21 Best Sights in Minnesota, USA

The Cathedral of St. Paul, a classic Renaissance-style domed church in the style of St. Peter's in Rome, lies ¼ mile southwest of the capitol. Inside are beautiful stained-glass windows, statues, paintings, and other works of art, as well as a small historical museum on the lower level.

Southwest of downtown Minneapolis is the Chain of Lakes, popular with locals for walking, jogging, rollerblading, biking, fishing, and canoeing. Lake of the Isles, Lake Calhoun, and Lake Harriet are always popular in good weather.

Uptown is a funky enclave of unique shops, restaurants, and bars.

The Walker Art Center has an outstanding collection of 20th- and 21st-century American and European sculpture, prints, and photography, as well as traveling exhibits and national and international acts. The Irene Hixon Whitney Footbridge, designed by sculptor Siah Armajani, connects the arts complex to Loring Park, across I–94.

Step into pre-Civil War times at Arcola Mills, on the National Register of Historic Places, which lies along the St. Croix River 6 miles north of Stillwater. Inside the restored Greek Revival mansion—once home to the Van Meier and Mower families—you'll get a glimpse of the life of a wealthy family in a milling town during the 1840s. The Mower brothers developed much of Stillwater, and their mills once cut lumber that traveled as far as St. Louis. The grounds surrounding the mansion are perfect for a stroll, with streams, bridges, and forested canopies. The mills' trademark chimney still stands.

Como Park has picnic areas, walking trails, playgrounds, and swimming facilities. The adjacent Como Park Conservatory, in a domed greenhouse, has sunken gardens, a fern room, biblical plantings, and seasonal flower shows.

Como Park Zoo is home to large cats, land and water birds, primates, and aquatic animals.

America's only all-freshwater aquarium, on the harbor at the foot of Fifth Avenue West, has been open since 2000. In addition to fish native to Lakes Superior and Erie, it houses—all under one roof—a natural-history center, science center, and cultural exhibits covering regional topics like Great Lakes shipwrecks, management of water systems in national forests, and the invasion of zebra mussels. Classroom space hosts educational programming for children and adults, and typically sells out during the summer months. There's also a café and a gift shop.

The historic one-room schoolhouse, in use from the late 1800s through 1963, underwent a massive renovation—led by former students—after its closure, earning it a place on the National Register of Historic Places. Operated by the Washington County Historical Society, tours showcase a typical schoolday for children in the Stillwater area, many of whom were Swedish immigrants. Also on the site is the Erickson Log Home, constructed in 1868 by immigrant Johannes Erickson and his 13-year-old son. After the historical society purchased the home in 1974 it was moved to its current location.

Operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this center is at the foot of the aerial lift bridge in historic Canal Park. Among the highlights is the Fresnel lens, installed in 1901 to light the south pier of the Duluth Ship Canal across the street. It was refurbished 100 years later. Although the center is self-guided, dialing 218/213–9069 from a cell phone provides a recording of historical facts about the tug Bayfield, Duluth Ship Canal, the aerial lift bridge, local lighthouses, and the shoreline anchor display.

Regular events at this planetarium include Saturday films in the full-dome theater, aired episodes of Carl Sagan's Cosmos on Wednesday evenings, and live shows presented by staff or members of the Arrowhead Astronomical Society. These shows cover niche topics like NASA projects or "astronomy lessons" from Star Wars movies. Dark-sky shows are a highlight as they simulate the sky conditions that early Native Americans would once have seen.

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts displays more than 80,000 works from every age and culture, including French Impressionists, rare Chinese jade, and a photography collection from 1863 to the present. The building also houses the Children's Theatre Company.

Adjacent to the museum is the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, the nation's largest outdoor urban sculpture garden.

Minnehaha Park is the site of Minnehaha Falls, which was made famous by Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha. Minnehaha Parkway follows Minnehaha Creek, providing miles of jogging, biking, and in-line-skating trails.

Interactive exhibits at the Minnesota Historical Society show the story of the state from the perspectives of Native Americans, explorers, and settlers. A research library and museum store are on-site.

The Science Museum of Minnesota has exhibits on archaeology, technology, and biology and many hands-on exhibits for kids. In the McKnight Omnitheater 70mm films are projected overhead on a massive tilted screen.

On the University of Minnesota Duluth campus, this museum has 8,000 works of art in its collection. Established in the middle of last century by Alice Tweed, and born out of the collection she'd amassed with her husband, the museum's extensive holdings of 19th and early-20th century European and North American art include a unique collection of paintings and illustrations of Canadian Mounted Police. Examples of the French Barbizon School and American landscapes influenced by the impressionists are also on display.

The one-room Uptown Theatre is the place to catch independent and foreign-language films.

From 1814 to 1914 this building was home to a Minnesota Territorial Prison warden, and it accurately reflects how he and his contemporaries would have lived during the last part of the 19th century. It retains its late-19th- and early-20th-century interior design and contains toys and games that would have been familiar to children in those days. The property was sold to the Washington County Historical Society in 1941 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in the 1970s. Other objects in the museum include relics from Stillwater's lumber-boom era.

The most talked-about building on campus is the Weisman Art Museum, designed by famed avant-garde architect Frank Gehry. The permanent collection includes works and installations by American pop artists and modernists like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Georgia O'Keeffe.

Located 12 miles north of Stillwater, along the banks of the scenic St. Croix River, this 2,200-acre state park is paradise for outdoor adventurers and nature lovers alike—hiking, bicycling, cross-country skiing, and swimming are all available and the river's channels are stocked with walleye, bass, and trout. Canoes can be rented from mid-April to late October. In addition to a 112-site campground, three cabins offer electricity and overnight camping from April to October. There is also a year-round cabin.