My family was thinking of going to the Minneapolis area for a week or so in August. We know about the MOA, and one evening will be spent at a Twins game, for sure. Should we spend the entire week there or is there someplace nearby where we should split the week? We could spend a day at a beach, do some city-type stuff, etc etc... but am just at a bit of a loss. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

I would spend a day or more in Duluth; should take about 3 hours to drive up there. It's beautiful, lots to do, and usually cooler if it happens to be hot in the cities. Red Wing or Stillwater would be good day trips.

Second the trip to Stillwater, with a swing around through Marine on St Croix.

If you do (and you should) do the Duluth trip, you might want to go another 40 mi. to Two Harbors on the N shore. The lighthouse there is a B&B--3 rooms only--and is run by the Lake County Historical Society/ Worth spending the night. Check out www.lighthousebb.org . Great fun! There's no resident innkeeper--someone comes in the morning to do a lovely breakfast.

Go northwest on I-94 to Otter Tail County. They have 1,100 lakes and lots of fun.

Check out the Mpls Institute of Art--lots of great collections. Then have a meal on a stretch of Hennepin Ave called Eat Street for its plethora of ethnic restaurants. Or Chino Latino is another fun restaurant in a neighborhood (Uptown)that's good for a stroll--cool shops, etc.

If you haven't already done so, I recommmend that you do a text search in this forum for "Minneapolis". There are some fairly recent threads that give a lot of good advice.

Although it will likely be hot (where can you go that it isn't hot in August?), there is a lot going on in the twin cities in August. The Uptown and Powerderhorn Art Fairs are the first weekend in August. Powderhorn would be a much better choice if you have younger children. The Minnesota Rennaisance Festival starts the weekend of August 16th. It's one of the largest rennaisance festivals in the nation and great fun. The MN state fair starts August 21st.

The Minnesota Fringe Festival runs from August 1-10. There are dozens of shows to choose from in this festival. Many of the shows are "edgy" and meant for adults only - but many of the shows were designed for families and/or children. And the shows are only $10 each.

You mentioned going to a Twins game - you might want to check out the St. Paul minor leage team - the Saints. Going to a Saints game is FUN! There is some type of event/game between each inning, face painters roaming the stands, etc.

And, YES, take 3 days (or at least 2 1/2 days) for a trip up north to Duluth. It's beautiful up there. If you stay in Duluth, then then best place to stay is somewhere in Canal Park - lots of restaurants, shops and you can watch the big ships come into port from your hotel room. My favorite hotel there is the Hampton Inn. (Avoid the Canal Park Inn if you can - it's clean but getting old and run down.) If you do decide to go to Duluth, make your hotel reservations SOON - they book up quickly.

Hope you find this info helpful. I've put the websites for many of the events and places that I've mentioned below. Please post a trip report when you return - it's always good to hear what visitors think of our town.


http://www.renaissancefest.com/minnesota-main.htm

http://www.mnstatefair.org/

http://www.fringefestival.org/

http://www.visitduluth.com/

http://www.spsaints.com/

Stillwater is a great river city--book lunch or dinner on one of the big paddle boats. It's great place for antiquing and cute small shops everywhere. Marine on the St Croix is a small village on the St Croix river also--nothing to do there, but worth a look. Duluth is great and so is Two Harbors--but stay a night or two. Red Wing is fun too--ever heard of Red Wing Pottery? That's the place.
Try the Uptown area for funky shops and great restaurants in the Minneapolis area. Shopping is abundant with the MOA, also check out 50th and France in Edina--great little boutiques, restaurants. Drive around Lake Calhoun, Lake Harriet, even out to Excelsior for some fun shops and restaurants and a glimpse of Lake Minnetonka. All of these things are day trips or less, but Duluth is at least 2 days. If you stay on 494 you will have easy access in and out of the cities.
Hope this helps--enjoy

These are some great recommendations. I only have an additional one. If you go as far as Two Harbors you should also drive up to Split Rock Lighthouse. It is very well known and you will enjoy it. I also love the whole drive up to Grand Marais. It is such a pretty little town right on Lake Superior with lots of shops and restaurants. In Duluth, I also recommend getting your hotel reservations very early. It fills up fast. We like the Inn on the Lake, Hampton Inn, Hawthorne Suites, etc. at Canal Park. If they are full, we have also stayed at Holiday Inn and Radisson downtown and they are fine and close. Have a fun trip.

I agree with doing a search, several long Minneapolis threads here. I would skip the MOA and do some of the other things suggested here instead. MOA is a mall, just bigger, with a small amusement park in the middle. I agree Saints games are more fun that the Twins. All the side trips mentioned would also be good. Red Wing or Stillwater are great for antique hunting and shopping, our you could rent a cabin on a lake for a few days for a more outdoors couple of days. Renaissance festival is great here also.

