Like many of the cold-weather cities in the US, Minneapolis-St. Paul wasn’t on our radar. Growing up in Buffalo, places at or above the same latitude didn’t seem as appealing as warmer places.
Maybe our seventeen-year tenure as Floridians changed us, but we fell in love with the Twin Cities. The diversity, the beauty (in both nature and the free public art), and the thoughtfulness of both the people and the city planning immediately impressed us.
Stay
We stayed at the Canopy by Hilton Minneapolis Mill District. We booked a standard king room for $203/night and stayed for three nights. The room and common areas had an industrial feel that fit the Mill District. The location was great for walking around the city. While not connected to the Skyway, it was only a block away.
To Do
Our first stop after flying into MSP was the Mall of America, the biggest mall in North America. Its been on my US bucket list for as long as I can remember. I always found it intriguing that there are stores right next to a theme park with a rollercoaster. We walked most of the mall, primarily to get steps in. It was cool to see so many different kinds of stores and activities under one giant roof. It was also sad to see all the empty store fronts and ‘closing soon’ signs. Even America’s mall isn’t immune to the cost of corporate greed and the rising costs of everything.
We were lucky with the weather during our early November 2025 visit. It was sunny and clear, just a little brisk, and the leaves were in their autumn metamorphic splendor. We spent most of our visit outside, walking all the wonderful pedestrian trails.
We stayed in the Mill District. Minneapolis was the largest flour producer (after it stole the title from Rochester, NY), thanks to water power from the St. Anthony Falls. It was neat to walk by the old mills and see old signs and ruins from the heyday of flour milling. The area also includes the world-renowned Guthrie Theater and the Stone Arch Bridge, a stone pedestrian bridge that crosses the Mississippi.
The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is an eleven-acre free sculpture garden (although you have to pay for parking). It has incredible pieces of art, including Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claes Oldenburg (he’s way famous #iykyk). It’s connected to the Walker Art Center, which has exhibits, concerts, a cafe, and tons of fun things to do.
One of my favorite parts of Minneapolis is the Skyway. It’s the world’s largest contiguous network of enclosed, second-story walkways. It spans more than 9.5 miles and connects about 80 blocks. If you live in downtown Minneapolis, you could, in theory, go to work, dinner, shopping, and even a Vikings game without going outside! Bloody brilliant.
We took an afternoon and drove the forty-ish minutes to Stillwater, MN. It’s a cute little town with bookstores and antique shops. It also has the Stillwater Lift Bridge, a historic pedestrian bridge where you can walk from Minnesota to Wisconsin. It would have been a fun way to cross off Wisconsin if we hadn’t already been. But the walk was lovely, and the views were great.
On the way back, we drove through downtown St. Paul to Minnehaha Regional Park to see Minnehaha Falls, a fifty-three-foot urban waterfall. It’s gorgeous to see it flowing with the surrounding trees changing color. In the winter, it freezes over and the photos look incredible. I’d love to go back just to see that.
The Minneapolis Chain of Lakes Regional Park was my other favorite part of Minneapolis. Five lakes are connected by walking and biking trails. The Minneapolis Parks and Rec team manages the entire area, and there were so many things to do besides walking around, including fishing, water sports, and playgrounds. I was really impressed by how well it was maintained and how accessible it was.
And we saw wild turkeys, which always makes me happy!
To Eat
Minneapolis is home to the largest Somali population in the US, so my first order of business was Somali food. In grade school, I had to do a tourism report on Somali and my main talking points were the food. I think of the Attica, NY, school district every time I have Somali food.
Afro Deli was recommended, and it was in the Skyway, so we headed there for lunch. I had the vegan curry on Somali rice and a veggie sambusa. It was everything I wanted it to be, and I would eat there every day if I lived in Minneapolis.
I grabbed an after-lunch coffee at Mocha Momma’s Coffee. It’s Black- and woman-owned, and inside the public library, so I knew I had to try it. It’s also a non-profit that helps urban youth. I like to order the drink a coffee shop is known for, so I had the sweet potato latte. I hate sweet potatoes, but the coffee itself was excellent, and it’s the least I’ve hated a sweet potato, so it was a win.
Of course, we had pizza while in the Twin Cities. Top of the list was Pizzeria Lola. We’ve been working our way through pizzerias featured on Netflix’s Chef’s Table, and Chef Ann Kim was our second-to-last pizza chef to try (we still need Yoshihiro Imai in Japan).
I had the margherita pizza (we always get one as a baseline pizza), and The Husband had My Sha-Roni, a red pizza with pepperoni and fennel sausage. They were both excellent and we could see why Chef Kim was in a show with the world’s top pizza chefs.
We also went to Mothership Pizza Paradise. We went with friends, which meant we could order more food. We started with the chicken parm, and ordered the Emma (White sauce, cheese blend, mushroom, artichoke, truffle honey, pistachio, basil, parm) and the Brenda (Red sauce, cheese blend, pepperoni, sausage, hot coppa, jalapeno, basil, parm). Everything was fantastic, including the many bottles of wine we drank. Is there any better feeling than a great meal out with old friends in a new town?
We had lunch at the highly recommended Cosetta’s Italian grocery. The store was huge and everything looked fantastic. Like Mazzaro’s, my beloved Italian grocery in St Pete, it’s a great place to buy authentic Italian foods. From the cafeteria-style hot dishes to the desserts, everything looked delightful. They only had two vegetarian options available, so my choices were limited, but it was still great, and a fun experience.
We only managed to try one wine bar—Milly’s Wine Bar and Bistro. They had a great happy hour and the wine menu was really fun.
We only had three nights in Minneapolis-St. Paul before heading to the Dakotas. I’d love to go back for a long visit and explore more of Minnesota. It might have been our first visit, but it definitely wasn’t our last.