Twin Cities Living

Love the Arts?

Whether you want to stay out all night visiting art galleries or take a writing class, the Minneapolis arts scene surely has something that will excite you. The Guthrie Theater is less than a mile from the HCMC downtown campus, and the Minnesota Children’s Theater is less than two. Visual arts lovers will find no shortage of museums, including the Walker Art Center and Sculpture Garden, which features summertime artist-designed mini golf, and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, which boasts a collection of 800 works of art and 89,000 objects ranging over 20,000 years. Minneapolis is also home to a lively local music scene, and hosts traveling performers often. From Soundset, the annual May hip-hop festival, to the two-day Rock the Garden at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, live music lovers will find themselves at home here.

Love Food?

Minneapolis’ Eat Street is a worldwide explosion of flavor: in a few blocks of South Minneapolis, it covers cuisine from nearly every corner of the world. Minnesota and the Twin Cities boast an active brewery scene as well, with over 172 active breweries in the state. Come summertime, challenge yourself to eat as many foods as you can on a stick at the Minnesota State Fair, where treats range from pickles on a stick to deep fried Spam curds on a stick. And of course, you’re not officially a Minnesotan until you’ve tried a Juicy Lucy--a hamburger with the cheese cooked inside the patty. (Vegans rejoice--they even come as Beyond burgers now!)

Love the Outdoors?

Between bike trails, lakes, and ice skating rinks, there is no shortage of ways to have fun outdoors in Minneapolis. Minneapolis consistently earns high ranks for being a bikeable city, and boasts scenic rides outside the city limits as well. For runners, walkers, and rollerbladers, the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes trail is an 11-mile trail that winds around five lakes within the city, where many people also swim, sail, windsurf, kayak, fish, and paddleboard. In the winter, nordic ski, snowshoe, or walk across the lakes during the annual Luminary Loppet festival. Hikers will love the Superior Hiking Trail, a 277-mile trail along the Canadian border that allows for day hikes, camping, and trail running with breathtaking views of the Boundary Waters.

Love Sports?

During non-pandemic times, enjoy pro sporting events during all four seasons. Minnesota boasts professional baseball, basketball, soccer, football, and hockey teams. Baseball lovers can catch games at the Minnesota Twins stadium in downtown Minneapolis, or enjoy watching the St. Paul Saints at their downtown St. Paul ballpark. Basketball fans can see the Timberwolves play (with nosebleeds seats as cheap as $5), or watch the Minnesota Lynx, winners of four WNBA titles in the past 10 years. For games close to home, the Minnesota Vikings stadium is next to the HCMC downtown location, making catching a Monday night game after work a real possibility. Of course, Minnesota is called the State of Hockey, and while Wild games in downtown St. Paul are always a festive time, the state turns out in droves for the Minnesota High School State Hockey Tournament, which almost always sells out. If that’s not enough for you, enjoy watching Big 10 sports at the University of Minnesota.