3 Days in Minneapolis Travel Guide: Fun Weekend Trip

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Now, I’m a west coast girl FOR LIFEEEE, but….I gotta give the midwest a lil smidge because…it’s might just be the (2nd) best region in the USA. I’ve been trying to visit at least one new midwest state for the last few years and in 2024 I visited Minneapolis, Minnesota and Indianapolis, Indiana. I spent a full 3 days in Minneapolis and Indianapolis each (separate trips) and felt like it was a good amount of time to get a feel for the cities but still leave me wanting more.

Obviously, this specific post will focus on my 3 days in Minneapolis and some of my favorite memories from the city and recommendations so you can best plan your trip!

No part of this trip was sponsored or gifted or part of a press/media trip. I paid for every part of my trip and everything in this post are my honest and unbiased thoughts! That’s basically true for 99.9% of my posts and for that 0.1% of the time I am very transparent, but thought I’d just remind everyone.

I know it’s hard to tell what’s an ad these days and yes, I’m sick of it too!!

But anyways, if you’re planning a trip to Minneapolis, here are a few of my suggestions!

The Basics

• State: Minnesota
• Nearest Neighboring Cities: Des Moines, IA (3.5hrs); Fargo, ND (3.5hrs); Sioux Falls, SD (4hrs); Milwaukee, WI (5hrs); Chicago, IL (6hrs)
• Closest International Airport: Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP)
• Ancestral Lands: Dakhóta (Dakota/Sioux Nation Tribes), Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe), and other Indigenous Nations
• Best Season to Visit (in my opinion): Summer and (early) Fall
• Transportation: Pretty decent public transit that will connect the biggest attractions and the airport in Minneapolis and St. Paul, but you can definitely see a lot more with a rental and parking was pretty easy throughout the Twin Cities.

Where to Stay

Throughout my 3 days in Minneapolis, I prioritized price for this trip since I knew I would be balling OUT on food (more on that later). Personally, I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Minneapolis Airport Mall of America, mostly because it’s about $80 USD a night (plus maybe $10 of taxes and fees) but also because I’m a Hilton Diamond member so I can get upgrades and lil snacks and built loyalty points.

Those points were how I stayed in an overwater bungalow in the Maldives for (mostly) FREE!

Anyways, the Hilton Garden Inn Airport Mall of America was a very solid stay. Clean, comfortable and, most importantly for me, free parking. While it was very close to the airport and Mall of America, it’s a bit inconvenient for seeing the rest of the city. Since I rented a car it wasn’t an issue for me for just 3 days in Minneapolis, but if you’re not renting a car I’d recommend staying somewhere a bit more central.

• Budget: Hampton Inn & Suites Minneapolis / Downtown (~$90 USD + parking)
• Mid-range: Rand Tower Hotel (~$120 USD + parking)
• Luxury: Hewing Hotel (~$300 USD + parking) or Four Seasons Minneapolis (~$530 USD +parking)

What to Eat (and Drink!)

Oh yesss, I ate GOOD throughout my 3 days in Minneapolis. One of the reasons Minneapolis has become one of my favorite Midwest cities is because the food scene there is so strong. Not only do they have restaurants that taste phenomenal, but the restaurants are also diverse and cover a wide range of cuisines and communities.

So while I only spent 3 days in Minneapolis and obviously couldn’t eat everywhere, I did eat a lot and these were my favorite spots that I hands-down recommend!

Breakfast:

• Sammy’s Avenue Eatery: Amazing breakfast (or lunch tbh) sandwiches for a great price. Super local community spot with great service.
• Gatherings Cafe: Another great full service breakfast (or lunch) spot that focus on locally grown foods sourced from Native businesses and producers.

Lunch:

• Midtown Global Market*: Also one of my shopping recommendations, but fun for food, tons of options. I ate at Indigenous Food Lab Kitchen and Intown Sushi and they were such great bites!
• Trio: Plant-based baddies, this one is for you! They’ve won so many awards, but looks like they are currently temporarily closed with plans to open up early 2026!
• Soul Bowl: This spot is EVERYTHING when you want a filling bowl, and lots of plant based options available too.

Dinner:

• Owamni by The Sioux Chef: Honestly, this was the reason I was so excited to eat in my 3 days in Minneapolis. Yes, it’s really as good as the hype.
• Klassics Kitchen + Cocktails: This was a surprise delight! I went for happy hour and it blew my mind! Great food and drinks, cannot recommend enough!
• Hai Hai: Y’all know I love me some Southeast Asian cuisine. Every dish was a hittttt!!!

And since I only spent 3 days in Minneapolis, I didn’t get to try all of the restaurants I really wanted to, but a few others on my food wishlist were Oro by Nixta and Butcher & The Boar. I’ve heard great things about both restaurants from friends who are residents and have visited the city.

Desserts:

• MN Nice Cream: Only open on the weekends but if you have the chance to visit it’s so delicious! And vegan options (oat milk)
• Lutunji’s Palate: The BEST cobblers in Minneapolis hands DOWN.

