For visitors who will be accompanying Conference delegates, ICMIF has arranged an interesting range of sightseeing tours and events. When events take place over lunchtime, a lunch will be provided. Details of the accompanying persons’ tours on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 October 2015 can be found below.

Also listed are the details of the organized group tours which are open to all delegates and their accompanying persons. These will take place on Saturday 10 October 2015. Pick up point for all the tours will be the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis hotel.

Wednesday 7 October 2015
Accompanying persons’ tour
Lake Minnetonka Yacht Cruise
(including lunch)

This tour will explore the area of Lake Minnetonka which is made up of a series of lakes and bays with 150 miles of lush green shoreline featuring a dazzling array of magnificent estates, beaches, parks and quaint towns. The bays, once separate little lakes, are now connected by channels. In the 1880s, Lake Minnetonka was one of the most popular resort areas in the country and was the choice location for summer homes of the area’s wealthy citizens and later many of these citizens constructed year-round mansions on its shores. Today, Lake Minnetonka serves as a centre for recreational activities and water sports and is also known as the birthplace of Tonka Toys and Minnetonka Moccasins. The leisurely two hour lunch cruise aboard a custom built, 64 foot luxury yacht will showcase this beautiful lake, the largest body of water in the Twin Cities area. In the afternoon, there will be an opportunity to explore the shops of the town Excelsior, nestled on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. The atmosphere of this one-square-mile-area with a population of only 2, 397 is relaxed with a unique blend of old and new including antique shops and a variety of speciality shops and restaurants. 

Thursday 8 October 2015
Accompanying persons’ tour
Twin Cities Highlights/Mall of America
(including lunch)

This tour will experience a sample of what makes the Twin Cities so special including highlights of the downtown districts of Minneapolis, Saint Paul and the surrounding areas. Minneapolis is filled with exciting attractions, recreation and entertainment that is unsurpassed in the Midwest. One of the main features of the tour will be the Minneapolis skyline, an ever changing scene of contemporary skyscrapers in a dazzling variety of colours, shapes and sizes. Other highlights include the famous Nicollet Mall; Skyway network; Theatre District; Minneapolis Sculpture Garden; Guthrie Theatre; Milwaukee Train Depot; Orchestra Hall; the television home of Mary Tyler Moor; and St Anthony Falls, known as the birthplace of Minneapolis. A short stop will be made at Minnehaha Falls to see Minnesota’s oldest tourist attraction where the 22 mile Minnehaha Creek, which flows from Lake Minnetonka through the western suburbs of Minneapolis and into the city, dives over the falls and into the Mississippi River. The 53 foot Falls have been immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “Song of Hiawatha” and are visited by thousands of tourists and locals every year. 

The tour will then continue with a visit to Saint Paul, Minnesota’s charming historic capital city featuring magnificent Art Deco and Victorian reminders of the past which sit next to sleek skyscrapers, giving this capital city an old world charm. Highlights will include visits to Rice Park; Ordway Centre for the Performing Arts; Landmark Centre; Children’s Museum; Mickey’s Diner; The Fitzgerald Theatre; Minnesota History Centre; and the Minnesota State Capitol, considered the second most beautiful capitol building in the United States after Utah. Also included will be a tour of the magnificent Cathedral of Saint Paul, the fourth largest cathedral in the United States with seating for 3,000 people. Built in the Classical Renaissance style of architecture, the Cathedral dome is modelled on St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. 

This will be followed by a drive along Summit Avenue, one of the longest stretches of virtually uninterrupted Victorian architecture in the United States featuring spectacular houses, churches, synagogues and schools. Streets like Summit Avenue with architectural curiosities and landmarks were not uncommon in the 19th century but in most American cities, these thoroughfares have completely lost their character to progress, except in Saint Paul. Famous homes to note in this avenue are the James J Hill House, the home of F Scott Fitzgerald and the Governor’s Mansion. 

Following the city tours, will be an opportunity to shop (tax-free) at the renowned Mall of America for two hours of shopping time. Designed as city within a city, the nation’s premier shopping and entertainment district has over 4.2 million square feet of space and 4.3 miles of storefront footage. Mall of America consists of four avenues placed in a square around the centrepiece, the Nickelodeon Universe indoor amusement park.