Welcome to Minneapolis and St. Paul
Situated only 13 miles from the airport, Minneapolis - along with St. Paul - is regarded as Midwest's cultural capital. The cities have tax-free shopping, world-class theater and top-tier attractions. There are about 392,000 residents living in Minneapolis and 290,000 in St. Paul, known for their optimistic, friendly attitude and earning the state its reputation of "Minnesota nice." The winters, on the other hand, are a bit less welcoming, with long, snowy months that lead to humid summers. Travelers should expect average temperatures of the low teens in the winter and highs in the 80s in the summer.
Minneapolis is also a giant business center, home to the headquarters of 16 of the Fortune 500 largest U.S. companies, 30 Fortune 1000 companies and several of the world's largest private companies. For this reason, the city is a meeting place for many business travelers.
To get around the city, visitors can take advantage of the light rail transit, which travels from both airport terminals at MSP to 17 other destinations, including downtown Minneapolis to the north and Mall of America to the south. The train runs every 10 minutes during peak hours and generally 10 to 15 minutes during other times of the day. Travelers can arrive in the world-famous Mall of America in about 12 minutes and the commercial neighborhood called the Warehouse District in downtown Minneapolis in about 25 minutes.