Drinks:

• The Dripping Root: For juices and smoothie bowls
• Makwa Coffee: Great coffee and tea with a real cool vibe
• The Camden Social: Incredible bar (with NA options!), though their food menu looked good too! Heads up, they also have cigars which may be a plus or minus depending on your smoke tolerance

Activities and Attractions

I had a pretty chill 3 days in Minneapolis, so honestly I didn’t do too many actual activities. I also don’t think Minneapolis is much of a “to do” city, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Just something to be aware of to set your expectations. In my opinion, Minneapolis is a great city for those who want more of a relaxing or restorative getaway (with the exception of Mall of America lol), though there’s also great outdoor adventures pretty close nearby.

Especially if you love lakes.

I didn’t see TOO much of a raging nightlife, but again, I only spent 3 days in Minneapolis. If you hear of any must-dance clubs, let me know in the comments below.

Alright let’s get into all the fun things to do during your 3 days in Minneapolis, or however long your trip is! Feel free to pick and choose from the following recommendations based on your own interests to create your perfect itinerary.

Museums

Starting off with the ever divisive attraction – museums. For some people, they’re super interesting and give a lot of great insight on a place. For others, museums are downright boring and they’re rather learn the same information through a tour or experience.

Neither is wrong or “better” than the other. It’s all up to personal preference.

For those who do like museums, Minneapolis has quite a few. Personally, I prefer museums that focus on regional culture or history rather than more generic museums like the standard natural history museum, science museum, or aquarium that is in every city – however, if you have kids those are always a hoot. Or if those are more your interest, then by all means please visit!

While I didn’t manage to squeeze in all of the ones that sound interesting to me during my 3 days in Minneapolis, I do recommend the following (in order of favorites):

• The Somali Museum: if there’s one museum you visit, make sure it’s the Somali Museum. Somali heritage is pretty foundational to the region’s current cultural makeup and it’s actually North America’s only (for now?) Somali-focused museum. It is so so well done!
• Mill City Museum: I had no idea the milling industry was so impactful to the Twin Cities, so this museum really breaks down Minneapolis on the industrial level. Plus, it’s located in the remains of what used to be the world’s largest flour mill! Super cool.
• American Swedish Institute: I also don’t see too much Nordic (or specifically Swedish in this case) museums, so this was a fun museum find! They also have a great cafe!
• Weisman Art Museum: it’s a pretty standard art museum…but it’s free and really well done!

Paisley Park

Aka, PRINCE WORLD. Paisley Park is the late artist’s home estate and studio transformed into a museum that celebrates the art, fashion, and culture Prince contributed to the world. For a lot of folks, Paisley Park is THE reason to visit Minneapolis altogether.

Now honestlyyyy, I recognize Prince the artist, but I wouldn’t necessarily consider myself a fan. Still, it’s a pretty cool spot. Similar to Elvis’ estate outside of Memphis, you need to pay for a guided tour of the estate, and there are a few levels. It is not kid friendly (under 7 years old), so that’s something to be aware of if you are traveling with kids.

But as an adult, it’s one of the best things to do during your 3 days in Minneapolis! It’s not cheap, at about ~$77 USD a person, but it’s very unique and insightful into Prince’s life and artistic legacy.

Mall of America

The next biggest attraction is the iconic Mall of America. Honestly, you could spend all 3 days in Minneapolis IN Mall of America. It’s that big. There are roller coasters and arcades and shopping and restaurants and climbing walls and cafes…it’s a little overstimulating to be obvious.

But it’s still a must-see in my opinion.

The most unique part of Mall of America is the Nickelodeon themed indoor theme park. Even just walking around and looking at all of the rides is fun, but just know if you want to ride that it’s actually surprisingly expensive. Sorry for everyone with kids. But insider tip, one small way to save is to buy a Mall of America Unlimited Ride wristband from Viator. It’s much cheaper than buying it in person or buying per credit.

Outside of the rides, there’s tons of merch shops, regular shops, some classic American fast casual restaurants, and you may even get lucky and see a live show.

First Avenue

Speaking of live shows, if you’re a fan of them, definitely check out the event calendar for First Avenue. It’s one of the best spots to see a show in Minneapolis! Unfortunately during my 3 days in Minneapolis, there weren’t any events going on. However based on what I’ve heard from friends who live in the city, it’s definitely worth booking a show if they’re available during your visit.

Orfield Laboratories

Now THIS was actually the highlight of my entire 3 days in Minneapolis. I had first heard snippets of Orfield Labs from their Guinness World Record of being the quietest place on Earth. Like, WHAT A TITLE!!!! There were some clickbait-y videos on social media, but in my opinion they were very overdramatized about the actual “experience” you can have here.

So let me tell you the actual scoop.

Orfield Laboratories is a working multi-sensory design, research, and consulting laboratory that is focused on sound (and sound insulation). A lot of their work involves products to insulate sound for houses and buildings and whatnot, so they have rooms that maximize or amplify sounds and a room that minimizes or suppresses sounds.

Hence, they created the quietest room in the world. It’s wild. Since they are a working lab with working scientists trying to do their jobs, this is not an open attraction that you can just walk into and wander around. They have specific experiences from a group silence session ($90 USD pp) in the “silence chamber” to a laboratory tour with explanations behind the science ($200 USD pp).

