Minneapolis Minnesota
 

OK, I have a whole day on my own in the area of Minneapolis--any must do, must see other than Mall of America (just not interested)? Need a reasonable place to stay near Long Lake--any suggestions?

I spent quite a bit of time walking around downtown and then going around on the indoor skywalk system. It was really fun and I did quite a bit of shopping too.

gee, Key Lime pie gets 27 responses, and a big city gets one?! No museums, rafting (canoeing?), galleries, fab secret golf spots? (Hope the skywalk is air conditioned!)

sylvia3--where is the long lake area? Minneapolis is fun......walk up and down Nicolette Mall, (downtown)get over to the Uptown area, (funky, artsy, south of downtown), and then walk over to the lakes: Harriet, Calhoun, can't remember the name of the 3rd one....lots of walkers, bikers, windsurfers,rollerbladers...sometimes even some entertainment on Harriet at the outdoor ampitheatre, near Lake Harriet is the Linden Hills ngbrhood.....go to Sebastian Joe's (ice cream) for some raspberry chip ice cream. In St. Paul, a walk up and down Summit and Grand Ave....lots of interesting mansions and shopping.....Cafe Latte is a good spot for a salad/sandwich/soup/latte/DESSERT. I'll check back to see if you need more info. What time of year will you be there...will you have a car?

Hi Sylvia3!
I live south of the metro area and just had a "field trip day" to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in south Mpls. It is a world class museum with NO admission charge and FREE parking. You can see everything from Monet to Kandinsky and the cafe has great food. Long Lake is a good distance west of the city; you might want to check into accomodations at the 494/Hwy 100 intersection or in Minnetonka near Ridgedale Mall. If you have a car you will be 30-40 minutes from downtown in Long Lake. The little town/suburb of Excelsior is out west situated on Lake Minnetonks; a great spot for high tea (Fox & Drake) and upscale shops. In the city I also like the Stone Arch Bridge area over the Mississippi River. You can see the new Guthrie Theater near there, visit the Mill City Museum and stroll on the bridge. The city has trolley tours (River City Trolleys). The Walker Art Museum has modern art (not my fav) but a great outdoor sculpture garden and currently a Diane Arbus Photography exhibit that looks good. As mentioned, a stroll around a city lkae and a cone at Sebastian Joe's is ALWAYS a good time. In the same area I like the shop "Patina" and "Birch Bark Books" owned by a great MN native American author; Louise Erdrich. There....have I squelched the key lime pie dominance??! HA! I am a big Mpls. proponent; have a great visit!! (and the Mall of America is an overrrated mall...I prefer stores in neighborhoods like Uptown and Grand Ave. as Colette suggested)

OOps! The Lake west of the metro is Minnetonka!!

I've enjoyed:
-Walking along the Mississippi downtown-there's a path, interpretive markers, and mill ruins, plus a cool old pedestrian bridge.
-Walking around the Uptown neighborhood and nearby Lake of the Isles (lots of neat old mansions).
-The Nicolette Mall area is okay, worth walking down if you are downtown.
-Seeing Grand Ave. in St. Paul, which has the most Victorian mansions of any place in the US.

When is your day here? That might influence some of my recommendations.

But generically:
The Walker if you're into art.
The Dakota Bar and Grill if you're into jazz.
The Science Museum if you're into "quirk."
The Minnesota Zoo, if you're into beasts (or just a nice, naturalistic walk)
The Uptown Theatre for an art-house movie.

Let us know you date and I might be able to help out even more.

Hi
There is an AmericInn Lodge/Suites in Long Lake. Fox & Brown high tea is in Wayzata (along w/the upscale shops). It's a pretty "town" on Lake Minnetonka. You can rent a canoe on Lake Calhoun in Mpls-$15/hr and canoe several lakes; great for a nice day-it's also nice just to walk around the city lakes. Lake Harriet next to Calhoun has an exceptional rose garden. Do you like antiques? I can steer you there, too. ((h))

Wow! great responses, I'm very grateful. I will have a car, and will be there on a Friday--much of Saturday. (The Institute of Arts is free? That's very impressive!) I'll need a convenient place to stay on Friday--is the airport area central to the city and easy to get to/from?

