Chicaogan's First Time in Minneapolis (St. Paul, St. Anthony: amusement park, hotels, house)

[UrbanCheetah]

Hey Everyone! So I will be in Minneapolis starting tomorrow until Sunday morning. I have never been but pretty damn excited to check out this city, as I hear it's probably the second coolest city in the Midwest, after Chicago of course . I won't have a ton of free time but I think enough. I will be at a conference during the day then free in the evenings, except Saturday I will be completely free.

With that being said I wanted to get your advice on a few things:

1). Where to run. I am staying in downtown, right by the convention center. My plan is to go running outside every day I am there, and do about an hour run. Any advice on streets or trails I should take? Just a heads up, I prefer running in a more built environment, ie, like downtown, or a main street of a neighborhood where I see people and things. Parks tend to bore me for running paths.

2). What are some must see spots? I basically have downtown as one area I want to thoroughly check out. I was also thinking the Mall of America, while I am not big fan of Malls, I feel like it's worth since I am up there, just to check it off my list. Is it hard to get to? Is it worth it to go to? Where else should I visit? Also, I am more of the neighborhood exploratory kind, so if you suggest checking out museums or things like that I probably won't. I like hanging out where people work, live and play.

3). Any unique spots I should grab food at?

Thanks for the advice ahead of time!

[old fed]

the light rail blue line runs from downtown (not sure where the stops are) directly to the mall (last stop on the line).

[MN_Ski]

I would check out the parks along the Mississippi river. There are some great trails/bridges that offer great views. It's also really fun to walk around at night.

To be honest, Minneapolis is probably one of the worst food cities in the country. I honestly can't recommend anything within downtown. There are decent breweries with food though. All of the best food places are in St Paul.

[Rhody2Mn]

As far as neighborhoods, I definitely recommend checking out the Riverfront area of downtown and walking along the Stone Arch Bridge to St. Anthony Main on the other side. The North Loop (which has Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins) is another great area to visit in addition to Uptown which includes the beautiful Chain of Lakes (Harriet, Calhoun, Isles, and Cedar). The Twins are playing at home beginning Thursday, so you could take in a game if you like baseball at all as Target Field is beautiful.

Although others on this forum don't like Mall of America (MOA), I definitely think it's worth a visit (if only so you can say you've seen it) as it contains an aquarium, mini-golf, amusement park, and over 500 stores amongst other attractions. It is easy to get to as you can simply take the Blue Line light rail from downtown - it is the last stop along that line and takes about 25-30 minutes to get to from the city.

You could also take the Green Line light rail from downtown Minneapolis to downtown St. Paul and walk around the latter city as it has a completely different vibe from Minneapolis but is still fun.

What type of food do you like? Manny's Steakhouse, Bar La Grassa, Butcher & The Boar, Smack Shack, and Hell's Kitchen are all good. Punch and Black Sheep have great pizza. Hen House Eatery is good for breakfast.

[toobrown]

Originally Posted by old fed

the light rail blue line runs from downtown (not sure where the stops are) directly to the mall (last stop on the line).

Home - Metro Transit

There are multiple stops in downtown

[UrbanCheetah]

Originally Posted by Rhody2Mn

As far as neighborhoods, I definitely recommend checking out the Riverfront area of downtown and walking along the Stone Arch Bridge to St. Anthony Main on the other side. The North Loop (which has Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins) is another great area to visit in addition to Uptown which includes the beautiful Chain of Lakes (Harriet, Calhoun, Isles, and Cedar). The Twins are playing at home beginning Thursday, so you could take in a game if you like baseball at all as Target Field is beautiful.

Although others on this forum don't like Mall of America (MOA), I definitely think it's worth a visit (if only so you can say you've seen it) as it contains an aquarium, mini-golf, amusement park, and over 500 stores amongst other attractions. It is easy to get to as you can simply take the Blue Line light rail from downtown - it is the last stop along that line and takes about 25-30 minutes to get to from the city.

