Minneapolis

Minneapolis, the largest city in Minnesota, and St. Paul, its capital, are known as the Twin Cities--the state's major metropolitan area. They are rich in what makes cities exciting, yet have few urban drawbacks. Big-city appeal melds seamlessly with small-town charm. Minneapolis was named as best large city in the Midwest to live in by Money magazine in 1998. St. Paul has been recognized as the most livable city, best place to do business, best place for working women, best place to raise a family and many other distinctions. Millions of visitors are drawn to the Twin Cities each year for its eclectic variety of culture, sports, entertainment and shopping. Advantages include negligible pollution, low crime rates, affordable housing, and people known for their friendliness. Minneapolis and St. Paul are growing centers of commerce and industry with major corporate headquarters in electronics, computers, food processing and milling, retailing, medicine, transportation, and forest products industries.

Off-campus housing is available in the Twin Cities at a wide range of prices (http://www.housing.umn.edu/offcampus/). Information on unfurnished university family apartments can be obtained at http://www1.umn.edu/cscc/

Minneapolis has the Nicollet Mall, a scenic 12-block pedestrian thoroughfare that features more shopping in a four-block radius than any other city in the country. The historic Warehouse District is bursting with art galleries, antique stores, gift shops and coffee houses to explore. The Mississippi Riverfront, originally called St. Anthony, is the birthplace of Minneapolis. This area features scenic walking tours, St. Anthony Falls, the gracefully curved Stone Arch Bridge, and many of the oldest buildings in the city renovated into shops and restaurants. Minneapolis has dozens of venues to hear live music from jazz to classical to rock, numerous dance clubs, and more than 275 restaurants of all ethnic varieties in the downtown area alone.

Cultural activities

Spoon Bridge at the Sculpture Garden

thrive. The Minnesota Orchestra is based in Minneapolis; its Orchestra Hall home also welcomes classical soloists and popular performers. The Grammy award-winning St. Paul Chamber Orchestra is based at the Ordway Music Theatre in downtown St. Paul. The Ordway also houses the Minnesota Opera Company, which performs classic and modern works in English.

Northrop Auditorium on the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis Campus features prominently in the Twin Cities dance scene through its Northrop Dance Series. Lyon Opera Ballet, Harlem Dance Theatre and Miami City Ballet are only three of the major companies that have performed recently in the series.

Live drama has long thrived in the Twin Cities, which support seven professional theaters and numerous smaller ones. The Twin Cities feature more theater seats per capita than any other U.S. metropolitan area outside New York City. The city's regional theater jewel, the Guthrie Theater, now in its' new home along the Mississippi River, consistently presents critically-acclaimed contemporary shows as well as the classics. More than 30 smaller theater venues sprinkled throughout the city present farcical ballets, cabarets, comedies and other unique performances, such as American plays at the Cricket Theatre, experimental works at the Southern Theater, and a suburban dinner theater, too. During the summer, the Minnesota Centennial Showboat presents melodrama in the sternwheel paddleboat converted to a theater and moored on the Mississippi River below the Minneapolis campus.

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, with its 85,000 piece collection, displays an encyclopedic collection of world art from antiquity to the present. The newly expanded Walker Art Center, a world-class contemporary art museum, also in Minneapolis, highlights contemporary painting, sculpture, and prints. The more than 35 museums

St. Paul

in Minneapolis provide something for everyone. Exhibits at the Minnesota Museum of American Art, the new Science Museum of Minnesota with its Omnitheater, the Minnesota History Center, and the Minnesota Children's Museum attract interest in St. Paul. Moviegoers will find a world of foreign films (rarely shown commercially in the Twin Cities) at the University Film Society.

Several seasonal diversions in and around the Twin Cities attract natives and tourists alike: the Minneapolis Aquatennial in July, the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, held during August & September, is a bustling 15th-century village filled with hundreds of costumed villagers, craftsmen and nobles, and the St. Paul Winter Carnival which starts the last week of January.

The Twin Cities are home to several major sports teams. The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Downtown Minneapolis, is a multipurpose entertainment and meeting facility, and is home of the Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Vikings and University of Minnesota Gophers football games. In 2009, the University of Minnesota Gopher football team will open their inaugural season at a new on campus stadium. The Target Center entertainment complex houses the Minnesota Timberwolves basketball team. RiverCentre, St. Paul's new convention and entertainment complex, is home to St. Paul's National Hockey League team, the Minnesota Wild. The St. Paul Saints, St. Paul's minor league baseball team, plays its games outdoors at Midway Stadium.

Opportunities for outdoor activities abound. Within the Minneapolis city limits alone are 22 lakes and 170 parks. The lakes are connected by a parkway system extending over 54 tree-lined miles, with separate bicycle trails and running paths.

Mississippi River

Winding through the Twin Cities, is the Mississippi River, which offers many water related recreational sports, and also bicycle trails, walkways and scenic drives along both banks. In St. Paul, you will find Como Park, which has a park, lake, conservatory, amusement park, picnic areas, and a recently modernized zoo.

St. Paul is a charming, historic, family-style city, recognized for its European look and friendly people. It boasts some of the world's finest culture and architecture, yet is only minutes away from picturesque parks and rural settings. Also in St. Paul are the Festival of Nations - Minnesota's largest multi-cultural celebration which showcases 100 ethnic groups, Minnesota State Fairgrounds, located adjacent to the St. Paul Campus, Padelford Packet Boat Company offers sternwheel riverboat cruises on the Mississippi, St. Paul Skyway System, the longest publicly-owned skyway in the world totalling five miles, throughout downtown, Town Square Park, one of the world's largest indoor public parks featuring waterfalls and tropical plants. The Minnesota History Center, an architectural gem overlooking St. Paul, is a great place for a fun outing. Explore lively exhibits from "Minnesota A to Z." Minnesota Transportation Museum exhibits examples of rail and water transportation historically found in Minnesota.

The Minneapolis Zoological Garden is a combination of open habitats and housed exhibits featuring more than 2,300 animals. The University's Arboretum is also close by, as is Valleyfair Family Amusement Park, a 90-acre family amusement park that features more than 75 rides and attractions.

Transportation connections in the Twin Cities include major highways (Interstate 94 and 35E), Amtrak railroad, a major east-west line running from Chicago to Seattle, the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport, which is ranked 15th busiest in the world. The Northwest Airlines/KLM Alliance is based here.