Within walking distance of the B&B

St. Paul Curling Club (3 blocks)
Founded in 1912, it’s the largest curling club in the country with over 1,200 members, and it’s busy all year round. Guests and spectators are welcome to visit and watch live curling games from the heated club room and upstairs bar area.

Mississippi Market Co-op (5 blocks)
St. Paul’s premier source for local & organic produce, sustainably raised meats, health & wellness products, and delicious, healthful food.

A Summit Avenue Walking Tour (3 blocks to Summit)
A tour of the longest stretch of original Victorian housing in the country, and very beautiful. The tour includes history, information on the houses, and videos.

James J. Hill House (.7 miles)
Completed in 1891, this impressive Summit Avenue mansion features a central heating system run by a steam engine boiler (Hill made his money in railroads), an art gallery, and a fine view of the Mississippi River. James J. Hill was the 4th richest man in the country in his lifetime, and his influence can be seen all over the city.

Cathedral of St. Paul (.8 miles)
Finished in 1915, it’s “one of the finest examples of Beaux Arts architecture.” Many people consider it to be one of the 3 or 4 finest cathedrals in the world. We’ve heard that James J. Hill offered to give $1 million towards construction, but when shown the mediterranean design, he declared it impractical and unable to withstand Minnesota’s harsh winters, and withdrew his funds. So his wife donated instead.

 

*~*~*~*~*

Downtown (easily busable, bikable, or a longer walk)

Minnesota History Center (1.1 miles)
Known as the best state history center in the country. Offers lots of fun and interesting exhibits to help you explore Minnesota’s history. Home of the Minnesota Historical Society and their library. You might want to check out the other 26 historic sites and museums also run by the historical society.

Fitzgerald Theater (1.4 miles)
The oldest theater in St. Paul, the Fitz acts as performance and broadcast space for Minnesota Public Radio. Home to Garrison Keilor’s A Prairie Home Companion, it offers a wide variety of intellectually-stimulating programs to delight and enlighten.

Rice Park (1.5 miles)
This is the oldest park in St. Paul, and is the center of a cultural square consisting of the Central Library, St. Paul Hotel, the Landmark Center, and the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. Home to a lovely fountain, it also hosts the St. Paul Winter Carnival ice sculptures, the Flint Hills Childrens’ Festival, and food trucks in the afternoons.

Landmark Center (1.5 miles)
Originally the Federal Courthouse (where gangsters were tried – you can visit the courtrooms) and Post Office, it’s now a cultural center, including an amazing gallery of woodturners’ art and the Ramsey County Historical Society

Ordway Center for Performing Arts (1.5 miles)
Home of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Minnesota Opera.

St. Paul Public Library – George Latimer Central Library and  James J. Hill Center & Library (1.5 miles)
The beautifully restored and renovated Central library was completed in 1914, along with its sister institution, the James J. Hill Business Reference Library, separate organizations that share a building. Both parts of the structure are beautiful, but very different architecturally. Originally, the Hill library was endowed as a general reference library for the citizens of the city, working alongside the public library.

St. Paul Hotel (1.5 miles)
This historic hotel has hosted presidents, entertainers, and gangsters, as well as historic events. With two wonderful restaurants, lovely architecture, and an afternoon tea, it’s a great place to rest on your downtown ramblings.

Science Museum of Minnesota (1.5 miles)
A world-class museum with the Mississippi River Gallery, mini-golf, the Omnitheater, and great traveling exhibits.

Minnesota State Capitol (1.5 miles)
A 1905 Cass Gilbert-designed building very much in the classical style. It’s an architectural masterpiece full of art and historical artifacts telling the history of the state government, as well as being the center of Minnesota politics.

Xcel Energy Center (1.5 miles)
Center for sports, concerts, and events.

St. Paul City Hall and Ramsy County Courthouse (1.6 miles) History and Visitors' Information
This 1932 gem was bonded for $4 million dollars in 1928, and the 1929 stock market crash meant that the budget stretched much further than originally planned. So the architects hired many talented artisans to work with amazing materials to create this art deco masterpiece.

 

*~*~*~*~*

Other Twin Cities landmarks

Como Park Zoo and Conservatory (4 miles)
Great gardens, park, lake, zoo, and conservatory.

Mia (aka The Minneapolis Institute of Arts) (9.7 miles)
The MIA features extraordinary exhibitions and one of the finest wide-ranging art collections in the country. They also bring in excellent travelling exhibits from around the world.

Walker Art Center and  Minneapolis Sculpture Garden (9.7 miles)
Focusing on modern visual, performing, and media arts, the internationally recognized Walker encourages the active engagement of audiences. The Sculpture Garden is a combination park and museum, and is home to the famous Spoonbridge and Cherry.

Bakken Museum (12 miles)
A wonderful museum all about electricity and humanity’s relationship to it. Started by the founder of Medtronic, and housed in a historic home on Lake Calhoun, it’s worth visiting both for its fascinating exhibits and its location.

Mall of America (12 miles)
America’s largest shopping mall, complete with indoor amusement park, movie theater, and Lego store.

Museum of Russian Art (12.6 miles)
The only museum of its kind in North America, TMORA features often-changing exhibitions of extraordinary works of art that are seldom displayed in the United States. These offer insightful perspectives on Russian history and culture.

Movie Theaters
Showings and locations.

 

*~*~*~*~*

Where the journey is the destination

Historic Architecture and Beautiful Scenery
A beautiful drive or bike ride (about 17 miles) from Summit Avenue to South Mississippi River Blvd, then following Minnehaha Creek and the Chain of Lakes in Minneapolis, including Lake Calhoun, Lake Harriet, and the Lake of the Isles. Ask at the B&B for more information.

Ramsey County Walking and Biking Trails
Como Lake and Phalen Lake are beautiful and fairly close.

The Mississippi National River & Recreation Area, St. Paul portion
This lovely area offers much historic and scenic beauty to explore on foot or by bike, and, of course, the Father of Waters. We’ve outlined below how to get there from the B&B

Downtown St. Paul River Trip Planner
Includes the Mississippi River Trail , which extends from Lake Itasca, the source of the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. Also shows mass transit options and Nice Ride bike share stations (see below for more information).

St. Paul’s Bike Friendly Routes and Trails
From Google Maps.

Bike Everywhere app and maps
This is a local company that provides Minnesota and Wisconsin bike maps for your mobile device. First you download a free app and then purchase available maps. See the website for more details.

 

*~*~*~*~*

Bike Rental

Nice Ride
The local bike share program. It’s designed for people taking relatively short rides – 30 minutes or an hour – and then returning the bike. However, there are a lot of stations in some areas, like downtown, so you could make it work for a longer trip by using multiple bikes. Be sure to check the site for details if you’re interested.

 

*~*~*~*~*

Car Rental

Budget Car Rental
Located at the Sears store about 1.5 miles away.

Enterprise Rent-a-Car
Located on University about 2 miles away.

Hour Car
A less traditional option. They’re a local car share outfit that requires a membership, which you’d probably want to apply for about five days in advance; check the website f or details. They also have some partnerships with car shares in other cities.

*~*~*~*~*

Mass Transit

Metro Transit
If you prefer to take advantage of our buses and light rail, this site gives you all the details you need to take a ride, including a Trip Planner.