Though St. Paul is the smaller of the Twin Cities, Minnesota's capital city has a special charm all its own. Visitors and newcomers often remark that the architecture and ambiance of St. Paul is European in character. This is a city of quaint neighborhoods and small-town charm. In no time at all, you'll feel at home in St. Paul. It's a great city to walk around, and if you get lost, a friendly St. Paulite will be glad to point you in the right direction.

Getting There and Getting Around
The Minneapolis/St. Paul International airport is located in suburban Bloomington, just 20 minutes from downtown St. Paul. Nine commercial airlines and several charters offer 1,100 arrivals and departures each day, from 146 American cities and 18 international ones. In addition, St. Paul is served by Greyhound (bus) and Amtrak (train). St. Paul has numerous car rental locations, most at the airport or downtown. The highway system is excellent and easy to navigate. Interstate 94 is a major east-west, coast-to-coast highway; Interstate 35 is a major north-south one. Public transit is excellent; over 900 public buses run throughout the metro area.

Wonderful Como Park
St. Paul has quite a few neighborhood parks (41 neighborhood recreation centers and 10 "picnic" parks with barbecue grills and picnic tables), but the queen of them all is Como Park, home to the Como Zoo, Como Park Conservatory and not one but two pavilions! It's very easy to spend the whole day at Como and still not see everything. Como has a tot lot, four ball fields, four tennis courts, a wading pool and swimming pool, an 18-hole golf course, amusement rides for children, bicycle and paddleboat rentals, miniature golf and a fishing pier with excellent bass fishing.

The Japanese Garden has a waterfall and Japanese garden art. Next to the garden is the traditional Japanese teahouse (available by reservation only). The garden design was a gift from Nagasaki, St. Paul's sister city.

Adjacent to the Japanese Garden is the Conservatory – a popular site for weddings – complete with palm trees, orchids, a sunken garden and bonsai room. The Conservatory hosts a number of seasonal flower shows and features a glass dome with a 64-foot palm tree.

If you have children, the Como Zoo is a don't-miss part of your visit to Como Park. This free zoo is open 365 days a year (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the summer, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the winter). The zoo features a variety of animals, including several endangered species: Galapagos Tortoise, Snow Leopard, Sable Antelope, Black-Footed Penguin, Ring-Tailed Lemur, Lowland Gorilla, Siberian Tiger, Orangutan, Grevy's Zebra and Eastern Timber Wolf.

The Great Minnesota Get-together
"The Great Minnesota Get-together" is what Minnesotans call the Minnesota State Fair. The fair is held yearly for 12 days, beginning in August and ending on Labor Day, on the 360-acre permanent fair grounds in St. Paul. If you are in the Twin Cities during the time when the fair is running, you owe it to yourself to spend a day at the fair, which is one of the nation's largest, attracting 1.6 million people each year. Most fairgoers admit they come for the food (everything you can imagine is on a stick, including deep fried alligator!), but there's also major-league entertainment at the grandstand, free entertainment, crafts, animals of both the farm and pet variety, amusement rides, agricultural exhibits and more. Where else can you eat walleye on a stick, sit on the newest John Deere tractor, listen to a barbershop quartet, ride a roller coaster, watch a cooking demonstration, see award-winning flowers, watch a stock car race and catch Christina Aguilera in concert?

Although the food – plentiful, varied and ever present – is a huge draw, the people-watching is not to be missed. A day at the fair is fun for visitors of all ages.

Shopping
Downtown St. Paul includes Minnesota's favorite department store, the hometown Dayton's, as well as some green space. Town Square features shops, restaurants and an indoor park. Another must-see is the 52-foot fountain in the World Trade Center (50 plus stores, plus restaurants and a food court).

Just two miles from downtown is the popular retail and residential area of Grand Avenue. Grand Avenue's shops, both trendy and quaint, are a great way to while away an afternoon! Grand Avenue has bookstores (including the Red Balloon children's bookstore), art galleries, import shops, trendy boutiques and more. A visit to Grand Avenue is not complete without a stop at Caffe Latte, a cafeteria-style restaurant known for its sumptuous desserts (the turtle cake is legendary!). If you're there at lunch or dinnertime, try one of the salad samplers or a bowl of fresh soup – but be sure to save room for desserts! If you can't decide which to sample, you can always order an extra dessert to take out. You won't be the first!

