2025-12-15 09:56:09
Chicago travelers and Prince fans, Kristen and Alexis have long held Minneapolis on their music trip bucket list. With a raspberry beret in tow, the couple flew in from Chicago for several days of musical and cultural exploration.
Outside of Graceland, there’s nothing quite like the mythic complex Prince called home for nearly 30 years. Superfans are encouraged to book “The Ultimate Experience” for a three-hour look at rare artifacts, several recording studios, the concert hall where Prince hosted impromptu parties, concerts and more.
AWARD-WINNING MINNEAPOLIS MEALS
On their first day, Kristen and Alexis stopped for a mouthwatering brunch at Diane’s Place, aptly named for Chef Diane Moua, the longtime leader of the pastry program at revered Gavin Kaysen restaurants like Spoon and Stable. The reservation-worthy spot offers everything from croissants made with Thai tea, coconut pandan and tropical fruit to dynamite composed dishes like beef laab carpaccio, sour pork short ribs and house-made Hmong sausage.
A stone’s throw away is James Beard Award-winning Hai Hai, which offers transportive riffs on Southeast Asian recipes like Sri Lankan-style beef rendang, Balinese chicken thighs, Hanoi sticky rice and Malaysian fried shrimp. The restaurant's bold cocktail program features specialty house-made ingredients including rice-washed rum, green “Haitreuse,” lemongrass falernum, cranberry-lychee shrub and tropical black tea syrup.
DELVE INTO DAKOTA HISTORY
Hoċokata Ṫi, a Dakota cultural and history center, sits on the edge of the prairie just south of Minneapolis-St. Paul. There you can immerse yourself in a wide range of revelatory topics, including the creation story that forms the foundational values of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, as well as the trials, tribulations and lingering implications of the US-Dakota War and boarding schools. “It was incredible to see the power of cultural preservation and the interconnectedness of the Minnesota Tribes,” Alexis says after her own walk through the meticulously designed space.
Other stops include Disco Death Records, the world-renowned Walker Art Center, a stroll around one of Minneapolis’ many urban lakes, seeing local music legends at Surly Brewing and a tour of First Avenue — the destination music venue where Prince performed in "Purple Rain," and where musicians all over the world dream to play one day.
“Paisley Park is the one thing I've wanted to do since I was a teenager.”
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