Location: Minneapolis
Top Things to do in Minneapolis
Top 5 Gardens in Minneapolis, Minnesota (MN)
With its gleaming skyscrapers set amid glittering lakes, Minneapolis makes for an attractive and fun getaway. A truly year-round destination, the city offers activities for every season. In winter, one can explore the downtown area through more than seven miles of glass-enclosed skyways. In addition to keeping you warm, they create a lively thoroughfare filled with specialty shops, restaurants and services. Whether you want to escape the winter cold or the summer warmth, the Mall of America offers shopping, dining and entertainment options for any time of the year and every member of the family. Art lovers have plenty to see at the Minneapolis Art Institute, Walker Art Center and the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, which all house world-renowned collections. The theater scene is thriving. With more than thirty theaters, Minneapolis has more seats per capita than any U.S. city except New York. See a Broadway show and enjoy dinner and live jazz at a fabulous restaurant. With kids in tow, check out the Science Museum of Minnesota, where visitors can produce their own video, or come face to face with a shark at the UnderWater Adventures Aquarium. In summer, the action moves outside. Known as "The City of Lakes," Minneapolis has 22 lakes located within city limits and many more in the surrounding area. In town, hordes of locals and tourists in-line skate or stroll around Lake Calhoun, stopping for ice cream along the way. Just outside of town, Fort Snelling State Park offers outdoor recreational activities from hiking to biking and golf to boating. No matter when you visit, Minneapolis offers lots for everyone to enjoy.
Restaurants in Minneapolis
1. Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,754 reviews
The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is closed for renovation, and will reopen in June 2017. One of the crown jewels of the city’s park system, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden unites two of Minnesota’s most cherished resources—its greenspace and its cultural life. A partnership with the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board, the Garden is a top destination for tourists to enjoy art like the iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry in an outdoor park setting.
Reviewed By victoriavZ5721AB - Rochester, United States
Had to check out the Minneapolis sculpture garden to see the famous spoon and cherry. We parked in the $4 parking lot and enjoyed strolling through the walkways to see some interesting sculptures. The native landscape and wildflowers only added to the beauty of the art and the location in the city. Got some cool pics as well which I'm sure we'll cherish for a long time!
2. Lake Harriet Rose Garden
3. Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 102 reviews
Reviewed By pnhoj88 - Minneapolis, United States
This is a stunning space in early spring, summer and fall (closed in winter). Highly educational and well designed. You'll be surprised at how much time you might spend there.
4. Lyndale Park Rose Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 30 reviews
America's second oldest rose garden.
Reviewed By garyaverill1 - Minneapolis, United States
They have a lot of roses. The fountain in the area was gorgeous. There is also so much else to see as well. Lyndale park also has a peace garden and some trails as well. One of the trails follows the fence line of a cemetery and you can read the tomb stones from the 1800s. Then if you cross the street towards the lake there is a path that goes around the lake. During the summer there are also rentals available for the lake. So, there is a lot to do after you look at the beautiful roses. You can be there a few minutes or for hours. I do not believe the parking near the peace garden was free.
5. Lyndale Park Peace (Rock) Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 12 reviews
Reviewed By CaptTrouble - Hudson, United States
My husband and I went here for a picnic and a walk. There are a lot of benches now so even when it's busy you can find a place to sit. And it was really busy! The adults were good about distancing but the families with kids were awful. It was very hard to get away from the children and the garden was overrun by the time we left. There are signs all over the area about social distancing but some people never have to be considerate of others! All the same, the garden was gorgeous. I think we saw it at the Spring blooming peak. I remember very clearly when the garden was started, we were actually quite upset at the mess that was being made out of the area. Over the last few years it has been very well-tended, and there were gardeners on-site when we were there. The care shows. There were years when it looked pretty scruffy, but now it is well worth seeing. There is a lot of lawn area near the rock garden for picnics too. We saw a lot of adults with pizza boxes out on the lawn having lunch, and that was fine. Unfortunately there are now a lot of people who put up hammocks in the trees and that cuts off access to parts of the park and the plants. We saw a lot of camping out going on. I know we saw signs in the area that hammocks are not allowed but they were being ignored. It's too bad to because it really trashes up the area. I was able to get some photos before a lot of the people got there. Go early in the day, earlier morning preferably.
