Minneapolis – “City of Lakes” The largest city in Minnesota lies on both banks of the Mississippi River, just north of the river's confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Saint Paul, the state's capital. Known as the Twin Cities, these two cities form the sixteenth largest metropolitan area in the United States, with about 3.2 million residents. The city is abundantly rich in water with lakes and wetlands, the Mississippi riverfront, creeks and waterfalls, many connected by parkways. Minneapolis was once the world's flour milling capital and a hub for timber, and today is the primary business center between Chicago, Illinois, and Seattle, Washington. America's most literate city, Minneapolis builds cultural organizations that draw creative people and audiences for theater, visual art, writing and music. www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/

Health Minneapolis has seven hospitals, four of which ranked among America's best by U.S. News & World Report. Abbott Northwestern, Children's Hospital, the U of M Medical Center/Fairview and the Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) which is a public teaching hospital and Level I Trauma Center. The renowned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota is a 75-minute drive away. Cardiac surgery was developed at the university's Variety Club Hospital in 1957. Medtronic began to build portable and implantable cardiac pacemakers in Minneapolis about this time.

Metropolitan School District Education is extremely important to the people of Minnesota and the Metro area features some of the best schools in the state. Our educators strive to make use of available resources to help kids succeed in their journey of furthering their education. www.mnplan.state.mn.us/maps/SchoolDistricts/

University of Minnesota More than 50,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students attend 20 colleges, schools, and institutes. The graduate school programs ranked highest in 2007 were counseling and personnel services, chemical engineering, psychology, macroeconomics, applied mathematics and non-profit management. A Big Ten school and home of the Golden Gophers, the U of M is the fourth largest campus among U.S. public 4-year universities in terms of enrollment.

Mall of America World class shopping in a 4 story complex. 4.2 million sqr. ft. hold over 520 stores and more than 200 kiosks within this mega complex. Entertainment, amusement park and over 50 restaurants to occupy your day. www.mallofamerica.com

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a contemporary art center in Minneapolis which was founded in 1879 and was the first public art gallery in the Upper Midwest. The museum's focus on modern art began in the 1940s, when a gift made possible the acquisition of works by important artists of the day, including sculptures by Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore, Alberto Giacometti, and others.The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, a collaboration between the Walker and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, is a sculpture park on the north side of the Walker campus. www.walkerart.org/

Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) Ranked as one of the top fine arts museums in the US, MIA houses more than 80,000 objects from diverse cultural traditions spanning 5,000 years of world history. It is located in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis on a campus that covers nearly 8 acres. The Institute does not charge an entrance fee, except for special exhibitions, and allows photography of its permanent collection for personal or scholarly use. www.artsmia.org/

Children's Theater Children's Theatre Company is a regional theatre established in 1965, specializing in plays for families and young audiences. Many productions are inspired by classic children's literature, including adaptations of Pippi Longstocking, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, Cinderella, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, etc. CTC was the recipient of a 2003 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. www.childrenstheatre.org

Arts The Twin Cities are second only to New York City in live theater per capita and is the third-largest theater market in the U.S. after New York City and Chicago, supporting the Illusion, Jungle, Mixed Blood, Penumbra, Mu Performing Arts, Bedlam Theatre, the Brave New Workshop, the Minnesota Dance Theatre, Red Eye, Skewed Visions, Theater Latté Da, In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, Lundstrum Center for the Performing Arts, and the Children's Theatre Company. Rich in diversity, on the average Twin Cities' weekend, you can choose between dozens of plays, dance performances and a large selection of venues for pop music concerts, jazz concerts, major art exhibits, gallery shows and comedy acts. Learn more about Minneapolis Metropolitan Area

Skyway System Downtown Minneapolis has the largest continuous network of skyways in the world, spanning over 7 miles and linking nearly 69 blocks. These climate-controlled, pedestrian walkways are owned by individual buildings in Minneapolis. The system is so large that you need a map to get around! The skyways connect the second and third floors of various office towers to hotels, banks, corporate and government offices, restaurants, and retail stores in addition to the Nicollet Mall shopping district, Block E Entertainment District, the IDS Center and Foshay Tower, The Target Center and the Minneapolis Convention Center. www.minneapolis.org/

Metro Transit Light Rail The Twin Cities 12-mile Light Rail corridor offers fast, frequent service between the airport, downtown Minneapolis, downtown St. Paul and Mall of America. Each of the 18 stations along the route are designed in a unique architectural style reflective of each stationís surrounding community. Travel time is roughly two minutes between most stations. www.metrotransit.com/

Parks and Recreation The Minneapolis park system has been called the best-designed, best-financed, and best-maintained in America. The city's Chain of Lakes, consisting of seven lakes and Minnehaha Creek, is connected by bike, running, and walking paths and used for swimming, fishing, picnics, boating, and ice skating. A parkway for cars, a bikeway for riders, and a walkway for pedestrians runs parallel along the 52 miles (84 km) route of the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway.

Three Rivers Park District Three Rivers's mission is "to promote environmental stewardship through recreation and education in a natural resources-based park system." Three Rivers operates twenty parks and ten regional trails with hundreds of miles of trails leading through woods and restored native prairie. www.threeriversparks.org

Boundary Waters (BWCA) The BWCAW is a unique area located in the northern third of the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota. Approximately 1.3 million acres in size, it extends nearly 150 miles along the Boundary between the Canadian and Minnesota border as well as Voyageurs National Park. Over 1200 miles of canoe routes, 15 hiking trails and approximately 2000 designated campsites allows people to enjoy and experience true wilderness. www.bwcaw.org/