3 Perfect Days in Minneapolis

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Minneapolis and its sister city Saint Paul (together known as the Twin Cities) are by far the largest cities in Minnesota, with a combined population of more than 3.5 million people in a state with fewer than 6 million residents total. It is no wonder so many choose to call it home. Full of outdoor activities, museums, craft breweries, parks, lakes, theaters, and music venues, a high quality of life is offered in the Twin Cities, despite the cold, snowy winters.

Each of the Twin Cities has unique and abundant offerings for visitors. We’re focusing on Minneapolis specifically in this post. With this 3-day itinerary, you’ll get a small taste of much of what the city has to offer, including food, culture, and a bit of shopping. As icing on the cake, many of these activities are free!

“I like Hollywood. I just like Minneapolis a little bit better.” – Prince

 

Day 1 – Art Institute, Lake Harriet, and Jazz

Morning:

The permanent collection includes art by such well known European and American greats as Van Gogh, O’Keeffe, Picasso, Monet, and Rembrandt. But there is so much more. Dozens of galleries are dedicated to African, Asian, and Native American art, sculptures, furniture, statues, masks, weapons, and a host other artifacts. The museum also features a photography exhibit and a large contemporary and modern art display.

A minimum of 2 hours is required just to see the highlights, but a person could easily spend a whole day here.

Afternoon:

We have two options for your afternoon. If you are just getting started at the amazing museum, grab lunch and a break for your feet at Agra Culture Kitchen, the museum cafe, and then continue your exploration. Or, walk a couple of blocks to Nicolette Avenue, where you’ll find an assortment of small, casual restaurants including Thai, Greek, German, Malaysian, and American.

Evening:

Nightlife flourishes in Minneapolis. For dinner and a show, make a reservation at the popular Dakota Jazz Club on Nicollet Mall downtown, which has nightly live music in an intimate setting. It has attracted such jazz performers as Roy Hargrove, Ahmad Jamal, Nicholas Payton, and Phillip Glass. It also features an acclaimed restaurant focused on a fresh, sustainable menu.

Day 2 – Retail Therapy or Taylors Falls, then Fine Italian Food

Some people come to Minneapolis with one primary goal: The Mall of America. But some other people come to Minneapolis with one absolute intention: To go nowhere near the Mall of America. (Though we fall in the latter category, we’ve been the the mall a half dozen times for various reasons over the last couple of decades, and can’t say we regret a single one.)

Depending on your mood, your interests, the weather, and the make-up of your group/family, we’re highlighting two fun, but very different, options.

If you love shopping and/or have kids with you, (as well as a full wallet) it is easy to spend a whole day here, or even two.

OPTION 2 – Taylors Falls / Interstate Park

Just 45 minutes from Minneapolis, the tiny town of Taylors Falls (oddly no apostrophe), located on the St. Croix River, feels a world away. Your main destination is the gorgeous Interstate State Park, named for the fact you can see across the river from Minnesota to Wisconsin from the park. Wisconsin has a similar park on its side, also named Interstate Park.

The dark rock in the parks was formed a billion years ago (give or take!) when there was a rift in Earth’s crust and lava poured out all the way from Canada down to Kansas. When it cooled, it formed the basalt rock found all over the parks in both states.

The short but sometimes steep Pothole Trail will take you through more than 200 glacial potholes, ranging from a few inches deep to one named the “Bottomless Pit” which is 60 feet deep! The River Trail is about 2.5 miles out and back and has beautiful river overlooks and good opportunities for eagle and blue heron sightings. The Railroad Trail follows the rail bed of the old Pacific where sandstone cliffs have formed on top of the basalt rock.

After your hiking or boat ride, it’s worth a little time to pop into the cute town of Taylors Falls for a hot dog or root beer float at The Drive In, or an ice cream cone at Schoony’s Malt Shop.

Heading back to Minneapolis, you’ll encounter the most whimsical attraction of your day just a few minutes outside of Taylors Falls: Franconia Sculpture Park. This free, artist-centered park has 50 acres of trails connecting scores of enormous, unusual, and quirky sculptures.

Evening:

No matter which way you spent your day, you’ll have worked up an appetite. We have two ideas for dinner tonight, both at excellent Italian restaurants.

If you don’t mind hopping in the car for a 10-15 minute drive, we highly recommend Prima, a small, locally owned neighborhood restaurant serving farm-to-table rustic Italian fare. Not only is it farm-to-table, but the owners own, operate, and live on the organic farm that provides much of the food they serve. Their entire, frequently changing, menu is made from scratch (including the pasta) and uses high quality ingredients. They also have a notable wine list. It will be a meal to remember.

Day 3 – Modern Art, Sculptures, Beer, and Live Theater

Morning:

The Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden are right next to each other, and they are your destination this morning. If you’re trying to get a lot of steps in, you could even walk there from downtown. Before heading out, consider downloading the app Bloomberg Connects for history and information about the pieces of art in both the museum and the garden.

