Life in the Twin Cities
"... Minneapolis of the sweet-sounding name, with its sequence of arachnean syllables, half-Greek, half-Cheyenne, conjuring up a radiant geometry, on the edge of a frozen expanse, on the horizon of the inhabited world... "
Thus did French sociologist Jean Baudrillard describe Minneapolis in his hallucinatory travel journal, L'Amérique. Had the Twin Cities not been a brief stop-over, symbolically between Athens and New York, Baudrillard would have discovered that, far from being the margin of a "frozen expanse," the Twin Cities form one of the few urban areas in the United States to have incorporated and preserved in public spaces so much natural beauty. Within the two city limits are two rivers and over ten large lakes with beaches for swimming, sailing, and canoeing. Bike trails, walking paths, ski trails, and an extensive parkway system make outdoor activity accessible and pleasant. The greater metropolitan area also offers golf, downhill skiing facilities, two zoos, the University's Landscape Arboretum and camping facilities in state and county parks. And there is a wealth of cultural resources that can be explored via the links below.
University of Minnesota
Official University Internet Welcome Kit
Map to Folwell Hall
Campus bus system
Campus tunnel system
University Bookstores
Council of Graduate Students (COGS)
Graduate Student Survival Guide
Housing information
University Housing has information about on-campus housing and limited information on off-campus housing at their website. Several non-University sites offer more information about housing options in the Twin Cities. The Department of French and Italian does not endorse any of the links below.
The Star Tribune has a special section for renters. It includes articles about what to look for in an apartment and descriptions of Minneapolis and St. Paul neighborhoods. They also publish their own rental classified ads as well as a link to apartments.com.
Apartments.com allows you to search first by area, then by a range of categories including price.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press publishes descriptions of a few Minneapolis and St. Paul neighborhoods in their "Yourtown" section. They also have a link to apartments.com but do not post their own rental classified ads.
The Minnesota Daily publishes classified ads for housing in the neighborhoods surrounding the University.
Minneapolis/St.Paul
General
City of Minneapolis
City of St. Paul
Public Transportation
Twin Cities Weather
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Explore Minnesota
Twin Cities Parks
Media
Star Tribune
Pioneer Press
City Pages
Minnesota Public Radio
Radio K
Minnesota Daily
Museums
Walker Art Center
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Weisman Art Museum
Film, Theatre, and Music
Minnesota Film Arts
Oak Street Cinema
Guthrie Theatre
Theatre de la Jeune Lune
Minnesota Orchestra
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra
Minnesota Opera
First Avenue