A Long Weekend in Minneapolis: A Show, the Mall, and the Mississippi

In 2015, Brian was in Minneapolis for business and came home saying, almost immediately, that we would love it there—especially the mall. It took us nearly ten years to prove him right. In 2024, Brian, Madison, and I made it to the Twin Cities primarily to see a show, but we gave ourselves enough time to explore, take a river cruise, drive through the parks, and finally see the Mall of America for ourselves.

We stayed near the Mall of America because that was honestly one of the things that brought us to the area. It is easy to reduce it to a shopping mall, but it is much more of an all-weather entertainment complex: a place where someone can spend time in the LEGO Store, ride a roller coaster, browse a specialty shop, choose among a huge number of restaurants, and still not see every corner. That mix is what makes it a destination rather than simply a place to buy something. We were there in the summer, but I can especially understand the appeal when Minnesota weather makes an indoor day feel like a gift.

What surprised me was that the mall did not swallow the whole trip. Minneapolis and Saint Paul made a very good weekend pairing: two distinct downtowns, each with its own personality, connected by the Mississippi River and close enough that our plans could move between them without feeling like a major expedition. We found theater, water, parks, a little city history, and food that made the trip feel much bigger than the shopping-centered weekend we had originally imagined.

The show that shaped our weekend

Our dates and much of our schedule revolved around Come From Away at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in Saint Paul. The musical tells the remarkable true story of roughly 7,000 air passengers who were stranded in Gander, Newfoundland, after the September 11 attacks and the small community that welcomed them. It is warm, funny, emotional, and exactly the kind of story that stays with you after the curtain comes down.

The Ordway sits in downtown Saint Paul across from Rice Park, and it made the evening feel like more than a stop at a theater. The nonprofit arts center presents Broadway musicals alongside concerts, dance, and other performances; its Music Theater seats about 1,900 people. Minneapolis and Saint Paul are often grouped together as the Twin Cities, but being in Saint Paul for the performance reminded us that they are not one interchangeable downtown. Saint Paul had its own quieter, handsome theater-night energy, while Minneapolis gave us more of the river, parkway, and mall-day pieces of our visit.

Seeing the Mississippi from Minneapolis Queen

I have to admit that I did not really associate the Mississippi River with Minnesota before this trip. Of course I knew it begins there, but seeing it broad and moving through the Twin Cities gave me a completely different sense of the place. We booked the Minneapolis Queen's 90-minute Mississippi River Sightseeing Cruise, departing from Bohemian Flats, for $27 per person at the time.

The cruise gave us skyline and riverfront views, bridges, tree-lined banks, and a pleasant break from driving and walking. It was not a huge production, and that was part of why it worked for us. For ninety minutes, we could simply sit outside, look around, and take in the fact that this river—which I had always mentally placed much farther south—was right there as part of the city. The operator still describes its sightseeing trips as 90-minute cruises from the Minneapolis riverfront, but schedules and prices should always be checked before booking.

Our scenic detour: the Grand Rounds and Minnehaha Falls

One of the online recommendations that made its way into our plans was the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway: a long, park-centered route that takes you around lakes, through green neighborhoods, beside the river, and toward some of the scenic parts of Minneapolis that are easy to miss when you only think of downtown. The full system covers roughly 55 miles of parkways and more than 100 miles of trails, so we did not set out to complete it in one perfect loop. We used it as a wonderful way to let the city unfold around us.

Our favorite stop was Minnehaha Regional Park. The weather was beautiful, and we walked much more than we expected to. Minnehaha Falls is a 53-foot waterfall set in a leafy park, and it was exactly the kind of place that makes a city weekend feel balanced. We had been inside a theater and a mall, then suddenly we were following paths, listening to the water, and enjoying a real pause outdoors. If a traveler has only heard 'Mall of America' in connection with Minneapolis, this is the part I would want them to know about too.

Yes, the Mall of America was worth building the trip around

The Mall of America is enormous, but the scale was only part of the fun. We enjoyed the big familiar stops, especially the LEGO Store, and the smaller specialty shops that made it feel less predictable. We found a crochet store where we could pick up a souvenir for Sidney, who was not with us. That kind of specific little discovery is one reason I love a place like this: even someone who did not make the trip can be part of the story when you bring home something chosen just for them. There were so many restaurants under one roof that the hardest part was choosing, and we made room for Wahlburgers because I will happily admit the New Kids on the Block connection gives it an advantage in my heart.

Nickelodeon Universe sits right in the middle of the mall, and seeing a real amusement park under that glass roof is still a little surreal. We rode a small roller coaster and the Log Chute. It is not Busch Gardens, and it is not trying to be, but it was much better than we expected for about $10 a ride at the time. The park still occupies seven acres in the center of the mall and offers individual rides as well as other ticket options, so I would price the current choices based on what your group genuinely wants to do.

The behind-the-scenes tour was our mall highlight

Our favorite Mall of America experience was the behind-the-scenes tour. For $25 per person at the time, it took us into parts of the mall visitors do not usually see and explained how a place that large actually works. We especially enjoyed learning about the holiday decorating process and seeing how much planning happens behind the scenes before the public ever notices a display or event.

The current official Mall of America Tour is still listed as a roughly 90-minute walking tour with insider stories and behind-the-scenes peeks at the mall and Nickelodeon Universe, and public tours are currently advertised at $25 per guest. That does not mean every detail of our 2024 tour will be identical, but it is the kind of experience I would recommend booking if you are curious about the place rather than only coming to shop. It turned an already fun day into one of the most memorable parts of our trip.

A few food stops we were glad we made

Wahlburgers was a fun mall choice for me, mostly because the New Kids on the Block connection will always make me smile. We also enjoyed the sheer number of choices around the mall; on a short trip, having familiar chains and easy decisions nearby can be a real convenience instead of a compromise.

Away from the mall, Francis Burger Joint was one of our best meals. Francis serves an entirely plant-based menu, but I would describe it first as a genuinely good burger-and-fries place rather than as a restaurant that only works if you are already vegan. That kind of meal is exactly why we like stepping outside the most obvious tourist zone. We also went to The Melting Pot. Fondue is a known experience for us, but there is still something fun about doing a familiar kind of dinner in a new city; it gave us a relaxed, sit-down night in the middle of a busy weekend.

Why I would go back

This was not a trip where we tried to see every museum, neighborhood, lake, or restaurant in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. It was a long weekend shaped around a show, a very famous mall, and the things that caught our attention in between. That was enough to make it satisfying, but it also left us with plenty of reasons to return.

If you are considering Minneapolis because of the Mall of America, I would say go—and then give the rest of the area some room in the itinerary. See a show in Saint Paul if the timing works. Take the Mississippi seriously. Follow part of the Grand Rounds, stop at Minnehaha Falls, and leave time for the little interests that make your own group happy. Brian was right back in 2015: we did love it there, and it took us much too long to find out.