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Saint Paul (or St. Paul) is the capital city of the US state Minnesota. With Minneapolis it forms the "Twin Cities".

[edit] Get in

See the Twin Cities page for more information.

[edit] By train

• Midway Station - Amtrak, 730 Transfer Road, [1]. Station hours: Daily 06:00 AM - 12:30 AM. Closed between 12:31 AM - 5:59 AM. Ticketing hours: Daily 06:30 AM - 11:30 PM. Amtrak's "Empire Builder" stops daily from Chicago, Seattle, or Portland.  edit

[edit] Get around

[edit] By car

Interstate 35E and Interstate 94 travel through Saint Paul.

[edit] By public transit

Bus service in Saint Paul is not quite as reliable as it is in Minneapolis, with a few exceptions. The 54 runs fairly often between downtown Saint Paul and the airport via West 7th Street. The 16 also runs regularly along University Avenue, connecting the downtowns of both cities. The 84 runs frequently along Snelling Avenue.

[edit][add listing] See

• Minnesota Children's Museum, 10 W 7th St (between Wabasha and St. Peter), ☎ +1 651 225-6001, [2]. M 9AM-5PM (Memorial Day to Labor Day), Tu-Th 9AM-5PM, F 9AM-8PM, Sa-Su 9AM-5PM. At Minnesota Children's Museum, kids will have a blast discovering an exciting, immersive world that arouses their curiosity, increases their understanding, and ignites an appreciation for learning. Each of the Museum's seven galleries is uniquely designed to provide a hands-on, stimulating environment for children six months to 10 years old. Roving "funstigators" engage kids in fun and interactive smart play as they blow bubbles, toss balls, play with finger puppets, and provide a variety of stimulating play experiences for children of all ages. $8.95, Children under 1: Free.  edit

• Minnesota Museum of American Art, 50 W Kellogg Boulevard (between St Peter and Market), ☎ +1 651 266-1030, [3]. Tu-W 11AM-4PM, Th 11AM-8PM, F-Sa 11AM-4PM, Su 1PM-5PM. The MMAA is committed to representing the great cultural, racial, socioeconomic and regional diversity of American art and artists – past, present, and emerging. Free.  edit

• Summit Avenue. Noted for its historic mansions. This neighborhood is also remarkable in its connection to the writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, who was born in Saint Paul.  edit
  • James J. Hill House, 240 Summit Ave (near the Saint Paul Cathedral), ☎ +1 651 297-2555, [4]. The house is open W-Sa 10:00AM-3:30PM, Su 1:00PM-3:30PM. The art gallery is open W-Sa 10:00AM-4:00PM, Su 1:00PM-4:00PM. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors, $4 for children ages 6-17, and free for children under 6 years. If you just want to visit the art gallery, admission is only $2.  edit

• Grand Avenue. Runs parallel to Summit one block to the south. Noted for its multitudes of shops, although chain stores are increasing their presence at an alarming rate.  edit

• Minnesota State Capitol, 75 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, ☎ +1 651 296-2881 (statecapitol@mnhs.org), [5]. M-F 9AM-4PM, Sa 10AM-3PM, Su 1PM-4PM. Groups of ten or more need to reserve tours two weeks in advance. General tours are free.  edit

• Como Zoo and Marjorie McNeely Conservatory, 1225 Estabrook Drive, ☎ +1 651 487-8200, [6]. Winter hours (October - March): Daily 10AM-4PM, Summer hours (April - September): Daily 10AM-6PM. The zoo ''may'' occasionally close earlier. The zoo does not close on any holidays. Admission: Como Zoo and Marjorie McNeely Conservatory are free, but the zoo asks that visitors consider making a voluntary donation of $2 for an adult and $1 for a child.  edit

• Wabasha Street Caves, 215 S Wabasha St (south of Plato Blvd), ☎ +1 651 224-1191, [7]. Tour these sandstone caves, which had been home to gangsters and speakeasies in the 1920s.  edit

• Landmark Center, 75 W 5th St (between Market and Washington, across from Rice Park), ☎ +1 651 292-3233, [8]. M-W 8AM-5PM, Th 8AM-8PM, F 8AM-5PM, Sa 10AM-5PM, Su 12PM-5PM. Originally built as a post office and a federal courthouse, this historical building now houses galleries and exhibits.  edit

• Science Museum of Minnesota, 120 W Kellogg Blvd (at Washington), ☎ +1 651 221-9444, [9]. M-Sa 9:30AM-9PM, Su 9:30AM-7PM. The Science Museum overlooks the Mississippi River and has a permanent exhibit devoted to the river. The museum also has a dinosaur fossils gallery and an experiment gallery with various hands-on activities. The collections gallery includes several quack medical devices from the now-defunct Museum of Questionable Medical Devices. $11 adults, $8.50 children 4-12 and seniors 60+. Access to omnitheater and special exibitions will cost extra.  edit

