Need some insider info for first family trip to Minneapolis (St. Paul: fit in, crime)

[TechZombie]

My wife and I w/ our baby had wanted to make our annual trek to Chicago in fall but we are considering trying something new.

I have never been to Minneapolis and may use this as a chance to do something fresh.



Some info about our trip. We are going in October..plan to spend a Tue/night Wed/night and leave on a Thursday.

My questions for a first timer planning....

-We want to stay DT. Our budget is $300 for 2 nights. We need a clean bed w/ good staff. Don't care about pools or free breakfasts. I found the Best Western Normandy Inn....any other ideas?

-What is the Minni eqiv of Michigan Avenue? We want shops (coach,apple,etc) cool places to eat for $20-30 a pop...lots of picture opportunities,etc. We will have a 13 month old so the more stuff in one area the better....we will do some walking/exploring....I want to see the Dome,etc....

-Safety/insider info? Any areas to avoid? Can I take out my smartphone or SLR on a street corner and not have to look over my shoulder? Will it be safe for my wife and kid and I to be walking back to our hotel at dusk? Obviously crime can happen anywhere at any time and I know how to act in a big city. I'm talking more specifics that relate to the culture of Minneapolis. We don't mind a little grit...older buildings..ethnic diversity...those are our favorite things about Chicago. I'm more worried about hardcore BAD areas.
I now DT Chicago pretty dang well. Minneapolis may as well be China for all I know about it. We plan to spend the TUE DT and the WED at Mall of America. We plan to drive to the mall. Any tips best route,etc?

-Any local customs to be aware of?

-Our big activities are going to be eating and taking pics..any off the beaten path info that will enhance these activities?


Thanks for any help folks..hopefully I will fall in love w/ Minneapolis the way I did w/ Chicago.

[tvdxer]

Originally Posted by TechZombie

My wife and I w/ our baby had wanted to make our annual trek to Chicago in fall but we are considering trying something new.

I have never been to Minneapolis and may use this as a chance to do something fresh.



Some info about our trip. We are going in October..plan to spend a Tue/night Wed/night and leave on a Thursday.

My questions for a first timer planning....

-We want to stay DT. Our budget is $300 for 2 nights. We need a clean bed w/ good staff. Don't care about pools or free breakfasts. I found the Best Western Normandy Inn....any other ideas?

Couldn't tell you anything there, I usually stay at the Motel 6 in Roseville when I need to stay the night in the 'Cities.

-What is the Minni eqiv of Michigan Avenue? We want shops (coach,apple,etc) cool places to eat for $20-30 a pop...lots of picture opportunities,etc. We will have a 13 month old so the more stuff in one area the better....we will do some walking/exploring....I want to see the Dome,etc....

The closest thing to Michigan Ave. is Nicollet Ave. The downtown portion (where you will find the shops) is pedestrianized with a light rail track running through. Farther away from Downtown, there are a few blocks of Nicollet Ave. known as "Eat Street", where you can enjoy a wide variety of restaurants (everything from Vietnamese to Tibetan to Greek).

-Safety/insider info? Any areas to avoid? Can I take out my smartphone or SLR on a street corner and not have to look over my shoulder? Will it be safe for my wife and kid and I to be walking back to our hotel at dusk? Obviously crime can happen anywhere at any time and I know how to act in a big city. I'm talking more specifics that relate to the culture of Minneapolis. We don't mind a little grit...older buildings..ethnic diversity...those are our favorite things about Chicago. I'm more worried about hardcore BAD areas.
I now DT Chicago pretty dang well. Minneapolis may as well be China for all I know about it. We plan to spend the TUE DT and the WED at Mall of America. We plan to drive to the mall. Any tips best route,etc?

You can take the light rail from Downtown to the Mall of America. There's only one line currently, so it's extremely simple to navigate. I believe the Mall of America is at the end of the line, or second to the end of the line.

As far as smartphones and DSLRs go, you can probably take it out on a street corner Downtown without much of a chance of somebody robbing you. Though I do know one person who had his smartphone taken at knifepoint, but that was during the night.

-Any local customs to be aware of?

-Our big activities are going to be eating and taking pics..any off the beaten path info that will enhance these activities?

Thanks for any help folks..hopefully I will fall in love w/ Minneapolis the way I did w/ Chicago.

Be sure to eat at a Somali (not Ethiopian) restaurant. It'll be a memorable experience for sure. They're a dime for a dozen along Lake St. (note that Lake St. runs through a "marginal", though not really bad, neighborhood).

You should consider eating at other places that are rather unique to the Twin Cities metro area in terms of the cuisine they serve: the recently-opened Goda in Minneapolis (which has a Djiboutian menu), Babani's in St. Paul (Kurdish), and going to the Hmong Market in St. Paul (which will also be a good cultural experience for you) and eating from the many stalls they have set up in their dining area.

As for taking pictures...Minneapolis and St. Paul aren't the most "photogenic" cities, but I recommend walking from downtown St. Paul up to the Basilica and further down Summit Ave. for some photo opportunities.

