Minneapolis Institute of Arts

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is a medium-sized art museum (though probably large for a city Minneapolis's size or even a metro area the size of the Twin Cities) that you could easily spend a day exploring, provided you don't get museum burn-out. Although there's everything from armor to African money weights to furniture, the highlight is probably the museum's excellent and extensive Asian collection. Some really cool pieces include a 3,000 year old Chinese ceremonial cup shaped like an owl; a gigantic jade mountain scene carving with several poets, who can be seen collating texts and drinking wine; and a complete 1700's-era living room shipped in from China. The museum is completely free, as is parking, so it's undoubtedly an excellent value. The audio guide, while cheap ($4 I think), had rather poor narrations in my opinion, at least compared to the excellent long ones at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A real gem with quite a broad and extensive permanent collection and interesting special exhibits. You won't be able to see it all in a day, but if you concentrate your time on one section, Paintings and Modern Sculpture, say, and perhaps on one special exhibit, you'll have a delightful morning or afternoon. I took a tour of a special exhibit and found the docent pleasant and knowledgeable. The audio tour, highlighting specific works of interest throughout the museum, was also well done and reasonably priced at $4. Interesting fare at the Arts Cafe. And, as many reviewers have already mentioned, the price is right -- it's free!

The exhibits are very diverse and well displayed. I have visited the Art Institute many times, and I find that the exhibits are never stagnant. Because of the museum's diversity, the Institute is a perfect introduction to the person who has yet to discover and explore the fine arts. I observed that there were numerous children groups who were quite, well behaved and yet having fun. I highly recommend the Art Institute to both the casual and experienced art enthusiast.

We really enjoy this museum. We've taken both self guided tours and guided tours. Either way if you love art and history you'll love the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

I really enjoyed the size of the building as-well-as the diversity in the exhibits. There are three floors full of unique exhibits. I really enjoyed the second floor where I was able to walk through full scale replicas of homes of the 1700's. I also enjoyed the numerous paintings of beautiful landscapes.

What has your family been missing? Take the kids and make a day of it , they'll love it! We brought our three children ages 10, 7, and 3. It was a great experience for them.

This is one of the best places to visit in the Twin Cities. Unlike other art museums across the US, the MIA is always free to visit. Of course there are special exhibits going on that you can pay to enter, but there is always so much to see in the permanent collections that it isn't necessary to visit the special exhibits. The MIA is currently expanding, but don't worry, they are still open during the construction. This is also a great place to visit on a low budget.

Although I was more impressed with Chicago's Art Museum, this is also fantastic. Any person that is interested in art will find value and perspective in visiting the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Great museum, highly recommended. Admission is free (donation is suggested), and you get to see hundreds of fantastic pieces of artwork from many different styles and eras.

It's a great cheap diversion. The featured exhibits are reasonably priced, while the other collections are free of charge. The staff are helpful and the atmosphere is calm (well, it IS a museum. . .).