Who Will Especially Love This Trip?

Foodies: Restaurants dish innovative cuisine with local ingredients, which has its challenges in winter, to say the least. Parsnips anyone? Don't let that fool you, the Twin Cities is one very serious food town with many establishments gaining national recognition and racking up James Beard nominations. Farmers' markets, many featuring local organic food, dot the summer landscape.

Shoppers: Three words: Mall Of America. Need we say more? Maybe one more thing: no sales tax on clothing. In all seriousness, there are more than 500 stores in the enclosed shopping center, ranging from the everyday department store to luxe boutiques such as Chanel (inside Nordstrom) and Burberry. For more unique shops, head to Uptown Minneapolis or Grand Avenue in St. Paul.

Families: The Twin Cities perennially tops lists as a great place to raise children, which stands to reason there's an abundance of family fun to be enjoyed here. Kids can learn while having fun at the Minnesota Children's Museum and Historic Fort Snelling. Outdoor activities such as walking around Lake Calhoun, Minnehaha Park, and Como Park Zoo are always crowd pleasers.

Architecture Buffs: Just to get you started, there's Frank Gehry's Weisman Art Museum, Michael Graves's new wing at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron's Walker Art Center expansion, and Jean Nouvel's Guthrie Theater. And those are just the modern marvels.