shopping

Can anyone tell me the sales tax on clothes etc and what%26#39;s it like for shopping in December. D you need a car to get around.

shopping

Minnesota doesnt have a sales tax on clothes.

It depends where you%26#39;re shopping and staying whether you need a car. Where are you thinking?

shopping

I%26#39;m not sure yet, would normanlly go for somewhere accessiable to shops and entertainment. Can you suggest an area.

the big shopping areas in the list below that I%26#39;d take out of town guests --

If you stay by the Mall of America (very near airport), you could get by with out a car and just taxi, or just rent a car for one or two of your days here.

You can take the light rail from Mall of America to downtown (passing thru airport).

minnesotamonthly.com/media/…

Mall of America %26amp; France Avenue in Edina (Southdale %26amp; Galleria areas)

SHOPPING DISTRICTS

BLOOMINGTON— Home to the Mall of America, the largest enclosed retail and family entertainment complex in the nation, as well as several stores and strip malls located along the Highway 494 corridor (E3-4)(Bloomington Strip). www.bloomingtonmn.org

DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS—Home to Nicollet Mall, a mostly pedestrian avenue lined with stores, restaurants and shopping malls, including City Center (J12-13)(DT Mpls) and Gaviidae Common (J13)(DT Mpls). Department stores include Macy’s, Target and Neiman Marcus, all connected by weatherproof skyways. www.downtownmpls.com

EDINA—Home to Southdale Center, the nation’s first enclosed shopping mall, and The Galleria, an upscale shopping complex with designer clothing stores, art galleries, gift shops and restaurants. The intersection of 50th and France also features boutiques, galleries and restaurants (50th %26amp; France). www.edinachamber.com

GRAND AVENUE—About one mile south of I-94, Grand Ave. is a popular shopping and dining destination anchored by three historic brick malls at the corner of Grand Avenue and Victoria Street. Shopping and dining establishments line the avenue from Dale St. to Fairview Pkwy. (C4-5)(Grand Ave.). www.grandave.com

STILLWATER—A great place to go antiquing, Stillwater is located approximately 30 minutes east of the Twin Cities on the St. Croix River. Main Street is lined with boutiques, antique shops and restaurants. Take I-94 east or 35E north to 36 east and follow the signs. www.ilovestillwater.com

UPTOWN—Unique shops and restaurants cluster around Calhoun Square at the intersection of Hennepin Ave. S. and W. Lake St. in the middle of this hip neighborhood (C3)(Uptown). www.uptownminneapolis.com

as for entertainment... downtown Minneapolis is probably your best bet.

lots of bars, clubs, %26amp; restaurants - all within walking distance.

Here%26#39;s one map to help get your bearings - it should have the restuarants listed in red/pink.

downtownmpls.com/images/…DowntownMpls-map.pdf

Thanks for the feedback, it%26#39;s been very informative.

By the way....one of the reasons for the large enclosed shopping malls around here is the weather. Although the past several years have had warmer than average Decembers there is no gauranty this will be the case every year. It can be very cold in December (-20C or lower easily), especially late in the month, and often with considerable snow. So to add to the challenge of driving on the other side of the road it will often be on slippery or snow covered roads...at least for a few hours after a snowfall.

As suggested staying near the Mall of America not only affords indoor shopping at one of the largest malls in the world (and soon to get larger) but also has a light rail stop right there that goes to downtown Minneapolis. But prepare to dress warm with gloves and head covering because strong winds that time of year drive the windchill factor far below zero (C or F!) and the tall buildings create an added wind tunnel effect. Thank goodness downtown Minneapolis has the largest indoor walkway system of skyways in the world - reaching virtually every building without going outside except to catch the light rail trains.

Should add too staying downtown and reversing situation by taking train to MOA also works well.

Minneapolis is a shopper%26#39;s paradise! Just returned from a 4 day trip. We stayed at a lovely hotel near the Mall of America, and IKea. Only about 1 1/2 mins drive. We could easily have left the car parked and used the hotel shuttle and light rail. However we like to explore different neighborhoods so the car served us well. Had not been to the twin cities in a few years and it has sure grown! Very happy to have our TomTom GPS device guiding us through all the turns with the sound of a voice. Yikes. Probably would have gotten lost without it on the freeways with all the 35W construction...Tunnel closure for maintenance etc.

We had a blast!

P.S. Minnesota is COLD in December as a rule.

We have almost every retail concept known to man.

Thanks for the all the info,it%26#39;s helped alot. Will now look at flights.