Often called the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Minnesota actually possess not less than 11,000. Starting from the banks of Lake Superior up to the sources of Mississippi, the face of Minnesota is shaped by 40,000 km of rivers and waterflows. The name Minnesota came from an association of two Sioux Indian words meaning "The Blue Sky and Water". In the 1800s, a lot of Swedish and Norwegian immigrants were established there.

Minneapolis and St. Paul

In the place of the current Minneapolis, made a city since 1680 by a Franciscan priest Father Louis Hennepin, Minnesota became, at the dawn of the 19th century, a commercial city for fur traders, who were mainly French.

St. Paul was founded only in 1807 by the construction of Fort Selling, in a place where the two big rivers, Minnesota and Mississippi join each other.

From a part to another of Mississippi, the Twin Cities builds together a nationally important artistic center.

In Minneapolis, the State's largest city, the Walker Art Center presents you a permanent collection of contemporary art, as well as the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

The museum of Contemporary Art, Walker Art Center, in Minneapolis, is reopen to public since last April 17. The Museum, fruit of imaginations of the architects Herzog and de Meuron, has doubled its space by opening new galleries, a new 385-seat theater, new arrangements and services for the visitors.

The junction museum, Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, famous for its statue called "Spoon Bridge and Cherry", an artwork made from alumunium by Claes Oldenburgn and Coosje van Bruggen, has become one of Minneapolis's symbols.

The American Swedish Institute shows Swedish objects of art and handicrafts.

From the height of its 51 floors, IDS Tower dominates the city, offering its visitors a magnificent view towards the city of St. Paul, capital of the State located in the other side of the riverbanks.

There we can visit the Art and Science Center, with its art galleries, its handicraft boutiques, its scientific museums and a concert hall.

Splendid view towards the city also from the rooftops of First National City Bank.

Duluth

About 220 km towards the north, in the coasts of Lake Superior, you will arrive in Duluth, America's second-largest port after New York. The city is constructed on a rocky cliff, about 250 meters above Lake Superior's water level.

Bob Dylan, the famous singer, is a native of Duluth - born there on May 24, 1941.

Live from Duluth

Take the northern bank of Lake Superior, towards Port Arthur, Ontario, or follow the 43 km of Skyline Parkway which dominates the lake.

Duluth's surroundings are a mining region. In the north you have Tower and the steel mine of Tower and Soudan, the oldest and the deepest in the State. A guided visit will take you about 730 m underground.

In the southwest of Tower and Soudan we will find Chisholm and the Minnesota Museum of Mining.

About 160 km further west of Duluth, we arrive at Alexandria. Its Runestone Museum presents a block of stone carved with runic alphabets with a date : 1362. This proof of evidence supports the theory that America was firstly discovered by the Vikings, long before Christopher Columbus came along on their paths.

Two national monuments, Grand Portage in the northeast, along the Canadian border, and Pipestone National Monument in the southwest, still keep traces of the State's Indian heritage.

Photos : Minnesota Office of Tourism - Bob Perzel

The Greater Minneapolis Convention & Visitors Association