Attractions (Minneapolis, St. Paul, Walker: amusement parks, theater, university) - Minneapolis - St. Paul - Minnesota (MN) -Twin Cities - City-Data Forum

Texaslatina · 04-10-2010, 12:05 PM

Hello,
I am going to Minneapolis in 2 weeks. Never been . What are the main attractions that I need to see ?

Civic · 04-10-2010, 01:16 PM

Nature scene: Stone arch bridge, Minnehaha park, Chain of lakes, Fort Snelling state park. In fact they do offer Minneapolis history tour on Segways if you want to do that as well.

Institutes/architecture : Guthrie theater, University of MN Walker art center, Basilica of St. Mary, IDS tower, Old Mill district (adjacent to stone bridge & the Guthrie), Mall of America (you can take light-rail from down town), the locking dam of the Mississippi river etc.

Restaurants: I'd go uptown Minneapolis

Bars and clubs: Downtown Minneapolis

I also recommend taking a short drive across river to St. Paul and see down town St. Paul. The state capital building is there, another basilica as well as great view of the downtown and the river from a hill.

Cruz Azul Guy · 04-10-2010, 03:48 PM

Radical_Car · 04-12-2010, 12:18 PM

Science Museum of Minnesota in St paul Science Museum of Minnesota - Minnesota's Favorite Museum

Childrens Museum if you have kids(I went here on a first grade field trip back in 1999 or 2000 and I absolutely loved it, even though I vaguely remember it)Minnesota Children's Museum - Home

ValleyFair Amusement park in shakopee if your into amusement parks.

srsmn · 04-14-2010, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radical_Car

Science Museum of Minnesota in St paul Science Museum of Minnesota - Minnesota's Favorite Museum

Childrens Museum if you have kids(I went here on a first grade field trip back in 1999 or 2000 and I absolutely loved it, even though I vaguely remember it)Minnesota Children's Museum - Home

ValleyFair Amusement park in shakopee if your into amusement parks.

Is Valley Fair open this time of year?

Oh, yeah: and I echo everybody else's suggestions. It has been in the 60's and 70's here the past few weeks, and will probably only get warmer as April turns to May, so outdoor activities abound!

Check out the MIA, too...don't know if the first poster mentioned it. The Guthrie is cool, but it can be expensive to get tickets to a show there, and demands an entire evening. If that's not your thing, though, I would definately recommend going down and checking it out just for its architectural merit.

srsmn · 04-14-2010, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Civic

University of MN Walker art center

Point of clarity: unless you missed a comma, I believe you are thinking of the Weisman, as the Walker is not on the U of M's campus, and is not affiliated with the U.

Also, not to be nitpicky, but the 'basilica' in St. Paul is actually a 'cathedral' (we card-carrying Catholics are made to memorize this type of thing

)

Radical_Car · 04-14-2010, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by srsmn

Is Valley Fair open this time of year?

You know what, I didn't even think about that, LOL.

Silly me

Civic · 04-15-2010, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by srsmn

Point of clarity: unless you missed a comma, I believe you are thinking of the Weisman, as the Walker is not on the U of M's campus, and is not affiliated with the U.

Also, not to be nitpicky, but the 'basilica' in St. Paul is actually a 'cathedral' (we card-carrying Catholics are made to memorize this type of thing

)

I stand corrected. What is the different between Basilica and Cathedral? I can google this but ....

srsmn · 04-16-2010, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Civic

I stand corrected. What is the different between Basilica and Cathedral? I can google this but ....

Basilica essentially just means "important church," whereas a cathedral is the "chair" or seat of a diocese (or in our case, archdiocese).

My understanding is that the the comparison between the two is somewhat apples to oranges; that is to say, any church can be a basilica, but unless the basilica is also a cathedral, it is not of any substantial importance from a heirarchical standpoint.

Take for instance our archdiocese: the Cathedral of St. Paul is the seat of the Archdiocese, where the archbishop says mass. The Basilica of St. Mary is also technically a cathedral: where the assisting bishop says mass. In this case, even though it may be counter-intuitive, the cathedral is-- for all intents and purposes-- more important than the basilica.

The Vatican designates certain churches as basilicas; it's an honor, of sorts. Our basilica was the first designated basilica in the United States.

srsmn · 04-16-2010, 09:28 AM

Basilica of Saint Mary, Minneapolis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This wiki lays it out pretty clearly: the basilica is a "co-cathedral" with St. Paul.