[edit][add listing] Do

[edit] Music and Performing Arts

• A Prairie Home Companion Radio Show, 10 E Exchange St (Fitzgerald Theater), ☎ +1 651 290-1200 (fitzgerald@mpr.org, fax: +1 651 290-1195), [10]. A dedicated piece of Americana A Prairie Home Companion is the brainchild of American humorist Garrison Keillor. The radio show calls the Fitzgerald Theater [11] home, but the show can often be found on the road too. Contact information is for the Fitzgerald Theater.  edit

• The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, [12].  edit

[edit] Festivals

• Saint Paul Winter Carnival, ☎ +1 651 223-4700 (info@winter-carnival.com), [13]. Takes place in January. Events take place in Downtown and Como Park. Noted for the annual Ice Palace.  edit
  

  

  Grand Avenue in Saint Paul
• Grand Old Day, Grand Avenue, [14]. Takes place along Grand Avenue on the first Sunday in June. Free parking is available at the University of St. Thomas north and south lots located on Summit and Cretin or Grand and Cretin. Free shuttle buses are available to event visitors.  edit
• Irish Fair of Minnesota, (Harriet Island, Cross over Wabasha Street bridge and you’ll see the park on your right), (info@irishfair.com), [15]. Takes place in August at Harriet Island, just south of Downtown.  edit
• Minnesota State Fair, Address, ☎ +1 651 288-4400, [16]. Takes place from mid-August through Labor Day and is one of the largest state fairs in the US. The main entrance to the State Fairgrounds is located at 1265 Snelling Avenue N, but you will first have to drive to one of the lots outside of the fairgrounds. As an alternative, you could take a bus. Metro Transit routes 3 and 84 stop near the fairgrounds, and they also operate shuttles during the fair that offer non-stop service to the fairgrounds from various park-and-ride lots located throughout the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Admission: Adults (13-64): $9; Seniors (65 & over): $8; Children (5-12): $8. Children (under 5): Free. Parking costs $9.  edit

[edit] Learn

[edit] Private

• College of Visual Arts, [17].
• Macalester College, [18].
• University of St. Thomas, [19].
• Hamline University, [20].
• College of St. Catherine, [21].
• Concordia University, [22].
• Bethel University, [23].
• McNally Smith College of Music, [24].

[edit] Public

• Metropolitan State University, [25]
• Saint Paul College, [26]

[edit][add listing] Buy

• First Grand Avenue Liquors, 918 Grand Ave (at Milton, one block west of Victoria), ☎ +1 651 227-7039, [27]. M-Th 9AM-8PM, F-Sa 9AM-10PM. Small family-owned liquor store that has a walk in cooler, tons of great micro/indie brews, 80+ types of scotch, and an excellent wine selection. Good deals as well as hard-to-find liqueurs.  edit

• Eclipse Records, 1922 University Ave W (east of Prior), ☎ +1 651 645-7724, [28]. Saint Paul's only independent record store. Also hosts all-ages gigs.  edit
• Common Good Books, 165 Western Ave N (at Selby, below Nina's Coffee Cafe), ☎ +1 651 225-8989, [29]. M-Sa 10AM-10PM, Su 10AM-8PM. Excellent book store owned by Garrison Keillor, the host of the NPR radio show A Prairie Home Companion.  edit

[edit][add listing] Eat

• Black Sea Restaurant, 737 Snelling Ave N (between Minnehaha and Englewood), ☎ +1 651 917-8832. Cheap Turkish food. It's about one block south of nearby Hamline University. $6-$11.  edit
• Cafe Latte, 850 Grand Ave (at Victoria), ☎ +1 651 224-5687, [30]. Cafeteria style restaurant with a great selection of soups, salads, and sandwiches. Don't leave without trying one of their decadent desserts, especially the Turtle Cake.  edit
• El Burrito Mercado, 175 Cesar Chavez St (at State), ☎ +1 651 227-2192, [31]. Mexican supermarket, deli, and cafeteria on the West Side.  edit
• Fasika Restaurant, 510 Snelling Ave N (at Sherburne), ☎ +1 651 646-4747, [32]. Daily 11AM-Midnight. This is an Ethiopian wonder. You can get spicy lentil or lamb dishes served without utensils on top of a very edible sponge bread. A sure destination for an adventurous, spice-friendly diner. $6-$11.  edit
• Green Mill Restaurant & Bar, 57 Hamline Ave S (at Grand), ☎ +1 651 698-0353, [33]. There are many locations in the Twin Cities as well as some throughout Minnesota and surrounding states, but it all started here. They tout themselves as "Minnesota's most awarded pizza". Order your deep-dish Il Primo with the Walleye Strips and a pitcher of fresh beer right when you sit down because the pizza takes 30+ minutes to cook. Family-friendly. $7-$17.  edit
• Khyber Pass, 1571 Grand Ave (at Snelling), ☎ +1 651 690-0505, [34]. Afghani cuisine.
  

