While you'll likely get turned around at least once at MOA, this retail heavyweight really isn't that different from other malls—OK, besides the roller coasters zipping through its midsection (at Nickelodeon Universe) and the giant octopus residing beneath it (at the SEA LIFE at Mall of America). All the usual suspects are here. Macy's, Nordstrom and Forever 21 occupy the corners; the store directory runs the gamut from Abercrombie & Fitch to Zales Jewelers.
If you're not much of a mall rat, do some browsing across the Mississippi River. Organic foodstuffs as well as handmade jewelry, crafts and specialty items lure leisurely weekend crowds to the Saint Paul Farmers' Market , a downtown tradition since the mid-1800s. Though satellite markets have sprung up in other locations throughout the Twin Cities, the main event, at 290 E. 5th St. in St. Paul's Lowertown district, takes place Sat. 6-1, Sun. 8-1, late Apr.-late Nov.
Also enticing shoppers to the state capital is Grand Avenue, which extends several miles eastward from the Mississippi River toward downtown St. Paul. Operating in converted Victorian houses, locally owned clothing boutiques, cafés and art galleries dot this part-commercial, part-residential thoroughfare, as do such national chains as J. Crew and Pottery Barn. If you're on a time crunch, zero in on the built-up section between Lexington Avenue and Dale Street. There you'll find tchotchke-happy Bibelot, one of four whimsical showrooms in the metropolitan area.
Just north of Grand Avenue is the Snelling-Selby retail district, the starting point for the St. Paul Retro Loop. The association of five neighboring vintage clothing shops includes Lula , 1587 Selby Ave., and Up Six Vintage , 189 N. Snelling Ave. N. A few blocks west, at Selby Avenue and Fairview Avenue North, the Mall of St. Paul lures pack rats to a two-level treasure trove crammed with antiques.
If you're looking for “a gift you can open again and again,” heed the words of Minnesota Public Radio personality Garrison Keillor and head to his St. Paul store, Common Good Books. Wall-stenciled quotes from such authors as Mark Twain and St. Paul native F. Scott Fitzgerald seemingly champion the cozy reading nooks and never-ending rows of paperbacks and hardbacks occupying this basement-level space at Selby and Western avenues.
Along with a 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday farmers market (held May through November), well-known merchants, restaurants and bars keep Nicollet Mall—the heart of downtown Minneapolis—buzzing morning, noon and night. Reserved for pedestrians, bicyclists, buses and taxis, this 11-block transit mall includes Crystal Court, a small marketplace in the foyer of the IDS Center, Minnesota's tallest building.
Still, the most popular spot on Nicollet Mall is in front of Macy's, where sightseers pose next to a statue honoring “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” The opening sequence of the Emmy-winning series was partially filmed here, although in Mary's tam-tossing days the sign on the Macy's building said Dayton's. While the Minnesota-based department store is no more, residents take some comfort in Dayton's big-box descendant, Target, whose red-and-white trademark is ubiquitously plastered throughout the Twin Cities. See how many bull's-eyes you count outside the retailer's two-level flagship and its corporate headquarters, both of which are on Nicollet.
The surrounding urban neighborhoods offer more shopping opportunities. Across the Mississippi River in the Northeast (aka “the Nordeast”) are eclectic art galleries and crafts dealers—including Rogue Buddha Gallery and Two 12 Pottery —as well as such old-school institutions as Kramarczuk's Sausage Co.
In the Chain of Lakes vicinity, retail districts divert recreationalists away from arresting natural scenery. You'll find plenty of familiar facades (American Apparel, the Apple Store and Urban Outfitters, to name a few) near the upper rim of Lake Calhoun, on and around appropriately named Lagoon Avenue and West Lake Street in Uptown. But keep an eye out for funkier establishments, too. Boho fashion mavens habitually raid the tightly packed racks of Local Motion ; this boutique's stylish storefront displays clothes fashioned by local designers.
A magnet for gallivanting stroller moms and dads, picture-perfect Linden Hills boasts a small but charming business quarter just west of Lake Harriet, with the crossroads of West 43rd and Upton Avenue South sheltering the majority of quaint cafés and specialty shops. Even if you're sans munchkins, peek inside children's bookstore Wild Rumpus ; the longtime purveyor of happily ever afters flaunts an outlandish interior peacefully cohabited by free-roaming felines and fowl.
After picking up some choice gifts in Linden Hills, bona fide fashionistas will want to set a course for the Edina-Minneapolis border. One could easily spend an afternoon sizing up fitting rooms in the 50th & France district, where high-end baubles taunt steadfast window-shoppers. Big-name tenants like Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co. and Williams-Sonoma bring big spenders to Edina's upscale Galleria .
Right next door to the Galleria is Southdale Center , the nation's first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping mall. The trendsetter opened in 1956, and its success spawned other “dales,” including Rosedale Center (opened in 1968 in Roseville) and Ridgedale Center (opened in 1974 in Minnetonka). It is anchored by Macy's and JCPenney.
For discounts on such brands as BCBG Max Azria, Eddie Bauer, Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger, look no further than the Albertville Premium Outlets , 31 miles northwest of downtown Minneapolis off I-94 exit 202. North Branch Outlets , about 45 miles north of downtown Minneapolis at I-35 exit 147 and SR 95, is a small, strip mall-style shopping center with about 35 stores, including Gap and Nike.