The Art Center opens at 10 am (Wednesday – Sunday), so if you’re an early bird, it makes sense to view the free sculpture garden, which opens at 6 am, first.

The sculpture garden was created by a partnership between the Walker Museum and the Minneapolis Parks & Rec Department. It contains walking paths through 60 sculptures over 11 acres, so you probably won’t see it all in one visit. The centerpiece and most famous sculpture is Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Another well-known sculpture is Hahn (German for cock). Created by Katharina Fritsch, it is a towering bright blue rooster.

The pieces in the permanent collection include books, photos, paintings, multi-media, costumes, and sculptures.

The museum also houses a stage and puts on dozens of productions each year including music, dance, interactive theater, spoken word, and other performance arts. The Walker Cinema features a diverse collection of short films, documentaries, experimental screenings, artist talks, and much more.

Lunch:

You can’t take a legitimate trip to Minneapolis without eating a Jucy (or Juicy) Lucy!

There are more than a dozen places to get a Lucy in the Twin Cities. (The Nook in Saint Paul serves up an our favorite, calling it a “Juicy Nookie”.) Different bars have a lot of variations of types of cheese and toppings.

Afternoon:

By now It is late afternoon, and your destination later this evening will be the Guthrie Theater. In preparation, we recommend parking your car in the ramp across the street from the theater now, to secure a good spot on the lowest level you can find. ($15 flat fee at the time of writing.) You will have a wait to get out of the ramp after the show. But it will be worth it! And honestly, there is no other reasonable place to park for an extended time in the area.

If you have an extra hour or so, you could also explore the nearby Mill City Museum and Park, built on the ruins of what was once the world’s largest flour mill. The museum has interactive displays, covering the history of the milling industry and how it is intertwined with the history of Minneapolis as a whole.

Evening:

For an early dinner before the show, choices in the area abound. Favorites include Chloe by Vincent, a casual but high-quality and authentic French restaurant by Chef Vincent Francoual, and Zen Box Izakaya, specializing in Ramen and Japanese comfort food.

We’ve saved one of the best parts of your trip for last. We recommend you get tickets, as far in advance as you can, to whatever show is playing at the Guthrie Theater (sometimes you’ll have a choice of two). We’ve seen more than a dozen shows there over the years, and each has been outstanding.

Other Ideas

Do you have an extra day or two in town, or do some of the above recommendations not interest you? No worries! Minneapolis has much more to offer.

Minnehaha Falls – Impressive park featuring hiking trails, a 53′ waterfall (fun to see frozen over in the winter), limestone bluffs and river overlooks.

Bitter Minnesota Brewery Tour – Minneapolis is a great city for craft beer enthusiasts. Explore the circuit on your own or take this highly rated small-group tour.

Midtown Global Market – International market with gifts, crafts, clothing, and fresh and prepared foods from 50+ vendors, open daily.

Paisley Park – This is the 65,000-square-foot estate formerly owned by Prince. Aside from his living quarters, it also has multiple recording studios, a sound stage, rehearsal rooms, offices, and even a basketball court to get those creative juices flowing. Just a few months after his untimely death in 2016, Paisley Park was transformed into a museum in Prince’s honor with (rather expensive) tours available offering three levels of access.

Minnesota Orchestra Hall – The Grammy-winning Minnesota Orchestra performs around the world, but makes its home here in downtown Minneapolis. We’ve never been lucky enough to attend, but the acoustics in the Hall are said to be “too good to be true”.

Mary Tyler Moore Statue (Nicollet Mall) – If you’re of a certain age, it will be hard to resist seeing the statue of the woman who can turn the world on with her smile! She’s even tossing her hat in the air. If you know, you know.

Grand Rounds Scenic Byway – A huge feather in Minneapolis’ hat, this 51 mile off-road paved bike trail winds through the entire city, including the riverfront, Minnehaha Falls, the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes, Theodore Wirth Park, and the WWI Victory Memorial.

Where to stay

Staying in the Nicollet area of downtown Minneapolis is the most convenient for this itinerary, as it is central to many of the activities, restaurants, and nightlife outlined above. Much of the area is pedestrian only, so you can escape that Minneapolis traffic. You’ll have easy access to Target Field if you want to catch a Twins game (as well as an actual Target if you forgot anything), the enclosed skyway system, especially nice on cold winter days, and lots of shopping opportunities and restaurants.

There are a plethora of hotels from budget, such as the Hampton Inn, to moderate, such as the Hyatt Centric, to upscale, such as the Westin, to the ultra luxury, such as the Four Seasons.

Do you love Minnesota? Consider a trip up to Duluth on Lake Superior, even in the winter! Details here: Duluth: Embracing Winter in Superior Ways