Hotel Class: 
4 Stars - 108 Opinions
618 2nd Ave S, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55402, United States
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108 Opinions
Baseball =beer
Classmate and Wife
Skyway near Palamino restaurant
Gorgeous flowers!
I'll be traveling to Minneapolis for a trade show next week and staying in a large downtown hotel. On Google Earth street view, this area looks like nothing but high-rise office buildings and big hotels. Are there any good independent bookstores, coffee shops, hole-in-the-wall ethnic eateries, funky boutiques or other interesting non-chain-store stuff to see and do in the Nicollet Mall, or within a reasonable walk/cab ride?
My son lives in Minneapolis, and I was just there last week. I'll ask him about 'funky,' as he is definitely into that scene despite his age. :-) I think you'll have to travel out of downtown to find some ethnic eateries and the more interesting boutiques. There definitely are such areas. We had an Indian meal in that sort of neighbourhood, but I can't tell you the name of it. If you don't hear from me in a few days, just email me here at VT as a reminder. He's on holiday now till Tuesday. Btw.. it's a very nice city and the Mall of America is full of shops of every description.. worth a trip for sure.
There is a really funky used bookstore right on Hennepin called James & Mary Laurie Bookseller - (www.lauriebooks.com). It's one of those floor-to-ceiling, can-barely-move places that I think is great fun! We also have a very large Barnes and Noble on Hennepin downtown with an on-site coffeeshop.
You are right about downtown being mostly highrises and we unfortunately have almost no "boutique" shopping in that area - in fact, there's not much for shopping at all. I would suggest taking a cab to the Uptown area. It's not far away at all and as close to funky as we probably get. There's some good restaurants in that area although I don't know if I'd describe most of them as "holes in the wall". There is a VERY highly recommended restaurant downtown called Hell's Kitchen - always gets great reviews (www.hellskitcheninc.com). Also a few really fun bars/restaurants (Brits, The Local, etc.). There is an area close to downtown called Eat Street that has a ton of small ethnic restaurants (www.urbanspoon.com/n/29/2818/Twin-Cities/Eat-Street-restaurants) and we LOVE Rainbow Chinese - it's been a local's favorite for many years. The link I've included shows you where Eat Street is and provides a list of eateries and some ratings. You could check Yelp, too (www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=eat+street&find_loc=Minneapolis%2C+MN).
I have to disagree with the previous poster about Mall of America. It is one huge conglomeration of mostly chain stores and there's better things to do. It is good for stretching one's legs if the weather is lousy but otherwise..... It's also quite a ways from downtown.
I live in the Minneapolis area and have posted a number of tips in my travel pages - take a look and see if there's anything there that trips your trigger or I can answer further questions on?
My apologies - I'm not awake yet this morning!! The two downtown bookstores I mentioned are right on Nicollet Mall - not Hennepin.
The winter weather in Minneapolis is notoriously bad. Once, I had a brief layover there while flying over the holidays. It was more than 10 degree below 0 fahrenheit. One way that people cope is by having a lot of covered, heated walkways. Downtown, most major buildings are connected by a network of these pedestrian walkways called the Skyway. Maps of it are displayed all along its length. Despite the awful winters, the city is still livable, because of innovations such as this.
You are looking southwest down Hennepin Avenue toward the intersection with 9th Street. This picture was taken from the skyway connecting LaSalle Plaza and the Carmichael Lynch Building. Cafe De Napoli is on the far right. The State Theater is on the left.
not my pic
1--First off"Minnesota Nice" is more accurately "Minnesota Polite" at best. At worst it's "Minnesota/ Ice and/or Passive Aggression." And the farther west and northwest you go into our state, the more weirdly cliquish and covertly hostile they get. The demarcation linfe for this starts just west of the Mississippi in St. Cloud, MN--arguably the most boring city relative to its size in the state if not the country.
2--Therefore, *BEWARE*: Don't ever mistake "Minnesota Nice/Polite" for a potential friendship. Sure, they'll gladly give you directions if you're lost, call 911 on your behalf, pull you out of an auto wreck and maybe even give you CPR while the ambulance rushes to the scene. Then they'll even put on the inevitable "aw shucks" performance for the local TV news. But presume any closeness or warmth from your new acquaintance, and trust me, you'll get permanent frostbite from the cold shoulders you'll receive.
3--Bottom line: Unless you're foreign and fascinating, extremely rich, handsome, famous, or already have friends/relatives here who actually like/love you (as if you ever did!) I'd avoid eye contact, deal with ATM's and other non-human conveniences whenver possible, and for God's sake, whatever you do, stay in the right lane(!) unless you really want to find out how "nice" Minnesotans can get on the freeways where the *real* state motto is as follows:
Happiness is a destination, and %#@^% whoever/whatever gets in our way...oh, and praise Jaysus!
Here in MN we smugly like to think we're nicer everyone else.
Well, have *TWO* nice days!
The second one is on us!
See!
That'll learn ya!
Traveling light is always a smart way to travel. Depending upon what time of the year you are visiting...the difference is clothing and weather gear dramatically changes.
FOR WINTER/FALL...bring gloves, a hat *something to cover your head*, a warm jacket, warm shoes, ANYTHING TO KEEP YOU WARM. winters aren't brutally harsh,, but we have them days ;)..
SPRING/SUMMER : bring a light jacket..spring time can be chilly. an umbrella is always smart to have handy due to storms and rain.
Minnesota weather is CRAZY. It goes from 10F to 40F in no time...or from 60 to 80F.
The best thing to do is check weather reports before visiting so you can be prepared. NEVER assume weather!! Toiletries and over the counter medical supplies are easy to buy over here..and the price usually is reasonable.
Always remember to bring prescription orders though...
As I went to Minneapolis on work I was sent to the small suburban city of New Hope. I followed a Swedish team (Malmo Redhawks) who played in a youth ice hockey tournament.
I saw a few games in the nice little hockey arena which had two rinks.
What I didn't know was that it was historical ground. Not only had they had a few local players in the NHL, this was also the place where most of the game footage from the movie 'The Mighy Ducks' (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104868/) was shot.
Every year in November they also play the Nike Bauer National Invitational Tournament for players under 20.
New Hope Ice Arena
4949 Louisiana Avenue North, New Hope, MN 55428
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Q: Small Towns "Anyone recommend some good small towns - nice bars and restaurants etc? The more obscure the better. Many thanks, Pb..."
A: "You mean around Minneapolis or around Minnesota? And what qualifies as a "nice" bar? Many small town bars are, well, small town bars: not like slick city versions. ..."
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Address: 618 2nd Ave S, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55402, United States
