My family wanted to do a tour so we did- I was surprised at how many people were on this tour-…read moreplace was packed. Really interesting to learn the history of the site, kind of a whole twist and turn of story that is unexpected. There are actors who provide the tour. If you are someone who likes history, this would be great for you!

Very awesome tour, Led by Mary/Rosie the Riveted. What a fun night! Loved the outside views and old…read morecars. They decorated the entire place. The tour was an hour long and very story focused which was so fun. Hot tip: Very dark so watch your step or bring small flashlight. I tripped a few times. So be careful! Hot tip: beautiful view of St. Paul capitol nearby! Hot tip: go to Cosettas for dinner after!

This tour is a wonderful way to learn about St Paul. Andy was an exceptional tour guide and took…read morecare of us on both the segways and with a bunch of fascinating information about the area. Highly recommend for locals and visitors alike!

Awesome trip! It really helps me get my bearings in an unfamiliar city when I can find a tour…read morethat covers some ground AND provides some local history. Our guide Jim did a great job sharing the history of the twin cities. This area is ideal for a Segway tour since there are bike paths and parks everywhere. Segways are NOT difficult to master and I recommend this tour as the best way to acquaint yourself with MSP!

I've done a few state capitol building tours in my day, and have seen the outside of several more,…read moreand this is hands down the biggest and most beautiful I have ever seen. My sister, son and I came in the middle of the day on a Wednesday in August. You don't need to sign up; anyone can wander in and go on a tour that they have scheduled throughout the day. It's even free, though they of course gladly accept donations. Being from NJ, I was struck by the midwestern friendliness of everyone in the building. Nearly everyone engaged me in friendly conversation the whole time. The tour was 45 minutes and was incredibly interesting. Learned all sorts of facts about the building and Minnesota in general. We were the first tour to be able to go on the roof in three months as they had just finished up renovations. If you're not on a tour, you're allowed to just wander the building at your own pace. Definitely a must see for those interested in history and architecture!

What a beautiful State Capitol! So rich in art, sculptures, history & knowledge! Amazing! It was…read morerecently renovated & they had many insight & antidote of the before & after. Really a beautiful property to tour if in town.

The Governor's Residence is open for tours on scattered days in the summer and a few days in…read moreDecember. You are allowed to tour the public areas: gardens, main floor and basement. The home was donated by the Irvine family and is a great example of Tudor architecture. The library was one of my favorite rooms. Surprisingly it is small, but it fits with the MN tradition of normalcy. Photos are encouraged. You must make an advance reservation and ID is required to check-in. There is free street parking available.

As soon as I found out that the Minnesota Governor's Residence was open for tour, I signed up. I'm…read morealways up for some touring in Saint Paul so this was a must, especially since I've done the State capitol tour and some state departments already. I thought this was pretty cool, you get to learn about certain areas of the house and it's history.

My wife and I hit a new pub in St. Paul called the Blue Door before touring this cool old Victorian…read morehouse of one of the first governors of Minnesota. We had some awesome burgers and beer before our free tour the Historical Museum was giving of its properties this weekend. We entered the house feeling full and happy from a couple of Surly Furious pints and signed up for our tour. We entered the house with a great guide dressed in a top hat and suit of the 1800's when Ramsey would have lived in the house. The house was one of the few in old time Minnesota with gas lighting and running water. There was a bathtub and even an indoor water closet. It was interesting that there were chamber pots around the house because women did not like to remove all the bussels and stuff. They showed the bells and talking tubes for the servants to be called upon. They showed the kitchen and offered baked cookies from the oven. The children's' rooms were well adorned and Ramsey had a play room for the children up in the attic along with the servants' rooms. The whole layout was perfect, great character actors as guides and pretend servants. Even though they had a lot of people taking the tour, they kept it well run and you quickly became envious of such a large, cool house. Highly recommended for a crummy day outside when you're looking for something to do. Hey, and it's educational!

I had a bizarre experience here today. I walked into the Gift Shop and hung out looking at stuff…read morefor 20 minutes while people were talking in the back. I wanted to pay admission and walk around the house. Finally, I peeked in the back and some lady said, "are you Dustin?" Huh? When she saw I was just a member of the public she hurriedly hustled me out the door and told me they were closed for staff interviews and did I not see the sign, etc. I did see a small, handwritten sign on a dry erase board, but I was confused about why the gift shop would be wide open, lights on and merchandise unattended if the entire place was closed down. All the sign said was that there were no tours, not that the entire building was closed. I thought it was possible to take a self-guided tour even if staff were "busy." Honestly I haven't been to very many historical sites where self-guided tours are forbidden. Basically, the point of this weird experience is that whatever non-profit is running this place is extremely disorganized and unable to communicate something as basic as being closed to the general public, not to mention the fact it can't even secure its premises. It's pretty irresponsible to leave the front door open and an entire gift shop unattended. I could have walked off with half of their stuff and no one would have been the wiser. On her way to rushing me out the door, the lady acted very annoyed and mumbled something about what they can't do because of budget cuts, even as she was discouraging me from making a purchase from their gift store. To me, this illustrates exactly why non-profits are in dire straights. They want charitable donations from everyone even while turning down opportunities to become more self sufficient. A similar thing happened a week or so ago when I attended an evening lecture on 19th century spiritualism with a friend at the Ramsey House. We arrived late and didn't have the chance to pay for our tickets until it was over. I had to ask three people how and where to pay. No one made any effort to bother us for money, and had I not been extremely proactive, it would have been free for my friend and I, but not for the taxpayers. This is ridiculous, and perfectly illustrates why non-profits do not deserve financial support. This place can't even manage to collect money from people attending an event. It isn't like we slipped in quietly or secretly either. To many organizations, "non-profit" doesn't simply mean they don't make any money, but that they actively throw it away.

