Where to Stay in Minneapolis (2026)

Top tips for Minneapolis

The Quick Answer

• The best neighbourhoods for a city break: Downtown, North Loop, Whittier & Loring Park & Uptown, Brewery & Arts District
• The best neighbourhoods for families: Downtown, Lowry Hill, Linden Hills

Table of Contents

Called “the city of lakes”, Minneapolis also has more than its fair share of gorgeous green spaces, bike paths and walking trails, world-class museums and galleries, artistic hubs, and some fantastic places to eat and drink. It is also known for being friendly and being situated on the Mississippi River. 

A Visitor’s Guide to the Neighbourhoods of Minneapolis

Map via Google Maps

As the largest city on the prairies, Minneapolis has a wide range of accommodation styles. It's the sort of city with distinct neighbourhoods, so here’s a quick rundown: Downtown is a great neighbourhood for history and architecture, and for being in the heart of everything, close to the Mississippi and the Stone Arch Bridge crossing it too. North Loop is the cool conversion of the old Warehouse District, now a great place to eat, drink and be merry. The Arts District is known for its studios and galleries, but is also a great neighbourhood for craft breweries and trendy pubs and bars. Whittier is great for foodies, and Loring Park and Uptown are ideal for art lovers. While Linden Hills is the place to stay for access to the lakes.  While not technically a neighbourhood of Minneapolis, Bloomington might be of interest to you, because this it where you’ll find the Mall of America — the largest mall in America… It’s also close to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport.  Minneapolis isn’t easy to see without wheels, but if you’re not planning to travel too far, you can get away with a bike rather than hiring a car. Paisley Park (Prince’s home) is about half an hour's drive, and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is just a little less.  

Downtown

As well as being the central business district and home to many of Minneapolis’s main landmarks, the Downtown neighbourhood is a great area for history and architecture lovers. The Mississippi is a significant local landmark, but it’s a historic one too, the stretch of river passing through Downtown Minneapolis is where several of the local mills were. Downtown also has City Hall, the Central Library and the Skyway — a heated walkway connecting restaurants and shops and hotels over about 80 blocks of Downtown (this is particularly useful if you’re visiting during winter). The Hennepin Theatre District is where you’ll find more general entertainment venues as well as theatres, including the Orchestra Hall, and the Target Centre concert hall.  

North Loop

Around the early 1800s, North Loop was a neighbourhood of old warehouses and factories (and is sometimes referred to as the Warehouse District). But that landscape of six to eight-storey industrial buildings has been converted into something super cool: restaurants (including some of Minneapolis' most talked-about) and bars, venues and galleries, shops, and luxury loft apartments. Most of the warehouses are built in Chicago Commercial style, but there are some fancier architectural sights too. This is a great place for nightlife and has everything from low-key craft beer breweries to glamorous cocktail bars. North Loop is where you’ll find Target Field, home to the Minnesota Twins, the Acme Comedy Club, the Luminary Arts Centre, the Kickernick gallery, and the trendy music venue Berlin. 

Lowry Hill

Lowry Hill is just to the west of Downtown, and famous for its beautiful mansions. The Queen Anne, Tudor, Colonial Revival, and Victorian homes that dominate the neighbourhood have been preserved. Lowry Hill is close to Kenwood Park and Thomas Lowry Park, so there is plenty of green space. It's also near the chain of lakes, as well as the Walker Art Centre and Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.  

Whittier & Loring Park & Uptown

Serious foodies might want to base themselves in Whittier, which has a reputation for innovation in international cuisine. It's also known for being densely populated and extremely creative. This is where you’ll find the Minneapolis Institute of Art (which is home to around 90,000 works of art), plus the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and the Children's Theatre Company. Loring Park is another arty choice, with the 11-acre Minneapolis Sculpture Park to recommend it, and the Walker Arts Centre right across the road. Actual Loring Park is another huge green space in this neighbourhood, ringed with cafes and bars. Uptown is another good pick for nightlife. It’s centred around West Lake Street and Hennepin Avenue, which is a bit of an epicentre for dining and nightlife, but Uptown is also close to the Chain of Lakes, the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway and the Midtown Greenway, both cycling, walking and outdoorsy avenues.  

Brewery & Arts District

Image by hmgolds from Pixabay

The Brewery & Arts District is an industrial area turned arty, foodie district. The Arts District doesn’t just have galleries, it’s also known for its studios and festivals. Especially the Art-a-whirl festival, and the open studio events. To get a whole lot of art in one place, visit the Northrup King Building, a hundred-year-old warehouse converted into a complex of 300 studios; these are open on Saturdays and many Thursdays. Or stroll around the neighbourhood and check out the street art. As well as studios and galleries, the Brewery & Arts District neighbourhood has the highest concentration of craft breweries in the city. It’s home to the larger breweries too, those that started the craft brewing trend, like the Indeed Brewing Company.

Linden Hills

By Flickr user Fibonacci Blue

Linden Hills is close to two of Minneapolis’s most popular lakes: Lake Harriet, and Bde Maka Ska, plus a number of urban parks. This is a great neighbourhood for families; it's very walkable with unpretentious and friendly shops and restaurants. Plus it's close to the centre of Minneapolis, but quieter and greener. It started growing in the 1800s, when the Streetcar line spread into the neighbourhood of summer cottages. Even after all this time, Linden Hills still feels like a village within a city.