[golfgal]

The closest thing we have to Mich. Ave would be the Mall of America . Personally, if I were coming in the fall and wanted photo opps I would not chose downtown Minneapolis for a place to stay. I would look at something along the St. Croix and do day trips from there. Even St. Paul would be more picturesque than Minneapolis at that time of the year.

[Ghengis]

The Minneapolis hospitality industry is heavily geared to the week-day business travelers and therefore offers deep discounts on weekends to fill up their rooms. So if you could do the weekend you will get far better rates.

Even so, I would presume you could do much better than the Normandy for $150/night. Check directly with the hotel, the local number not the 1-800 reservations. Or, check the Hot Wire/Priceline Forums (betterbidding.) for tips and current bidding history. I see that on Hot Wire for October 9 & 10 you can get a 3 1/2 star room in DT Minneapolis right now for $74/night. That would likely be the Crowne Plaza/Hilton/Hyatt/Radisson-type place.

The fall colors in the TC Metro do tend to peak a bit torwards the middle and end of the month and the banks of the Mississippi and around the local lakes can be quite stunning at that time of year.

[1stpontiac]

Like others have said, Nicollet Ave would be the closest to a Michigan Ave experience, and you'll be able to find good food branching out from there. For pictures and just a nice area to walk, consider going over to the river and walking along there between the Stone Arch Bridge (a pedestrian bridge) and Hennepin Avenue. I think its a cool area that has a fun mix of the old flour mills and other companies that used to be there, plus new developments and redevelopments.

mod cut

As for MOA, the light rail is a nice way to get there from downtown, unless you will be buying more than you want to lug back. On the other hand, parking is free there, so there's not much downside to driving, either.

[GBCommenter]

Others have given you some generally good advice, so I won't repeat too much of the general ideas. As far as the BW Normandy, in terms of clean room and convenient to downtown location you will have no problems. I do agree, however, like many larger cities, weekday rates will be higher than weekend due to the business traveler in the core of downtown. If you choose to do Priceline/Hotwire, check out what the sites are calling "downtown". I haven't looked recently, but depending on the star quality you choose (or a similar setting), there is the Sheraton Midtown that sometimes is included as "downtown". While it is a perfectly fine hotel, it is not downtown. It is included, however, because it is the one stray hotel that otherwise doesn't fit into any other area. Furthermore, the area immediately around the Sheraton Midtown is deemed sketchy by some. IMMEDIATELY next to the hotel is Allina Health corporate complex and a number of well established hospitals but otherwise, again, a potentially sketchy area (especially at night).

In terms of photo opps, however, what is good and bad (and whether downtown Minneapolis qualifies) depends on what you are interested in. If nature, then your option would be along the Mississippi River. Leaves and colors will not be astounding, but not terrible. If interested in architecture, buildings, etc. there are some options such as the Basilica and perhaps the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. However, Minneapolis tends to be a fairly "west coast" architecture mentality - not as much historical architecture. St. Paul is somewhat the opposite - more keeps its history. However, downtown Minneapolis has a fair amount of life about it as opposed to St. Paul that gets pretty quiet after the work crowd leaves for the day (though St. Paul has some interesting neighborhoods such as along Summit Avenue).

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Great photo opportunities in DT Mpls, especially on the Mississippi River at the Stone Arch Bridge and around the Guthrie. Nicollet Ave is a good area to walk around in, then cross over the 1st Ave/Hennepin Ave and over to Loring Park and the Sculpture Garden. You don't want to leave Minneapolis with a picture of the spoon and cherry. Then go down to Lake Calhoun as it is very picturesque around there and in the Uptown area as well.

[TechZombie]

Thanks for the info everyone. I should say my picture goals are more skyline/buildings/urban street life/people/etc.
I live in Green Bay...I can shoot trees and water all day long LOL....buildings however..not so much.

We are probably looking at Oct 2/3 as that is my birthday. But if we can go on the weekend and shave $75 off the hotel perhaps that route will work. Curious if a Viking home game would impact that?

[1stpontiac]

Originally Posted by TechZombie

Thanks for the info everyone. I should say my picture goals are more skyline/buildings/urban street life/people/etc.
I live in Green Bay...I can shoot trees and water all day long LOL....buildings however..not so much.

We are probably looking at Oct 2/3 as that is my birthday. But if we can go on the weekend and shave $75 off the hotel perhaps that route will work. Curious if a Viking home game would impact that?

Given the bolded above, I think these would be potential targets:

Skyscrapers, "big city" - Downtown Minneapolis
Historic Architecture - Downtown St. Paul and Grand Avenue
Street Life/People/Hipsters - Uptown and Lake Calhoun


Like I mentioned before, check the path along the Mississippi, too. You can't hardly bike down that in the fall without running over photographers.

[QuietBlue]

I think it depends on what you want from a "Michigan Avenue experience". While Nicollet Mall has a lot of tall buildings and density, and good restaurants on it or nearby, there's not much shopping along it anymore and thus I wouldn't really compare it to the Magnificent Mile. The Mall of America is your best bet for that, plus it does have a lot of restaurants and it is on the light rail. But then, I'm an unrepentant Mall of America apologist.