Saint Paul

About Saint Paul

Saint Paul is the capital of Minnesota and the smaller, older half of the Twin Cities, set on high bluffs above a sweeping bend of the Mississippi River. Dakota people have long considered the area sacred, and their burial mounds still overlook the river at Indian Mounds Regional Park. The settlement began in the 1840s around a log chapel dedicated to Saint Paul, and as the head of navigation on the Mississippi it grew into a busy river port and railroad hub, home of empire builder James J. Hill.

Today Saint Paul has about 300,000 residents and a gracious, historic character that sets it apart from its bustling twin, Minneapolis. The Minnesota State Capitol, designed by Cass Gilbert with one of the largest self-supported marble domes in the world, and the massive Cathedral of Saint Paul crown its hills. Summit Avenue is lined with the best-preserved stretch of Victorian mansions in the country, including the James J. Hill House and F. Scott Fitzgerald's boyhood neighborhood, and Rice Park downtown is surrounded by the Landmark Center, the Ordway and the elegant Saint Paul Hotel.

Families and visitors find plenty to enjoy. Como Park is home to the free Como Park Zoo and the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory with its glass Victorian palm dome, the Minnesota History Center and Science Museum of Minnesota are excellent museums, and the Saint Paul Winter Carnival, held since 1886, brings ice sculptures and parades to the coldest weeks of the year. Hockey fans fill the Xcel Energy Center for the Minnesota Wild, and the Mississippi riverfront offers trails, paddleboat cruises and views from the bluffs.