My husband and I are going to St.Paul for the world cup hockey (sept 2, 3) and are unfamiliar with the area:

Questions:
1. Holiday Inn St. Paul Centre
Would you stay here? Any recommendations?

2. Do we need a car to get around or is the public transporation efficient?

3. Other sites?

4. Recommended things to see.

5. Is 3 days enough to see things in the imm. area?

We like (besides hockey) science, shopping, local flavor, good eats.

Kindest regards,
Amanda

Hey, we're going to the World Cup, too! We live in the area but are relatively new here, so I'm afraid I can't help much, but here goes.

That Holiday Inn is right across the street from the RiverCentre--you couldn't be any closer. It's a good location, too, very busy when there's something going on at the RiverCenter, and walking distance to some restaurants and pubs, the Capitol, the Cathedral, and the Minnesota History Center. I don't know anything about its quality, though.

Transportation is a problem in that the new light rail line in Minneapolis doesn't connect to St. Paul, so you'd be taking buses and/or cabs. The Twin Cities aren't hard to drive or park in, so if I were you I'd rent a car to see Minnapolis as well as St. Paul.

There's a great Science Museum right next to the RiverCenter, so you should plan a long afternoon for that. St. Paul has a nice shopping/strolling/eating area on Grand Avenue that's worth a visit. (Of course, there's the Mall of America in Bloomington, but I don't know if mall shopping is what you're after. It's nice enough, but in the end it's just a really big mall.)

In Minneapolis, I'd recommend the Mpls Institute of Art and a meal afterward on Eat Street, a wildly eclectic row of restaurants on Hennepin Ave; and if the weather is nice, the outdoor sculpture garden at the Walker Art Center (museum now closed for renovation)is cool. We also like the Uptown and LynLake neighborhoods of Mpls for good restaurants and fun shops.

If you like outoor activities, too, there are several in-town lakes and parks both in St. Paul and Mpls that are lovely.

So--you will be able to fill 3 days easily. Whether you will want to stay longer kind of depends on how excited you are to be in a mid-size city, or how willing you'd be to drive out of the city for a daytrip.

I hope oters can help more...good luck!

E,

Thanks a ton. We are really excited and your insight is brilliant.

Have you been to the energy center before?

We are debating on tickets.

Are the green tickets (75.00 worth it)
How far are the 15.00 tickets?

Kindest regards,
Amanda

We've been to the Xcel for 4 Wild games and a Prince concert--it's a really great venue, attractive, comfortable, nice concessions, etc. We haven't sat in the upper level yet, just the lower and club. I wouldn't say there's a bad seat in the house, and the arena isn't huge, but the upper level is, well, high up there! We *loved* our club seats--we sat on the rail just above the net--and enjoyed the lower level, too. If you're hockey fans and this is a special trip, I guess I'd suggest springing for better seats for at least one of the games, but it's your call. Welcome to the State of Hockey!

Whoops, almost forgot--husband points out that Eat Street in Mpls is actually a stretch of Nicollet Ave., not Hennepin, roughly between 23rd and 26th Streets, something like that.

My husband bought our tickets on Friday.

We are sitting the first night in lower level. Second night in club, front row.

Whooo hooo....

Many thanks for all the advice.

Kindest regards,
Amanda

You're so welcome--I hope we all have a great time!