Rochester, MN Hotels, Vacations, Tourism

The metropolis of ROCHESTER , a white-collar community in a rural setting about eighty miles southeast of Minneapolis and St Paul, was settled in the 1850s by migrants from Rochester, New York, as a humble crossroads campground for wagon trains. After a tornado devastated the town in 1883, Dr William Worral Mayo established the huge Mayo Clinic , 200 First St SW (tel 507/284-2511, www.mayohealth.org ). Free tours serve as ninety-minute promotions for "the first and largest private group medical practice in the world" (Mon–Fri 10am; art tour Tues–Thurs 1.30pm). You can also tour the … more »