You could also take the Green Line light rail from downtown Minneapolis to downtown St. Paul and walk around the latter city as it has a completely different vibe from Minneapolis but is still fun.

What type of food do you like? Manny's Steakhouse, Bar La Grassa, Butcher & The Boar, Smack Shack, and Hell's Kitchen are all good. Punch and Black Sheep have great pizza. Hen House Eatery is good for breakfast.

Is there a lightrail train from the airport to downtown?

Thanks for this advice.

I think I will spend Wednesday, Thursday, Friday evening checking out Minneapolis in the evening, then do St. Paul and Mall of America Saturday. My hotel for Tuesday-Friday is in downtown Minneapolis, and for Friday and Saturday night it will be most likely by the airport.

[Ghengis]

Originally Posted by UrbanCheetah

Is there a lightrail train from the airport to downtown?

Thanks for this advice.

I think I will spend Wednesday, Thursday, Friday evening checking out Minneapolis in the evening, then do St. Paul and Mall of America Saturday. My hotel for Tuesday-Friday is in downtown Minneapolis, and for Friday and Saturday night it will be most likely by the airport.

there's at least 3 hotels (Embassy Suites, Crowne Plaza, Hilton) right next to the 34th ave stop between the airport and MOA.


Know you weren't looking to nature it up but, those are all right next to a National Wildlife Refuge which offers some trails and such. Less competition from traffic/crosswalks in that area if you want to run along the roads in that area, think there's plenty of sidewalks to run on.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by UrbanCheetah

Is there a lightrail train from the airport to downtown?

Yeah, the Blue Line goes from Downtown to the MoA and hits the airport in between:

METRO Blue Line

[gopherviking]

Other really good restaurants - Spoon and Sable, Bachelor Farmer (Marvel bar downstairs is fun and cool cocktails), Red Stag, Ramen Kazama, Quang vietnamese, Brasa for chicken, Pizza Nea, Surly brewery, Gyst fermentation bar - (I don't think Chicago has anything like it) has really amazing food, Sample Room, Lucia's, Matt's bar for a juicy Lucy, World Street Kitchen, just to name a few. The food scene has improved a ton over the past 20 years.

[projectmaximus]

I am a former Chicago resident (though I'm not sure that's hugely important) who visited MSP for the first time last year...twice...for a total of almost 2 weeks...and loved it.

Yes there is light rail from the airport to downtown. Also don't be afraid of the buses when necessary...the routes are integrated with google maps and are pretty good. It's been nearly 8 months since I went so I don't remember all the details/neighborhoods but I think generally speaking there was a healthy amount of touristy things, pretty vantage points, etc throughout the downtown area.

Loring Park seemed pretty nice where the Walker Art Center is and Sculpture Garden. Seemed like a good place to run (but I did not). I did go running a few times on the Midtown Greenway, which connected several neighborhoods including where I was staying. Seemed like a really good way to get around too, as a cyclist or runner. We also went to see some waterfall park somewhere a short ride on the light rail from downtown...it was decent. Not necessarily breathtaking at all, but lively and good people watching. We skipped the Mall of America on the first trip cause it simply didnt seem necessary at all, but I did make it there on my second trip and I guess I can say that I have been to the largest mall. But honestly nothing special/memorable, especially as an Asian who frequents malls in Asia...

Honestly the most memorable thing for me was the University of Minn. It is in my top 5 of most impressive campuses. Huge, impressive, beautiful and well-manicured (well it was early Summer) and I enjoy visiting lots of college campuses. I mean the campus is divided by the river and has amazing riverfront views and its own bridge. Also really enjoyed the Laotian market in St Paul. Missed out on the Somali Market regrettably. Lots of really cool neighborhoods in both Minny and St Paul that were vibrant, hip, with festivals and block parties...but can't remember names lol.

Have fun and hope that helps!