Today the James J. Hill house was the starting point for the Summit Avenue Walking Tour by the…read moreMinnesota Historical Society. Thoroughly informative and enjoyable. Josef was knowledgeable and a charming storyteller. The tour lasts 90 minutes and covers 1.5 miles of walking. One of the highlights was seeing the park where F. Scott Fitzgerald grew up playing baseball and the Commodore Hotel behind it where he and Zelda were often socializing. We saw multiple Victorian era architectural styles including Queen Anne, Romanesque, and Tudor Revival. Lots of historical stories, an enjoyable walk, highly recommend!

Very cute historical house. The tour was really informative and you got to see parts of the house…read morethat you can't see by walking through yourself. The kitchen and boiler room were especially cool to see.

We did the Candlelight Ghost Tour and had such a great time! Our guide was so fun! We started at…read morethe Pillsbury Club which is in the gorgeous Pillsbury Mansion across the park from the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The wood work inside is beautiful! At the appointed time we loaded our trolley where we got our "ghost glasses" and our candles and away we went. We were entertained with stories of the old mansions and landmark around downtown Minneapolis. We got off the trolley at a couple of stops to see some of the haunted places and hear the stories. It was a chilly night but the trolley was warm and they also provided blankets to keep toasty. I will be going back for some of their other tours. If you are new to the area, want to do something different for a date night or just want to learn some fun history about Minneapolis, I recommend this tour. It was so fun!

We did the afternoon tour. Our wonderful guide (son of the owner) was cheery, friendly,…read moreaccommodating, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and charming!! He pointed out so many hidden gems that the reviewers didn't mention!! My husband and I loved the mansions, the huge trees, the myriad parks, and the Pillsbury mansion.

This was so disappointing. From the website and other reviews, it looks like the tour is supposed…read moreto take you inside buildings, feature interestingly dressed guides who get into character, are accompanied by a Medium, etc. We had none of that. Our tour just walked us up and down a stretch of Main Street by Stone Arch Bridge. We stayed outside the whole time (no creepy basements like we'd been promised) and didn't even make it over to the Mill Ruins on the other side of the river. The ghost hunting equipment was extremely chintzy, but that didn't bother me as much as just the way the tour felt surfacey and low-effort. The stories told were interesting, but there weren't that many of them and they were not very detailed or in-depth. Some tours I've been on, including a ghost tour, included 2-3x as many stories and facts, and they were also a lot more detailed. Our guide was very nice, fun, and did tell some interesting morbid history about NE Minneapolis, and I don't intend this review to reflect on them so I am not using their name. I'm sure they were just doing what the company tells them to do; the problem is with the company's design of the tour. Overall this tour was not worth the time or money, at least not the experience we were given.

My husband and I always do a ghost tour of some sort in each town we are in. We have been on many…read moretours in different cities. The first thing that upset me about this was it was scheduled for 8pm. We arrived at 7:30 and they weren't even open. At 8pm they opened the door only to explain they had left me a message that the tour would be at 9pm instead of 8pm. I never received that message! So we find ourselves with an hour to kill until the tour starts. I don't think Mike and I ever really determined why it was haunted as there are only 2 true large areas to visit inside. We compared notes later and neither seemed to remember why. I have no doubt there is something there, being believers, but needed more history explained, and of course for them to have contacted me directly when the time changed.

My wife and I visited the Museum of Illusions at the Mall of America and had a pretty fun time!…read moreIt's definitely one of those places where your camera is your best friend--there are tons of cool photo ops and optical illusions that will make you laugh and scratch your head. Some of the illusions are things you've probably seen online, and my wife got dizzy from a few. We had the entire Museum to ourselves and enjoyed taking our time. Staff was very helpful with camera position recommendations and explanations. That said, I do wish there was a bit more to do. The space isn't very big, and it took less than an hour to go through everything. For the price, I expected a few more interactive elements or unique illusions. Overall, I'd recommend it if you're already at the Mall of America and want to do something a little different--especially with friends or family. It's a good spot to laugh, take creative pictures, and see some reality-bending visuals. Just go in knowing it's a short experience and maybe plan something else afterward to make the most of your day!

It's not a huge space, and you can get through it fairly quickly if it's not too crowded. If little…read morebusy, you may have to wait your turn for certain exhibits or to get your photos. Also, while it's cool, the price point might feel a bit high for the length of the visit. Overall, it's a unique stop if you're at MOA and looking for something different and interactive. Great for families, quick entertainment, and fun photo ops for insta influencers or grandmas looking to be hip - just go in knowing it's more of a short experience than a half-day outing. Big shout out to Kimberly. A very kind staff member for helping to understand displays and take pictures.

A must do if you're visiting or as a local as well! For under $25 each you can see d time on the…read moreMississippi and the surrounding banks , hearing how it started and grew into the twin cities. Highly recommend and maybe do a couple of times a summer .

Fun, no frills cruise down the Mississippi and back. Informative pre-recorded narration, but very…read morehard to hear from the back upper deck. Especially when there is a group of women talking loudly non-stop. LOL! A very good value and something different to do in the city. No outside food or beverages are allowed, but they do have snacks and sodas available. This would be even more fun in the fall when the leaves are at peak color.