Weekend Travel

The Five-Point Weekend Escape Plan

Admire Architecture in Minneapolis

The Little Apple is looking more like the real thing, thanks to a revitalized art scene and jaw-dropping buildings by star architects Frank Gehry, Jacques Herzog, and Pierre de Meuron.

By Rosemary Dunne
Published Oct 11, 2006

1. Where to Stay

Graves 601 is connected by above-ground walkways to Minneapolis' shopping and business district.

(Photo: Courtesy of Graves 601 Hotel )

Design-minded travelers stay at Graves 601 Hotel (from $209), a sleek lodge that doesn't skimp on the extras: Hermès soap, rain showers, and 42-inch plasma TVs are in every room.

Contemporary-art lovers book the David Rockwell–designed Chambers hotel, which opened September 10 (from $450). Sleep among more than 130 original works, including pieces by Damien Hirst, Rachel Whiteread, and Maurizio Cattelan. Jean-Georges Vongerichten makes art in the Chambers Kitchen; you can watch through a glass wall in the dining room.

More established in the heart of downtown is the Grand Hotel (from $319), which was built in 1921 for the Minneapolis Athletic Club. Guests can bike, box, swim, run, or full-court press. The more sedate can settle for a rubdown in the LifeSpa or a drink at the Grand Finale bar.

The Marquette Hotel (from $329) won't make architecture fans marvel, but the all-glass structure is a window on the city's accelerating landscape, especially the view from the 50th-floor event space Windows on Minnesota.