnesota history and culture. Minnesota’s Greatest Generation includes a 1940s-war equipment factory, 1950s TVs, motel sign, soda fountain, 1954 Ford, movie house and famous Minnesotans like Judy Garland, Bob Dylan and Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House on the Prairie). This Must Be Hell takes you into a C47 and recreates paratrooper experiences during the invasion of Normandy. The authentic 1880s immigrant house chronicles the fifty families who have occupied it, including Italian, Irish and Hmong.
345 West Kellogg Boulevard, St Paul
Tel: (651) 296 6126 or 1 800 657 3773.
Website: www.mnhs.org
Opening hours: Tues 1000-2000 (free admission 1700-2000), Mon, Wed-Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1200-1700.
Admission charge: Y.
Disabled access: Y.
Minnesota State Capitol
The Italian Renaissance-style State Capitol building (1904) is an architectural masterpiece. Over two dozen varieties of marble, granite and sandstone were used in its construction and throughout the lavish interior. With an impressive display of statuary and flags, the rotunda and second level are a memorial to Minnesota Civil War volunteers. The crowning glory is the unsupported marble dome, which rises 73m (220ft) high. Its hilltop location affords sweeping views over the city and Mississippi River Valley. Guided tours are available.
75 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard, St Paul
Tel: (651) 296 2881.
Website: www.mnhs.org/statecapitol
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0830-1600, Sat 1000-1500 and Sun 1300-1600.
Admission charge: N.
Disabled access: Y.
Science Museum of Minnesota
This city favorite combines science and entertainment, with plenty of hands-on and high-tech exhibits amid the outstanding collections of fossils and artifacts. The McKnight-3M Omnitheater shows state-of-the-art IMAX films on a 27m (90ft) diameter screen and there are also 3D laser shows.
120 West Kellogg Boulevard, St Paul
Tel: (651) 221 9444.
Website: www.smm.org
Opening hours: Sun-Wed 0930-1900, Thu-Sat 0930-2200.
Admission charge: Y.
Disabled access: Y.
Walker Art Center
One of the country’s top contemporary art centers, the Walker Art Center has a revolving collection of paintings, drawings, prints and sculpture featuring works by Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, Willem de Kooning and other leading artists. A building expansion that doubled the Walker’s size was completed in 2005. The adjacent Minneapolis Sculpture Garden covers 4 hectares (11 acres) and is the largest urban sculpture garden in the USA.
1750 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis
Tel: (612) 375 7600.
Website: www.walkerart.org
Opening hours: Tue-Wed and Sat-Sun 1100-1700, Thurs-Friday 1100-2100 (museum); daily 0600-2400 (garden).
Admission charge: N.
Disabled access: Y.
Further Distractions
Minnehaha Park
Winding along the Mississippi River, Minnehaha Park, one of the oldest and most popular parks in Minneapolis, contains the city’s first frame house, located west of the river. There are views over Minnehaha Falls and a statue commemorating the Native Americans, Hiawatha and Minnehaha, who were the subjects of Longfellow’s famous poem, ‘The Song of Hiawatha’.
Hiawatha Avenue and Minnehaha Parkway, Minneapolis
Tel: (612) 230 6400.
Website: www.minneapolisparks.org
Opening hours: Daily 0600-2200.
Admission charge: N.
Historic Fort Snelling
This 1820s US Army outpost has been restored to depict military life in the frontier era. Costumed guides on the site demonstrate musket and cannon drills, blacksmithing and other skills, while the history center contains exhibits and videos.
Junction of Highways 5 and 55, Fort Snelling exit
Tel: (612) 726 1171.
Website: www.mnhs.org
Opening hours: Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1200-1700 (early May and late Sep-Oct); Mon-Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1200-1700 (late May-early Sep); closed (Nov-Apr).
Admission charge: Y.
Disabled access: Y.
St Paul City Hall
It is well worth your while to take a quick look-see at this interesting 1920s art deco structure. Dominating the blue marble lobby is Swedish sculptor, Carl Milles’, “Vision of Peace.” Erupting between five, peace-pipe smoking Native Americans is the 11m (36ft) towering white onyx “god of peace.” In the basement, walls are lined with carved glass murals, each signifying a chapter of St Paul’s past. A guided tour schedule is available.
15 Kellogg Blvd W, St Paul
Tel: (651) 266-8500.
Website: www.stpaul.gov
Opening hours: 0800-1630.
Admission charge: N.
Disabled access: Y.
