The mrs and I are flying up for the game this year. Hate that it's on a weeknight before a holiday weekend...hope we can get a decent number of fans up there.
Need some suggestions from the locals. We collect Marriott points, so the Courtyard next to the law school is probably option #1 for us, but the Twins are hosting the White Sox Thursday at noon, so not sure if we should look further from the Metrodome. We're open to suggestions. Will be in town Thursday and Friday nights. What should be on the itinerary? Is the mall really worth a trip? Do you have rail or will we be cabbing it?
Looking forward to it. Your fans were awesome last year. Hope we return the favor. Gracias!
Just re-read your post and have some more thoughts.
- Stay at the Marriott Renaissance Depot in Mpls. It's the old Mpls train depot and has a lot of fun historical/train stuff built into it. It has a smaller water park if you're bringing kids. It's walking distance to everything you could want and it's an easy cab ride to campus for the game.
- You can take the Light Rail train from the airport and it drops you off 1-2 blocks from the Depot (hotel). MANY out-of-towners do this, it's not complicated not does it require much effort. You'll see people walking from the train platform, rolling a suitcase or carry on behind them. $2.50 per person I think, which is better than spending $50 + tip on a taxi.
- From the Depot (hotel) you can visit the Mill City Museum and do the flower tower tour. It's right on the Mississippi River, is a fun little history of Minneapolis tour and it's 2 blocks from the hotel.
- You might also consider NiceRide which is a bicycle sharing system we have. Maybe you have it in your area as well (?) but basically you go to a NiceRide stand, swipe a credit card and take a bicycle. It's not expensive at all and you can cover a lot of ground with that bike if you're staying DT.
- You're also walking/biking distance from St Anthony Main, which is the site of the first European settlement in Minneapolis, on the Mississippi and it's now a fun strip of bars/cafes/etc. Vic's is a great place to have dinner. It's good food, reasonably priced and has a deck that's open onto the street and river. Nice place to spend an evening when the weather's nice.
- Maybe stop at Nye's Polanaise Room, which is a blue collar bar and Mpls landmark that's scheduled for demolition next year. It's a very iconic bar here in the Twin Cities, not a tourist trap and generally a place I would want to visit if I were coming to your city.
- I'd skip the Mall of America (MOA), but that's just me. From you hotel you can take the light rail train straight to the MOA and you can sight-see on the train. If it's shopping you're after though, I'd recommend you instead walk down the Nicolett Mall. It's a pedestrian mall that runs the length of DT Mpls and has many big box stores like Macy's, Nieman Marcus, et al. It also has some great bars if you're out walking around like the Local and Britt's Pub.
- You'd also be close enough to walk to Target Field and take in a Twins game if you wanted?
- Basically, if you're staying at the Depot you have all of DT Mpls and the river at your disposal.
- The hotel also has taxi and town car service. You could tell the front desk you want a Town Car or SUV the next day (game day) and they'll schedule it for you. I think from the hotel to campus is only $10 in one of those, so why get in a piece of junk taxi and save $1.00?
- Someone else will have to fill you in on what to do on campus, but if I were you, I take the light rail in from the airport, use those Marriott Points at the Depot and rent a NiceRide bike for your off campus day.