Unfortunately, there were no group silence sessions during my 3 days in Minneapolis, but thankfully they were able to squeeze in a private tour (I probably sounded really desperate over email lol) and wow so so so so cool. I’ll have to do a whole separate post about my experience visiting Orfield Labs, but in short I highly recommend if you have the time and budget!

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

Okay after that, something a little more familiar on the tourist track for Minneapolis, the famous Sculpture Garden! It is outside of an art museum I believe (truthfully I didn’t go in), but you can stroll the surrounding gardens for free and enjoy the numerous sculptures scattered throughout.

If the weather is nice, it makes for a really lovely stroll and conversation starter. It’s one of those must-do activities, but it can take as long or as short as you’d like so it’s really easy to fit into 3 days in Minneapolis.

Also, if anyone’s been inside the adjacent art building, how was it? Do you recommend a stop there, or did I not miss out on much? Hahah

Minnehaha Falls

For something slightly more than a stroll, but still undeniably pleasant, one of the best urban hikes in Minneapolis is Minnehaha Falls. Again, Minnesota is a great state for hikers and anyone who loves a good lake, but to make the most of getting outdoors I’d recommend having a rental car.

This was sadly the only hike I was able to do during my 3 days in Minneapolis, but it was still so refreshing and a nice change of pace – especially if you do it after Mall of America.

Minnehaha Falls is a 53 ft waterfall that’s less than a mile hike (0.9 is we’re being exact) and takes less than an hour for most people. The name Minnehaha comes from the Dakota words “mni” (meaning “water”) and “haha” (meaning “curling”). While it’s a fairly easy hike, there are stairs and the path is only partially paved.

Stone Arch Bridge

And lastly, this is more of a sightseeing spot than an actual activity, but I do recommend taking a trip to the Stone Arch Bridge to see the iconic view of the Minneapolis skyline. It is illuminated at night, so if you have the time it’s fun to see it both during the day and at night to see the city light up.

For the classic perspective, head to Water Power Park. From there you can walk or bike the different paths. I’m sure there are other spots for a great view, but alas, a resident would probably have better insight on the hidden angles of this gorgeous bridge.

I didn’t get the chance to check out too many photogenic spots, but if you know of any you’d recommend, please let me know in the comments below!

Shopping

One last thing to know before you jet off – there’s some really great boutique shopping! I’m less of a souvenir person now (I have run out of space lol), but I do love to pick up handmade crafts from local businesses and artisans when I travel as a memento.

My personal favorite are accessories that I can wear and they make for great conversation starters. I’m also a sucker for bookstores, especially ones that feature local authors. I was most excited to visit Birchbark Books, but I also found a lot of other cool shops during my 3 days in Minneapolis that had me pulling out my wallet!

• The Herbivorous Butcher: it’s literally the nation’s first vegan butcher shop! Such a cool concept and is probably better for residents but it was still cool to stop by and see. They also have online ordering!
• Midtown Global Market: Again, this is a great spot for local knick-knacks and also grab a quick bite to eat. I love visiting city food markets.
• Hunt and Gather: vintage shop with fun trinkets. If you’re into antiques, definitely take your time here!
• Birchbark Books: YESSS, the star of the show! It’s a bookstore owned by author Louise Erdrich and highlights a lot of books by Indigenous and Native American authors, arts, and gifts.
• Frostbeard Studio: And speakingggg of books, this shop has book themed soy candles!! Such a cute concept and I definitely picked up a few as gifts for my fellow bookies!
• Minnesota Center for Book Arts: This was a surprise find, but I met up with one of my friends from high school who is really into book arts (and is REALLY talented!!) and she gave me a mini tour of MCBA and showed me the ultimate treasure – the gift shop. So many cool things in there, highly recommend adding it to your shop stops!

And this is of course the Twin Cities, so while I didn’t get to spend too much time in St. Paul during my 3 days in Minneapolis, I did have a chance to visit (another) bookstore that has been on my list for the longest time! If you’re able to make it over to St. Paul, I highly recommend Black Garnet Books. It’s a very cute indie bookstore that sells both new and gently used books and have the best selection from all genres.

Conclusion

And that pretty much sums up my 3 days in Minneapolis! I had a really nice relaxing time and ate EXTREMELY good. While I went in the later-weeks of autumn, I would have loved to see the city alive with outdoor activity in the summer, so I’ll definitely be back. And of course I need to go back to see more of Minnesota in general, Minneapolis really set a great stage.

I loved that Minneapolis had so much Indigenous heritage and history accessible for visitors (and residents) to learn and engage with. So much so that you could spend a whole day in Native Minneapolis and not miss a beat! That was definitely a highlight.

There was also a lot more Black history and businesses than I was expecting. I mean, yeah it’s the Midwest and there was the whole Great Migration, but my brain automatically conjures images of Chicago. Which….okay it’s a much larger city, but it was a pleasant surprise to see more diversity than I was expecting in Minneapolis. It’s a very charming city!

Have you ever been to the Twin Cities? What was your experience like? Is there anything else you would add to complete a perfect 3 days in Minneapolis itinerary? Let me know in the comments below?

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