A short drive from … Twin Cities: seen Minneapolis and St. Paul? Then head on out for the following attractions

The Twin Cities of Minneapolis (Minnesota's largest city) and St. Paul (its capital) blend big-city appeal with small-town charm. Minneapolis highlights include the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis Institute of Arts and Children's Theatre Company, University of Minnesota, and Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome is the home of baseball's Minnesota Twins and football's Minnesota Vikings. In St. Paul be sure to see Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, Historic Fort Snelling, Minnesota Children's Museum, the State Capitol, City Hall and Courthouse, and the magnificent Science Museum of Minnesota.

10 The Twin Cities' suburbs hold some of the area's best-known attractions. The biggest of them all is Bloomington's Mall of America, the largest retail and entertainment complex in the United States. In addition to four department stores and 525 shops, the mall has Knott's Camp Snoopy amusement park, LEGO Imagination Center, Minnesota's largest aquarium, restaurants, nightclubs, and movie theaters. The Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley houses the Discovery Bay Marine Center, featuring dolphins and sharks, and an IMAX theater. Valleyfair in Shakopee is one of the largest family amusement parks in the Midwest. Nearby Historic Murphy's Landing is a re-created 19th century village with characters "living" the life of settlers from 1840-1890. Canterbury Park offers the excitement of horse racing, and Mystic Lake Casino is the only casino hotel in the Twin Cities. Also in Shakopee is the Stans Museum with interactive exhibits on local history as well as an extensive African exhibit of masks, carvings, musical instruments, paintings, and tribal artifacts. The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, administered by the University of Minnesota, is near Chanhassen.

25 West Minneapolis, Lake Minnetonka is the largest lake in the metropolitan area. Board the restored steamboat Minnehaha at Excelsior for a tour. Stillwater, nestled in the scenic St. Croix River Valley east of St. Paul, is known for its antique shops, antiquarian booksellers, galleries, and restaurants. Octagon House in Hudson, Wisconsin, represents the Victorian architecture of this river town's heyday and now houses a doll collection and period furnishings. On the grounds are a smithy, a country store exhibit, and a collection of early farm machinery.

45 In summer try "tubing down the Apple"--innertubes and float trips are available from a variety of vendors in Somerset, Wisconsin, on the Apple River. Tour Crystal Cave in Spring Valley before heading back to Minnesota. The Mississippi River town of Red Wing features the lavishly restored 1912 Sheldon Theater. The story of the area and its Dakota Indian heritage is told at the Goodhue County Museum. Just outside town is Treasure Island Casino. Natural beauty abounds around Taylors Falls in the St. Croix River Valley. Scenic paddlewheel touts highlight the beauty and history of the river, and Interstate State Park showcases some of the world's deepest glacial potholes.

65 Lake Pepin, actually part the Mississippi River, is popular for fishing, sailing, and water-skiing (the sport was actually invented here in 1922 by a creative teenager who was sometimes towed by an airplane). Owatonna's Heritage Halls Transportation and Children's Museum, a great family attraction, features vintage planes, antique cars, and farm equipment. Other interesting sites include Owatonna Arts Center and Sculpture Garden and Minnesota State Orphanage Museum. At St. Peter the Treaty Site History Center focuses on the area's Indian and fur trading history. The W. W. Mayo House in nearby LeSueur was built in 1859 by Dr. William Mayo, whose Rochester practice grew to become the Mayo Clinic. (The Cosgrove family lived in this house before founding the Green Giant foods company.) Bustling St. Cloud is the commercial hub of central Minnesota; notable sites include Munsinger Gardens & Clemens Gardens and Stearns County Heritage Center. At Pine City a reconstructed 1804 fur trading post tells of a bygone era.

At A Glance

Minnesota's 1905 State Capitol in St. Paul boasts one of the world's tallest unsupported marble domes.

With some 15,000 lakes, Minnesota has more miles of shoreline than California, Florida, and Hawaii combined.

If a shopper spent one minute in every store, it would take more than eight hours to complete a visit to Mall of America in Bloomington, a massive complex that claims the world's largest indoor theme park.

Contact: Minnesota Office of Tourism, 100 Metro Sq., 121 7th Pl. E., St. Paul, MN 55101, (800) 657-3700, www.exploreminnesota.com; Greater Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Association, 250 Marquette Ave. South, Suite 1300, Minneapolis, MN 55401, (888) 676-6757, www.minneapolis.org; and St. Paul Convention and Visitors Bureau, 175 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55102, (800) 627-6101, www.stpaulcvb.org.

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COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group