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| Ranking Among U.S. Cities / Regions: #16 |
| Venturers: 7 |
| Mid-Venturers: 7 |
| Centrics-Venturers: 7 |
| Centrics-Authentics: 8 |
| Mid-Authentics: 6 |
| Authentics: 5 |
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| • Every resident lives within six blocks of a park |
| • Minneapolis claims more golfers per capita than any other U.S. city |
| • The city was the world’s top flour producer from 1882 to 1930 |
| • Sixty percent of Minnesota’s population lives in the metro area |
| • Minnehaha Falls, made famous by Longfellow, is in Minneapolis |
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The larger twin
Minnesota’s largest city, Minneapolis, takes its name from two sources: It combines an Indian word minne, which means water, and the Greek word polis, meaning city. No wonder its founders called the settlement “water city.” There are 22 lakes in the city limits, and they are just a sample. Minneapolis is the gateway to the state’s uncounted thousands of lakes, some of which are vacation playgrounds.
Minneapolis also is well-known as a city of the cold north. Winter events that attract visitors go along with that, but Minneapolis’ smaller twin and Minnesota’s capital, St. Paul, hosts the biggest such celebration, the St. Paul Winter Carnival.
About Minneapolis
The City of Lakes, sited in southeastern Minnesota, is cut in two by the Mississippi River, with the bulk of the city on the west side and most of the large University of Minnesota campus on the east side. The city may be named for its lakes, but its story is more about its location on the river, straddling St. Anthony Falls, the Mississippi’s only significant waterfall. The falls provided the power for sawmills and flour mills, eventually making Minneapolis the milling capital of the world and fostering development of the modern corporate giants Cargill, General Mills and Pillsbury.
For tourists, this translates into a Riverfront district dotted with historic buildings and other attractions accessible along a self-guided walking route. It’s also an area for outdoor recreation, dining, nightlife, shopping and special events.
As for the 21s century city, Minneapolis offers a culture-rich menu. Museums and art galleries cover a wide range of interests; sometimes the buildings themselves are tourist attractions. The nationally acclaimed Guthrie Theater is the largest regional playhouse in the country, with three theaters plus numerous restaurants and bars in a 10-story complex overlooking the Mississippi. But the Guthrie is only one of about 100 venues offering shows throughout the year. As to outdoor activities, most of the city’s numerous parks line the river or surround its lakes, providing recreational opportunities for residents and visitors alike. Lake Minnetonka 12 miles southwest of the city also is popular with vacationers for boating and swimming.
Not to be overlooked, the Mall of America in Bloomington is the largest shopping mall in the United States and the sole reason some tourists come to town. It is accessible via a light-rail service from either the airport or downtown. Unless drawn by a special event in winter, most tourists visit in the other seasons, all of which have their attractions. However, for winter visits, one consolation is the Skyway connecting most buildings in downtown with glass-enclosed walkways, one floor above the ground. Tourists also applaud Minneapolis as a clean, safe and welcoming Midwestern city.
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• Put the Hot Summer Jazz Festival, in June, on your schedule. The city boasts the fourth most active jazz scene in the country, behind only New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
• If cold winter events appeal to you, attend the renowned St. Paul Winter Carnival in January.
• Enter the Twin Cities Marathon, comfortably scheduled for October.
• Put this on the must-see list: The Museum of Questionable Medical Devices, part of the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul, is described as the world’s largest collection of goodies ever hawked by a quack. Displayed items you wouldn’t want touching you include a “vibratory chair,” said to cure ailments through violent shaking, and the “orgone energy accumulator,” a box large enough to sit in, said to collect energy that cures everything from the common cold to sexual dysfunction.
• Take scuba diving lessons, and practice your skills in metro area lakes.
• Go ice skating, tubing or downhill skiing at the nearby Lutsen Mountains. Or ice skate indoors at the Depot in the Riverfront district.
