RELAX IN DOWNTOWN'S
LARGEST PARK 

Anchored by a bucolic pond, Loring Park is an immaculately-maintained green space with all the amenities: tennis courts, walking paths, shuffleboard, community gardens, walking and biking paths, a dog park, and more. With a view of the grand Basilica of St. Mary and a half-dozen restaurants mere steps away, Loring Park is the kind of vibrant city haven that makes Minneapolis, Minneapolis.   

CHOOSE YOUR OWN
PEDESTRIAN ADVENTURE

Two roads diverge from Loring Park. One, the distinctive, yellow-covered Hixton-Whitney Footbridge, will take you to the Walker Art Center. The other, the Loring Greenway, bills itself as an "urban garden" and will take you to Nicollet Mall and the central business district. 

On a nice summer day, we recommend making a trip of it. Start at the Walker, cross the bridge, enjoy your time in Loring Park, and then continue on to take your photo with the Mary Tyler Moore statue. 

SNAP A SELFIE WITH
AN ICONIC SCULPTURE 

The Walker (which straddles the border between the Lowry Hill and Loring Park neighborhoods) is one of the nation's most-visited contemporary art museums, housing over 13,000 works in its permanent collection. Recent special exhibits have included Sophie Calle's Overshare and Keith Haring's Art is For Everyone, and work from artists like Chuck Close, Andy Warhol, Yves Klein, Edward Hopper, Cindy Sherman, Jasper Johns, and Yoko Ono is always on display.  

The Walker also hosts film screenings through their moving image program and live performances, including avant-garde productions that are difficult to find outside of cities like New York and London.  

Their on-site restaurant, Cardamom, serves an accessible Aegean-and-Mediterranean inspired menu in a greenery-filled, sun-soaked space, with a warm-weather patio that spills out into the museum's famed sculpture garden.  

Speaking of the sculpture garden, that's where you'll find the much-photographed "Spoonbridge and Cherry" from artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, but over 60 fascinating sculptures are spread across the garden's 11 acres.   

Admission is free every first Thursday of the month, and the sculpture garden is always free and open to public. 

FEAST ON FLAVOR-PACKED
LAOTIAN FOOD AT GAI NOI

Two-time Beard nominee Ann Ahmed opened Gai Noi, a laid-back, no-reservations restaurant serving her native Laotian cuisine in May 2023, and it's been packed to the gills ever since. Gai Noi serves flavor-packed versions of laab, mok paa, curry peanut noodles, and Ahmed's signature basil chicken wings. It's exactly the kind of beautiful but unfussy, nice but not spendy eatery you're always in the mood for. 

Their passion fruit punch and pomelo spritzes are delicious year-round, but the restaurant in especially becoming in summer, when the second-level doors get thrown open to the rooftop patio, and you can enjoy a post-prandial stroll in lush Loring Park. 

BREATHE DEEPLY AT THE
BASILICA OF ST. MARY 

Looking for somewhere to enjoy a quiet (indoor) moment? The Basilica of St. Mary is a minor Roman Catholic basilica dating back to 1871. Designed by Franco-American architect Emmanuel Louis Masqueray in a Beaux-Arts style, with a foundation of Rockville granite. The Basilica is open to the public Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., and offers self-guided and docent-led tours.  

STEAK FRITES IN STYLE

510 Groveland is one of the city's most storied addresses. Built in the late 1920s, the building is home to some of the nation's very first luxury condos (modeled on the co-ops of Manhattan's Upper East Side), but residents aren't the only ones who can enjoy the impeccable turn-of-the-century architecture. 

The building's first floor is home to P.S. Steak, one of the most elegant and (dare we say) sexy spaces in the city.  It is the opposite of scene-y, warehouse conversion restaurants, with luxurious rugs, elegantly wainscoted walls, and a dimly-lit lounge, where a more-casual menu (Waygu hot dogs, blistered shishitos) is served.  

The dining room offers a large selection of perfectly-prepared meats (chef Wyatt Evans is one of the most meticulous, underrated kitchen wizards in the city), classic steakhouse sides like garlic knots and aligot, and a few refreshing surprises, like a bison tataki with smoked shoyu and a silky butternut squash soup with spiced pepitas.  

Our favorite time to visit is in winter. The softly-upholstered dining room feels extra-special when fat snowflakes are falling out the window. 

BRING YOUR DOG
TO BRÜHAVEN 

An all-day, dog-friendly coffee shop and brewery, Brühaven hosts a rotating roster of events, from trivia nights to live music, Dungeons & Dragons to Bingo, and they project the Timberwolves on game nights. 

Boasting a creative tap list that includes a smoked Helles and a butterscotch golden ale, Brühaven also offers N/A adaptogen beverages under their BrüWell line. As a bonus? Free parking in the Emerson Elementary school lot after 2:30 p.m.  

SUPPORT YOUTH SOCCER
AT FAWKES ALLEY COFFEE 

The small stretch of Harmon Place located in Loring Park is perhaps the most magical place in downtown Minneapolis. Reminiscent of a London Mews, with laid brick and spray-painted signs, Fawkes Alley Coffee is certainly not short on charm. They're also a non-profit, supporting the Fustal Society, an organization that helps kids from all backgrounds access community-based soccer programs.  

SEE A PRIDE CULTURAL
ARTS CENTER SHOW

Loring Park is a historically queer neighborhood and plays host to Twin Cities Pride, the second-largest festival in the state (eclipsed only by the State Fair). But you can celebrate Minnesota's vibrant LGBTQIA+ community year round, and one of the best ways to do that is to see what's going on at the Pride Cultural Arts Center.  

With an artist-in-residence program, gender-affirming, no-cost clothing shop, and space for workshops and gatherings, the Pride Cultural Arts Center is an important gathering place for Minnesota's queer community. 

Their free gallery has work from their artists in residence that rotates throughout the year. 

MAKE A RESERVATION
FOR YOUR IN-LAWS

An elegant, old-school restaurant that still embraces white tablecloths, Cafe + Bar Lurcat has an eternally stylish vibe and unbeatable corner location. Serving fine-dining classics (filet mingon with cambozolo, crab coquettes with caviar, roasted chicken with foie gras jus) that will dispel any rumors of the Midwest being unsophisticated, Lurcat isn't a cheap night out, but it's always a good one.  

DRINK A MILKSHAKE
AND TIP A QUEEN   

See a drag show; get a Denver omelet. Wait, what? Yes — it's possible at Roxy's, an eternally fun cabaret at the edge of Loring Park that shares a space with the 24-hour Nicollet Diner. Named for the late, much-missed drag legend Roxy Marquis, the cabaret hosts a robust calendar of events (mostly drag, but also movie nights, game nights, and comedy). 

Roxy's is the kind of place where everyone is welcome, including guests under 18 and those hell-bent on ordering pancakes at midnight (we don't judge).