Minneapolis, MN

Key Highlights

Hotels 444
Total Sleeping Rooms 47,551
Committable Sleeping Rooms* 231
Committable Meeting Rooms* 115
Largest Exhibit Space 475,000 Sq. Ft.
Largest Ballroom 13,000 Sq. Ft.
Average Hotel Room Rate USD $121
Average Daily Meal Cost USD $71
Average Weekly Car Rental USD $487
*Maximum for a single hotel
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Minneapolis, MN Meeting Planning Overview

Welcome to Cvent's Minneapolis meeting planning guide – a Minneapolis city guide for meeting planners. Minneapolis/St. Paul is a convention-friendly metropolitan area with over 30,000 hotel rooms ranging from economy lodging to luxury accommodations. Downtown Minneapolis has more than 5,000 rooms-3,500 of which are conveniently attached to the Minneapolis Convention Center and other downtown attractions via climate-controlled skyways.

Minneapolis has been impressing conventioneers and vacationers for a long time. With a population of nearly 400,000 people, this warm and gracious Midwest city has one of the best designed public park systems in the country. Known as the "City of Lakes," Minneapolis is famous for its Chain of Lakes, five lakes that are part of the park system. The largest, Lake Calhoun, is a favorite recreational spot for water enthusiasts, energetic walkers, in-line skaters and bikers.

Minneapolis offers a wide variety of world-class cultural and entertainment facilities in addition to numerous family attractions. Visit the Minneapolis Children's Theatre and be inspired by music and the arts: past productions have included names like Disney's High School Musical, A Year With Frog and Toad, and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Observe more than 2,300 animals and nearly 500 species at the Minnesota Zoo. Spend an afternoon shopping in the downtown area at Mall of America-the nation's largest shopping and entertainment complex, or pedestrian-style Nicollet Mall. Visitors can also take in the city while sightseeing on a Mississippi paddle wheeler, a Segway scooter or a traditional tour bus.

Minneapolis is blessed with an impressive variety of ethnic and fine dining restaurants such as Wolfgang Puck's 20.21 Restaurant and Bar with its haute cuisine, signature open kitchen and award-winning design and La Belle Vie, chosen as one of America's Top 50 Restaurants by Gourmet Magazine. Minneapolis offers a flourishing nightlife with a number of hip clubs and bars dispersed throughout the city and the many attractions of the revitalized Riverfront District. The Riverfront District includes hot spots such as Pracna on Main, a cozy restaurant located in one of the city's oldest buildings, and Nye's Polonaise Room, a Minneapolis landmark, famous for its kitschy décor and the best polka music in the city.

In spite of its cold winters, Minneapolis is a year-round tourist destination. From Spring to Fall, visitors enjoy myriad recreational activities outdoors in the city's many lakes, spacious parks and greenways. The fun continues indoors. With a live theatre scene second only to New York City.

New York City, Minneapolis' performance spaces play to packed houses even on winter's coldest days. Thirty-five noteworthy museums attract visitors interested in the arts, sciences and history. The city's unique network of covered skyways connects many downtown buildings, making it possible for pedestrians to travel all over Downtown without experiencing inclement weather. Billed as the "oldest and coldest celebration in the nation," the legendary Winter Carnival in neighboring St. Paul features an ice carving competition and a magnificent, full-scale ice palace that attracts visitors from all over the country.

Visitors find it easy to get around Minneapolis with ample transportation services available including buses, taxis, Light Rail and shuttles. Taxi fares are metered at a rate of $1.90 per mile with the addition of a $2.75 trip fee. Taxi fares from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to Downtown Minneapolis (approximately 16 miles one-way) range from $34-$40.

About Minneapolis, MN / Additional Info

The largest city in Minnesota, cosmopolitan Minneapolis lies on both banks of the Mississippi River, just north of the river's confluence with the Minnesota River. Its neighbor, St. Paul, is the state capital. Together the cities are known as the "Twin Cities" and form the core of the fifteenth largest metropolitan area in the United States, with a population of 3.5 million and myriad Minneapolis event venues.

The Minneapolis skyline is dominated by three, architecturally distinctive skyscrapers: 57-floor, Art-Deco-style Wells Fargo Center, 56-floor 225 South 6th Building and the 55-floor IDS tower. The IDS tower was featured in the opening sequence of the much-loved Mary Tyler Moore Show, a 1970s sitcom.

Located next to St. Anthony Falls, the only waterfall on the 2,320-mile Mississippi River, Minneapolis harnessed the falls' hydropower and became the "Flour Milling Capital of the World" from 1880-1930 and the birthplace of global giants, General Mills and Pillsbury. Visitors can experience this unique heritage at Mill City Museum, housed in the historic Washburn A Mill.

Minneapolis is known worldwide for its highly educated population and thriving cultural scene that rivals much larger cities. Its vibrant theatre community, with 100 performance groups, is second only to New York City, per capita. It features historic performance spaces, such as the Orpheum Theatre, where audiences enjoy Broadway productions, dance groups and big-name concerts throughout the year such as the smash-hit musical, "Jersey Boys," the hypnotic footwork of "Lord of the Dance" and the side-splitting parody of "Monty Python's Spamalot." Regional theatre was nurtured here, and the Tony Award-winning Guthrie Theatre is one of its superstars.

Minneapolis is home to 37 museums; many of which are noteworthy for their distinguished collections. Minneapolis Institute of Arts is known for its encyclopedic, international collection spanning 5,000 years from ancient Egyptian Art to works by the masters of the Italian Renaissance and the French Impressionists to the contemporary sculptures of Henry Moore.

Walker Art Center focuses on contemporary visual and performing arts exhibits. Its impressive collection includes well-known names like Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and Frida Kahlo. With a recent expansion, Walker Art Center recently doubled its facilities to include more galleries and outdoor space. Adjacent to the museum is the renowned Minneapolis Sculpture Garden which showcases large-scale works by Henry Moore, George Segal, Ellsworth Kelly and other acclaimed sculptors.

Minneapolis is the primary business center between Chicago and Seattle. Five Fortune 500 companies are headquartered here: Target Corporation, U.S. Bancorp, Xcel Energy, Ameriprise Financial and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Fortune 1000 companies include PepsiAmericas, Valspar Corporation and Donaldson Company.

 
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