• Get tickets to a theatrical performance. The Guthrie is the city’s best-known theater, but neighborhood choices are worth considering, too, such as the Brave New Workshop, the nation’s oldest satirical theater; the Jungle Theater, and, a few blocks away from that, a 99-seat theater in a bowling alley called the Bryant-Lake Bowl. Or, consider the Mixed Blood Theatre, which promotes cultural pluralism, and the Great American History Theatre which stages plays with historical themes. The list goes on.
• Join the live audience as Garrison Keillor broadcasts “A Prairie Home Companion” in St. Paul from the Fitzgerald Theater, named for Minnesotan F. Scott Fitzgerald.
• If modern art speaks to you, you will want to make time for a tour of the Walker Art Center, one of the top contemporary art museums in the country.
• Attend the Minnesota Renaissance Festival (mid-August through September), characterized by themed weekends. For example, at the Highland Fling weekend, events include beer tasting, Celtic dances, heavy games competitions and kilt fashions. At the Italian Carnival, they include garlic-cooking demonstrations, a mask fashion show, meatball-throwing competition and spaghetti-eating contest. Attend in appropriate costume for a chance to win free entry. Or, for a memorable day, get married at the Renaissance Festival.
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• Get a taste of the offerings at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, the largest dinner theater in the United States. For another unique opportunity, consider the Great American History Theatre, which stages plays with historical themes.
• Go hiking in the city’s largest park, Theodore Wirth Park, which covers nearly 740 acres including a wooded area suitable for this activity.
• Drive the 50-mile Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway, all in the city. The Grand Rounds also offers options for hiking, biking and skiing.
• Go boating or swimming at Lake Minnetonka, which is 12 miles southwest of Minneapolis.
• Take a guided tour of the Riverfront district in a horse-drawn carriage. Another option is to see the area while riding a Segway, the motorized way to “walk” through an area.
• Join a cocktail cruise, or other sightseeing cruise, aboard the 125-passenger paddle wheeler, the Minneapolis Queen. You can charter the entire vessel for a big event, such as your wedding.
• Rent a canoe, kayak or paddleboat for fun at Lake Calhoun or one of a number of other local lakes.
• Follow the local Audubon Great River Birding Trail. Or, walk the 1.8-mile St. Anthony Falls Heritage Trail, which takes you to unusual mill ruins, a working lock and dam plus the only stone bridge over the Mississippi River.
• Practice your cross-country skiing on the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway or in one of the city’s numerous parks. Or, try snowshoeing or ice skating in the parks.
• Stay in the 1893 Nicollet Island Inn, a B&B-style facility that originated as the Island Sash and Door Company.
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• Check out college sports options, and depending on season, attend a University of Minnesota football game or basketball game. Or, attend a Minnesota Twins baseball game.
• Join the fun at the July Minneapolis Aquatennial, which features a canoe derby, costume balls, parades and water ballets.
• Seek out at least one fine dining experience. This city in the chilly north attracts internationally renowned chefs and so produces culinary experiences competitive with any top dining destination. Some possibilities are Dakota, D’Amico Cucina and Hell’s Kitchen, all in downtown.
Or go to so-called Eat Street, which is part of Nicollet Avenue and is home to more than 50 ethnic restaurants representing points all around the globe.
• Play golf in a city that loves the game. Minneapolis may be well known as a cold spot in winter, but it has more than 175 golf courses.
• Take a guided walking tour. Join one of the free Minneapolis Heritage Preservation tours, offered from May through September. (One itinerary, the Como-Harriet Streetcar Line tour, costs $5, for the ride on a historic streetcar.)
• Take a fall foliage drive to nearby Stillwater.
• Watch the free Twin Cities River Rats Water Ski Show, an hourlong exhibition of waterskiing stunts, skits and music, available for about 10 weeks in summer.
• Take a break from shopping, and sample the fun at the theme park at the Mall of America.
• See the Mill City Museum as much for the building as for the contents. It is housed in the partially reconstructed ruins of a flour mill that exploded once and burned twice.
• Spend a relaxing afternoon fishing at one of the city’s lakes.
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For more information, consult Meet Minneapolis at www.minneapolis.org
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