Mall of America, Minneapolis

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One should see the biggest Mall in the US whenever visiting Minneapolis. It's really big I don't have time to scan the whole mall. It is located in Bloomington area. The mall has over 500 stores and numerous restaurants in the second floor. Kids will also love this mall because of Nickelodeon Universe, SEA Life, Lego store etc. It's just very busy during weekends and holidays made me dizzy . The mall is connected to the international airport and downtown by LRT.

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I know the Mall of America can get a bad rap as a tourist trap, but it really depends on how you do it. And it should be noted that since locals shop at this mall as well, it really isn't fully a tourist trap at all.

First of all, if you have kids, you're probably wondering about the Nickelodeon Universe theme park. It is kind of a cool area to walk through and take pictures of, since it's a complete theme park within a mall. However, the park was way better when it was Camp Snoopy and more affordable, it's a bit of a rip-off now to be honest. But if you're family really loves theme parks, it's really not a bad place.

However, may I suggest the alternative of visiting the Sea Life Minnesota Aquarium instead? It's located on the lowest level of the Mall of America and is really a neat experience. You get to walk through tunnels surrounded by sharks, fish, and rays, learn so much about aquatic life, and at the end they even let you touch or 'pet' some stingrays. As a kid I personally found getting an "I touched a stingray" sticker much cooler than going to a theme park, but then again I was a bit of an odd duck. Either way, this aquarium's a cool thing to check out, for people of all ages, not just families either.

Next, some advice on restaurants... I don't advise the Rainforest Cafe. I love the rainforest and was obsessed with it as a kid, but at this restaurant you are paying for the atmosphere, not for the food. My family paid over $100 for food that was much worse than what we usually ate at home. You can get the same atmosphere--and some cute souvenirs--for a lot less if you just stop by the gift shop rather than eat at the restaurant. A restaurant I do recommend--and one where almost everyone I know loves to eat while in Minneapolis--is the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. Whether you love Forrest Gump, excellent shrimp and seafood, or both, you'll love this place. They ask you trivia questions from the movie during your meal and the food is great and not terribly expensive. The gift shop has some nice things for any big Forrest Gump fans you know as well. Either way, this place is fairly unique and a favorite local restaurant.

Now, the stores. They have pretty much any store you would want here, so pick your favorites and stop by. My absolute favorite is LegoLand. The Legos there are overpriced, so I don't really recommend buying them, but otherwise I think everyone would enjoy stopping by and seeing the giant creations made from Legos. I've seen dirt bikes, Transformers, dinosaurs, Toy Story characters...they change them up all the time so there's always something new and exciting to see.

Some other stores that are favorites are the Mac Store (since we don't have very big ones near us we usually enjoy going there), the Disney Store (any Disney souvenirs you could want at a fairly expensive price), and the American Girl store, which I definitely would have loved to see as a kid. There are also a few other attractions in the Mall--mini golfing, the Mirror Maze (about $8 to try to work your way through the maze--much harder and more disorientating than you would expect), theatres, etc. Sometimes there are acts with live music around the mall, kiosks selling unique and interesting things...basically it's definitely worth just walking around and stopping at what looks interesting as well. Happy exploring and shopping!

Minneapolis would certainly have been depressing in the winter if not for the Mall of America!! Almost the entire city can be found in the Mall during weekends! The indoor amusement park (Nicklodeon) is a haven for the kids! There are so many things I love about this Mall, I am confused as to where to start!!
The 4 departmental stores- Nordstrom, Bloomindales, Sears and Macys are the best in town! Clearly give us women unlimited shopping options! Specialty boutiques such as Minnesota Jewelry offer unparalleled range of silver jewelry, I thought they were comparable to shopping for silver jewelry back in India :) You had all the shops you could think of right in the mall.
That apart the aquarium in the basement is also pretty good, the time we visited they had a jelly fish display, was wonderful actually!
Food- there is a small foodcourt on level 3, and then a bunch of restaurants and bars!! Most of them are good, our favorite was always the Crepe Stand on the ground floor!! Nutella and Orange with a scoop of icecream....do I miss that or what?? :D
I think you have got the picture now, if in Minneapolis, this Mall is not to be missed!!