There is a Americinn Lodge & Suites in Long Lake. Also motels/hotels in Wayzata which is close by. Check this web site and you will find the names, phone numbers etc.

www.exploreminnesota.com

Wow, I was going to give some suggestions as I used to live there but the above posts mention everything I thought of. Its a very beautiful city even from the plane! The jewel of the north.

The Airport is not central to the city; it's southeast (15-20 mins) depends on traffic, too. It would be more convenient than staying in Long Lake though and MANY hotel/motel options.

When is this trip? The State Fair is coming soon and runs through Labor Day.

The airport is approximately south of the dividing line between Minneapolis and St. Paul, so in a sense it is central to both downtowns. It would probably take about 20-25 minutes to get to either, depending on traffic. Light rail runs from the airport to downtown Minneapolis as well.

There's no shortage of green space in the metro area, including some popular parks, etc very close to the airport. Minnehaha Falls, Fort Snelling State Park, Hidden Falls-Crosby Regional Park, and (my favorite) Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge are all good places to visit. The wildlife refuge has a number of units - there are two that are within a few minutes of the airport that (other than the overhead flights) will totally take you away from the city.

Sylivia, I would suggest that you get a map of the Twin Cities area as this will greatly influence your itinerary.

http://www.minneapolis.org/travelinfo/maps.asp

No...the airport is not central to anything (other than the Mall of America). The airport is south of the city. Nothing is a great distance, if you don't mind driving 30 minutes or so depending on the time of day.

Long Lake as well as Wayzata and Excelsior are all west of the city -- so you might not want to do Wayzata and Downtown Minneapolis (Institute of Art) all in the same day. It would be a bit of driving around. The suggestion to stay in the 394 West near Ridgedale Mall corridor is a very good one as that puts you in-between Long Lake and Downtown. There is also some fairly good dining in that area.

If the weather is good, you might want to explore Wayzata (you'll pass by it on your way to Long Lake) on friday and have dinner at Sunsets. On Saturday you could head "into the City" - downtown Minneapolis. Try the Institute of Art with lunch there at D'Amico Cafe. Then a bit of shopping on "The Mall" in downtown Minneapolis which is all connected by the (yes, its air conditioned) SkyWay system. You could have a drink in any number of sidewalk cafes after shopping like The Local or Brits. Then maybe tickets for a show or concert in the evening. I recommend the world class Guthrie Theater (where you could also have dinner) or the Tony Award winning Theater de la Juene Lune or a concert at Orchestra Hall on the Nicollet Mall. You could have a great late night Cuban dinner after the show at Babalu on Washington Ave. with a little salsa music for dancing after before heading back to your hotel. If you'd like dinner before the show, try Zelo on The Mall or Spoon River across the street from the new Guthrie or Origami for sushi across the street from Theater de la Juene Lune.

http://www.wayzatachamber.com/

http://www.guthrietheater.org/
http://www.jeunelune.com/
http://www.artsmia.org/
http://www.babalu.us/
http://www.origamirestaurant.com/home.html

Enjoy.

jbass: I stand corrected! I was thinking of Wayzata and called it Excelsior. Both are fun exploring options near Long Lake! I took my Mom and daughters to The Fox & Drake for Mother's Day tea; we had a lovely afternoon. You can also ride on a restored wooden excursion boat out of Excelsior and actually get out on Lake Minnetonka.
Yes, the Art Institute is free and an underrated museum and great value IMHO. I try to get there at least 1x a year. The Walker has a new addition and a good restaurant. Lots to see & do here!

What is the name of the outdoor sculpture garden? The one with the big spoon (or fork?) and cherry? We enjoyed that.

Its called "The Sculptor Garden" at the Walker Art Museum. Not very creative, but everyone knows what you mean.

Sorry....The Sculpture Garden. Typo!

sylvia3, you didn't get any responses at first but you sure have a lot of great advice now from people who know about the Twin Cities.

If you want a great urban experience you shoud do the skyway walk in downtown Minneapolis. It covers 74 square blocks of retail, restaurants, entertainment and hotels. Several hundred attractions without going outside.