Museums
Three of St. Paul's museums are real standouts. The Minnesota History Center is more than a beautiful building -- and it's not stuffy in the least. Where else could you view both clothing worn by Prince in the movie Purple Rain and an interactive exhibit about life in the territory of Minnesota before it became a state? Some of the other exciting things happening at the History Center are the "Artifacts of the Century" – objects that museum staff thought best represented the 20th century, and nine free summer music concerts. You'll want to browse the two museum shops, which contain a variety of Minnesota books and gifts. And be sure to grab a bite at the Minnesota Café – the wonderful menu offers many savory specialties, but be sure to try the Wild Rice Soup, made with Minnesota Lake Rice.

The Science Museum of Minnesota offers a unique assortment of state-of-the-art technology, high-tech entertainment and an incredible collection of billion-year-old fossils and artifacts. Many of the exhibits are interactive, and the Omnitheater (part of the Science Museum) offers a 3-D laser show.

The Minnesota Children's Museum bills itself as "where fun meets learning," and it's fun for kids of all ages (this includes the grown-up variety!). Along with a variety of traveling exhibits, the permanent displays include Earth World, where children (and adults, too!) can crawl though a giant anthill, meet live turtles and create a thunderstorm with movable clouds. If your children are babies or toddlers, they'll love the Habitot Gallery, which caters to children 6 months to 4 years; they can make their way, whether they're walking or crawling, through four different Minnesota habitats (bluff caves, forest, prairie and pond) created just for kids their age.

Restaurants and Entertainment
The Dakota Restaurant offers an irresistible combination of great jazz (both international and local musicians) and great food – what they call "Nouveau Midwestern fare that is light, fresh, flavorful" and jazz great Herbie Hancock calls "Incredible food." Especially noteworthy are the Minnesota Brie and Apple Soup and the Grilled Star Prairie Rainbow Trout. After you've finished dinner, enjoy the best jazz the Twin Cities has to offer.

W.A. Frost & Company is a beautifully restored (lots of wood and brick) restaurant on Cathedral Hill, complete with marble-topped tables and tin ceilings. The atmosphere boasts three wood-burning fireplaces in winter, and in the summer, a spacious patio with garden. This award-winning restaurant is known for its excellent and extensive wine list.

Forepaugh's serves elegant French food in an elegantly restored 130-year-old Victorian mansion. Open for brunch, lunch and dinner, Forepaugh's is surprisingly reasonably priced and crops up often on Twin Cities' "Best Restaurant" lists. The atmosphere is romantic and decidedly special.

Plan in advance to reserve your tickets for the live taping of Minnesota Public Radio's hugely popular syndicated Prairie Home Companion. Taped at the historic Fitzgerald Theater (named after St. Paul boy F. Scott Fitzgerald), Garrison Keillor's folksy, down-home show gone big-time is one of the most entertaining ways to spend a Saturday night in St. Paul – or anywhere.

Sports
Though most of the major sports teams are based across the river in Minneapolis, the St. Paul Saints, an independent minor-league baseball team, provides entertainment for the baseball fan and family alike, at a reasonable price. The Saints play outdoors, in the open-air Midway stadium, and their between-the-inning entertainment is as much fun as the game itself. Where else could you see a pig named Babe carry balls to the umpire? It's good clean fun, from the tailgating in the parking lot to the nun (yes, a real nun) giving therapeutic massage in the stands. And St. Paul is also the home of the Minnesota Wild NHL expansion hockey team.

Despite its smaller size, St. Paul doesn't take a back seat to its fraternal twin across the Mississippi when it comes to entertainment, recreation and fun for the whole family. The pace may be a little slower, but the ride is just as exciting. And the natives are very friendly – why not find out for yourself?

Photos courtesy of the Saint Paul Convention and Visitors Bureau.

• Read Part One of our series on the Twin Cities: Magical Minneapolis
• Read about Windy's trip to Minnesota in her travel journal!
• Are We There Yet? Games to Keep Kids Occupied
• Packing 101: Suitcase Savvy for Families on the Go
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