The Mall of America is the largest mall in the U.S. Inside are 500+ stores (4.3 miles of storefronts!), 50+ restaurants (sit down and 2 food courts), an amusement park - Nickelodeon Universe, movie theaters, a comedy club, a Legos imagination center, and an aquarium. The light-rail even links it to downtown Minneapolis and the airport. 40 million(!) people come to the mall each year.

The four anchor stores are Macy's, Sears, Bloomingdales, and Nordstroms. You'll find stores of every category - from Jewelry to Minnesota Gifts to Sporting Goods. A bonus is that there isn't any sales tax on clothing and shoes.

The mall is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Summer and holiday hours may vary.

There's plenty of free parking, directory boards, and information centers (pick up a mall map).

The Mall of America is a must see destination if you go to Minneapolis, and alot of folk go just for this! There are hundreds if not thousands of shops, and an entire amusement park in the middle! Includes shops, hotels, restaurants, and whatever else you can spend money for.....Take comfortable walking shoes!

My wife and I have visited this mall on many occasions and it's an absolute gruesome expense of time being harassed by all the little mall kiosk vendors ALL OF THE TIME. We can't walk through the hallways without the kiosk vendors walking in front of our path "excuse me sir, can i ask you a question", "beautiful wife sir, beautiful wife, can i speak to you for a second", "wow look at this couple, come over here for a moment, let me show you something"... then when you ignore them they say "Have a GREAT afternoon" and you know by GREAT they mean "go f yourself" On most other occasions when you ignore them as you walk by they speak to your back in a foreign language (most of these harassers appear to be of Persian descent), and again, you know that what they're saying to you must not be good at all.

On an occasion where my wife went alone, one of the kiosk vendors (on the 2nd floor next to the escalator in front of Nordstrom) a couple of guys who work that kiosk continually followed my wife as she came up the escalator as she walked around their kiosk to the escalator for the 3rd floor asking for her phone number.

I am considering speaking to the police or mall management about this harassment, and I'm sure my wife and myself surely aren't the only people to get harassed while walking through the halls.

Yes, it was huge & impressive. The Mall of America was clean & well organized. We were impressed with the size and scope of the combined retain & entertainment available. In the center of the mall is an underground aquarium, a miniature golf course and nightclubs. Seeing a flume, ferris wheel, roller coaster ... was surprising. It was a lot of the same large American chain stores that we see all over America. There were at least 50 restaurants, food court selections, just a large selection of eateries.

Covering 78 acres, the nation's largest combined retail and entertainment center features an indoor amusement park, an underground aquarium, a miniature golf course and more than 50 restaurants and nightclubs.

Shopping hours Mon.-Sat. 10-9:30, Sun. 11-7;

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The Mall of America, in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington is the largest shopping mall in the United States and the number one tourist attraction in the state of Minnesota. People literally travel from all over the world to shop and play in this unique place. I list it here as a "Things to Do" tip because the Mall of America is a "Must See" whether or not you go shopping.

The Mall has over 500 shops, numerous restaurants, a wedding chapel, an aquarium an indoor amusement park complete with roller coasters and much more. It is on three very large levels and you should plan 2 or 3 hours just to walk through the place. Some people spend an entire weekend here.

Karen and I enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon and evening at the Mall. We had a nice dinner, did a little shopping, and a LOT of walking and looking. You can find everything here you can imagine - and then some.

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Shop 'Til You Drop...literally.

Whatever you need...I sure you can find it here. There are some really interesting specialty shops here. When you get tired of shopping,try one of the many restaurants...something for every taste...visit THE PARK...the huge indoor amusement park,see a movie,swim with sharks or visit one of the museums.

This is my favorite place to shop. I can almost always get everything I need there. Its a great place to shop for tall people, especially tall women! And with the activities for kids and families, everyone can have fun and get their shopping done. Oh and its all inside, so even if the weather is freezing or steaming you can keep shopping.