Minneapolis and Saint Paul
Two twin cities on the Mississippi, one of converted flour mills and daring museums, the other of Victorian mansions and domes, linked by lakes where people paddle in summer and skate in winter. A giant spoon holding a cherry, in the middle of a sculpture garden, has become their emblem.
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Minneapolis and Saint Paul · Photo Josh Hild / Pexels
Things to do in Minneapolis and Saint Paul in 5 days
Day 1
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One of America's great contemporary art museums, facing a free 7-hectare sculpture garden with some sixty works, including Oldenburg and van Bruggen's Spoonbridge and Cherry, the city's emblem since 1988.
💡 The garden is free and open every day from 6am to midnight: come and have a picnic. The museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and open until 9pm on Thursdays, a free evening, as is the first Saturday of the month. Price: garden free; museum $18, about €15, for adults; free up to age 18.
Paul VanDerWerf / CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Learn moreMore
The city's free encyclopaedic museum, opened in 1915, holding nearly 90,000 works, from Rembrandt's Lucretia, Van Gogh and Monet to period rooms, Japanese lacquer, Chinese bronzes and Native American art.
💡 The museum is closed on Mondays. Come by bus or bike from downtown, 2 km (1.2 miles) away, and combine it with lunch at the Midtown Global Market, 1.5 km to the east. Price: free, except for some temporary exhibitions.
McGhiever / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 2
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A museum built inside the burnt-out walls of the Washburn A mill, once the world's largest, with the Flour Tower lift ride through the rebuilt floors and a rooftop view of St. Anthony Falls.
💡 Tickets are sold on site only. In summer, the Saturday morning farmers' market is held in the museum's courtyard. Price: $15, about €13, for adults; $12, about €10, for ages 65 and over; $8, about €7, for ages 5 to 17.
Michael Barera / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Learn moreMore
James J. Hill's curving 1883 granite and limestone railway bridge below St. Anthony Falls, now for walkers and cyclists, with the best views of the mill ruins, the locks and the downtown towers.
💡 Walk across it on a loop with Mill Ruins Park, below the mills, and the Guthrie Theater, whose cantilevered bridge juts out over the river and is free to visit during the building's opening hours. Price: free.
August Schwerdfeger / CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 3
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Lakes linked by canals and parks in south-west Minneapolis, including Bde Maka Ska and Lake Harriet, ringed by walking and cycle paths, for swimming and kayaking in summer and skating in winter.
💡 Hire a bike-share bike and ride around Bde Maka Ska and then Lake Harriet, about 10 km in all. On summer evenings, the free concerts at the Lake Harriet bandstand draw families. Price: free, boat hire extra.
SusanLesch / CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)Learn moreMore
A 16-metre waterfall dropping into a limestone gorge in a 70-hectare park, made famous by Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha, freezing into columns of ice in winter, with a creekside trail to the Mississippi.
💡 The Blue Line light rail drops you at 50th Street/Minnehaha Park station, a 10-minute walk away. Come after a rainy day for a stronger flow, as the falls can almost dry up at the end of a dry summer. Price: free, paid parking.
IIP Photo Archive / CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 4
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The largest shopping centre in the United States, opened in 1992 in Bloomington, with more than 500 shops on four levels around Nickelodeon Universe, an indoor theme park with roller coasters.
💡 The Blue Line light rail links downtown Minneapolis and the airport to the Mall of America, the end of the line: many travellers stop off before or after their flight. Entry to the centre is free, and the rides are paid individually or with a pass. Price: free entry, rides charged.
Tyler Vigen / CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 5
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More than 7 km of Victorian mansions in Saint Paul, including James J. Hill's red sandstone house and F. Scott Fitzgerald's home, ending at a cathedral crowned by a 57-metre dome.
💡 Take the Green Line light rail from Minneapolis, about 45 minutes, get off at the Capitol, then walk up to the cathedral and Summit Avenue. Book the guided tour of the James J. Hill House on the Minnesota Historical Society website. Price: cathedral and Capitol free, Hill House charged.
Myotus / CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)"Book" (hotels) and "via GetYourGuide" (activities) are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide). Prices, times and distances are approximate.
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Good to know before you go
🍽️ Must-try food
Burgers and barbecue
brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl
the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
Mexican food
tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
Pancakes and weekend brunch
a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
Dishes to look for in the good places: Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
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The little details that make all the difference once you're there.
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