  

  Restaurant on Grand Avenue
   edit
• Pizza Lucé, 1183 Selby Ave (between Griggs and Dunlap), ☎ +1 651 288-0816, [35]. 11AM-1AM daily. The famed Minneapolis pizza mini-chain has now come to the capital city.  edit
• Red's Savoy Inn (Savoy's), 421 7th St E (at Lafayette Rd/US Hwy 52, just east of downtown), ☎ +1 651 227-1437, [36]. The best pizza in Minnesota. There are other locations, but the original downtown location is best, which isn't exactly located "downtown" in local standards (it's on the east side of the city off I-94 and Mounds Blvd). If you go past dinner time on a Friday or Saturday night, expect to wait 30+ minutes to sit down at 1-2 hours for your pizza, and the parking lot will almost certainly be full. If however you come on a weekday or during the non-rush times, you can sit right down and have your pizza in 30 minutes or less. The pizza is a thicker "midwesterner" version of a thin crust, the sauce is spicy, and the cheese is plentiful. The three best pizzas are the plain ol' cheese, which is cheap, and delicious, the sausage adds more spice to the pizza, and the special comes loaded an inch thick with toppings. $10-20 per pizza.  edit
• Tanpopo Noodle Shop, 308 Prince St (at Broadway), ☎ +1 651 209-6527, [37]. M 5:30PM-9PM, Tu-Th 11AM-2PM and 5:30PM-9PM, F 11AM-2PM and 5:30PM-10PM, Sa 5:30PM-10PM. Japanese noodle shop in Lowertown.  edit

[edit][add listing] Drink

• The Artists' Quarter, 408 Saint Peter St (at 7th Place, inside the Hamm Building), ☎ +1 651 292-1359, [38]. A nice jazz place in downtown.  edit
• Big V's, 1567 University Ave W (at Snelling), ☎ +1 651 645-8472, [39]. Big V's is a dive bar in the Midway. Attracts many of the same local bands that play at the somewhat less-divey Turf Club (see below).  edit
• Turf Club, 1601 University Ave W (at Snelling), ☎ +1 651 647-0486, [40]. The Turf is one of the better venues in the Twin Cities to see local bands, and sometimes the occasional touring band. Cover charges on live music nights are usually no more than $5.  edit

[edit][add listing] Sleep

[edit] Budget

[edit] Mid-range

• Embassy Suites St. Paul Downtown, 175 E 10th St (at Jackson), ☎ +1 651 224-5400, [41]. Complimentary cooked-to-order breakfast in an open air atrium. Indoor pool, fitness center and whirlpool. Onsite American restaurant: Woolley's & Cork's Pub.  edit

• Hilton Garden Inn St Paul City Center, 411 Minnesota St (at 6th), ☎ +1 651 291-8800, [42]. The Hilton Garden Inn St. Paul hotel offers 8,000 square feet of flexible meeting space.  edit

• Holiday Inn, 175 W 7th St (at Kellogg), ☎ +1 651 225-1515, [43].  edit

• Holiday Inn, 2201 Burns Ave (at McKnight, adjacent to Interstate 94), ☎ +1 651 731-2220, [44].  edit

• Holiday Inn Express, 1010 Bandana Blvd W (at Energy Park Dr, midway between Snelling and Lexington), ☎ +1 651 647-1637, [45].  edit

• Super 8 Saint Paul, 1739 Old Hudson Road, ☎ +1 651 771-5566, [46]. Newly renovated 97 unit property. Complimentary breakfast, business center, fitness center, meeting room facility and whirlpool suites available. Restaurants located just minutes away from the property.  edit

[edit] Splurge

• Crowne Plaza Hotel, 11 E Kellogg Blvd (between Wabasha and Cedar), ☎ +1 651 292-1900, [47].  edit

• Saint Paul Hotel, 350 Market St (at 5th), ☎ +1 651 292-9292 or +1-800-292-9292, [48].  edit

[edit] Get out

Routes through Saint Paul

Duluth ← White Bear Lake ←	N  S	→ Eagan → Albert Lea
Minneapolis ←	W  E	→ Eau Claire → Madison

This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!