Thanks to all for the suggestions. Some of the research I've done has led me up to Duluth and the scenic drives, and we frequent minor league ballgames too. What started as "hope there's enough to do" has turned into "I hope we have enough time". Thanks again and I'll be sure to post a trip report.

If you go to Duluth, Pizza Luce has great food and funky atmosphere, and there is a nicer restaurant called Bellisio's (sp?) that also has an outdoor patio and great food. If you want to go to a beach in Duluth, go over the bridge to Park Point Beach. The lake is still chilly in August, but the beach is really nice there. Lots of sand, the shore is very different there than in Canal Park. If you get towards Lutsen, be sure to try the Alpine Slide! An old ski run with a permanent slide installed down the mountain. Lastly, if you get as far north as Grand Marais, they have a few great restaurants. Favorite is the Gunflint Tavern, casual but great food, the Mexican food is incredible there, believe it or not - they have great fish tacos and enchiladas. Also the Angry Trout is great and they have outdoor tables right on the lake.

Can anyone recommend a hotel for the "city" part of the trip? Looks like we'll be doing the Duluth area for a few days then down to the Twin Cities for the second part of the week to do the city stuff and catch the opening of the state fair. Should I stay downtown, or is there a convenient suburb? Thanks again to all.

Oh, somebody help me remember: there's a brand new hotel that just opened in or near Block E and is offering low introductory rates. I'll try to look it up, but perhaps another Fodorite can help.

Looking it up was faster than I expected: http://www.lemeridien.com/usa/minnea...l_us1788.shtml
It's Le Meridien Minneapolis, located in the Block E complex downtown, a great location for a visitor. Best of luck!

For those who don't know, Block E used to be "the worst block" in Minneapolis. So bad that the entire block was razed to the ground. In its place was built a new complex containing a hotel, arcade, movie theater, Hard Rock Cafe. It's in a convenient location for most tourists, across the street from the Target Center (where the Timberwolves play)and near the center of downtown. But it's also not far from many of downtown's more popular bars - which could be a good or bad thing, depending on why you came to Minneapolis.

The good things about getting a hotel downtown: being within walking distance of the Mississippi, lots of good restaurants, shopping (Neiman Marcus, Marshall Fields +), an indoor ice-skaking rink and the Metrodome (if you are still planning on a Twins game) and then there is just the energy in being downtown.

The bad things about getting a hotel downtown: the cost will be higher, you may have to pay to park your car, you would need to be comfortable with driving in traffic and on one-way streets.

IMO, if you are planning to go to places in St. Paul (like the Saints and the state fair) and the MOA and some places in Minneapolis, I would stay somewhere in between the two cities. The hotels around the airport and the MOA might work (maybe Amerisuites?). Sorry I can't recommend any other specific hotels, maybe some other Fodorites can help there.

I'll second the recommendation for LeMeridien if staying downtown.
Downtown MPLS has no really nice hotels, and while the LeMeridien is not a 5 star palace, it's new and well done. The other options like the Marquette, Hilton, Hyatt, Radisson etc are getting worn and are pretty middle of the road these days.

I've got to say... this is the first time I've posted here in Fodors. I've visited the site before purely for info but stumbled on this forum quite by accident. It's so great to have actual, real-life experiences to go by rather than glossy mags and ads. Many thanks to all who have helped to get ALL of us excited about our trip.

Don't forget the Walker Art Center with its adjoining free outdoor sculpture garden, the largest in the country, a fun place to walk through on a breezy summer evening about 5-6 p.m. or so before dinner in the downtown or uptown areas. Enjoy.

PDoug-
I would check out the lakes near Uptown as well (Calhoun, Lake of the Isles, and Harriet). You can rent bikes, canoes, or roller blades and use the paved trails around the lakes. There are some great green spaces for picnics too.

Mpls/St Paul also has a pretty active theater scene. I would check out what is playing at the Guthrie, the Ordway, the Orpheum, the Historic State Theater (to name a few) to see if anything strikes your interest.

As for places to stay, I've heard good things about the Grand Hotel in downtown Mpls as well. It would be close to Nicollet Mall- a pedestrian only strip of Mpls with some fun restaurants and shopping.

Have a great stay!
JaneS

Just got back last night from a week vacation in Minneapolis. The first 3 nights we stayed with my brother & family and then the last 4 nights in the Millenium Hotel right in downtown. The hotel is right on Nicollet and we were very pleased. I think it was recently redone and everything was sparking new. The staff were excellent too.

After 4 nights doing the city stuff we were bored (ok, well this was also my 5th trip). The one thing I always enjoy doing is renting bikes and biking all around the "chain of lakes" and along the Mississippi River.