Like many places that endure long, difficult winters, the US state of Minnesota comes alive when the weather warms up.

And there are plenty of attractions in Its Twin Cities – as Minneapolis and St Paul are known.

STONE ARCH BRIDGE AND MISSISSIPPI RIVER OVERLOOK

Minneapolis traces its roots to timber and grain milling. History buffs can get a feel for those early days with an amble across the Stone Arch Bridge just north of downtown.

The mighty St Anthony Falls powered mills that helped build the city, and the Falls still roar today, misting pedestrians and cyclists as they read plaques about the history.

Look south toward downtown to see the few remaining grain elevators, topped by the iconic Gold Medal Flour sign erected more than a century ago. Nearby Mill Ruins Park offers a tumbledown cross-section of old millworks.

If that's not enough, the Mill City Museum has more on the city's flour past, with hands-on activities for kids and adults. A block away, get another fine view of Minneapolis's revitalised riverfront from the Guthrie Theater, where French architect Jean Nouvel's Endless Bridge juts toward the river on one of the longest occupied cantilevers in the world.

The ninth floor offers visitors a fun test of courage if they're willing to step onto a glass floor, though it's sadly distorted by the yellow glass enclosure.

MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS

The Walker Art Center is known for modern art but the place to see more traditional treasures is the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Its 87,000 objects include Van Gogh's Olive Trees, Rembrandt's Lucretia, a nearly 2000-year-old bronze horse from the Han dynasty, and a late 1700s Charleston drawing room, once part of a wealthy merchant's home. Two blocks away is Eat Street, a cavalcade of ethnic restaurants along three blocks of Nicollet Avenue.

MINNEHAHA FALLS

A popular summer spot is Minnehaha Park, a sprawling green space in the city's southeast quadrant that's hosted family picnics and outdoor concerts for generations. The star attraction is the falls, named in the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem Song of Hiawatha.

The Minnehaha Creek tumbles 16 metres over jagged limestone into a basin beneath a sort of half-cave before it continues into the Mississippi River. Visitors can get a view from above the falls or take stairs to creek level to see them from below.

There's a casual seafood-themed joint in the park pavilion; enjoy a fish taco on the patio watching families figuring out quad bike rentals.

COMO PARK ZOO AND CONSERVATORY

St Paul's Como Park Zoo is small enough to be child-friendly, but big enough to hold lions and tigers and polar bears. Not to mention a Gorilla Forest and Wolf Woods.

The Sparky the Sea Lion show has been a favourite since 1956, with a succession of performers as Sparky; the current mammal turns 14 this summer. Zoo keepers give daily free talks.

The glassed-in Conservatory shows off tropical and other exotic plants year-round in a variety of indoor and outdoor gardens, including a Japanese garden with a bonsai pavilion.

It's a popular venue for weddings and a refuge from harsh Minnesota winters. Rides on 100-year-old Cafesjian's Carousel and attractions in the Como Town amusement park cost extra.

SUMMIT AVENUE WALK

Take a trip to the past with a stroll down St Paul's Summit Avenue, home to stately Victorian mansions, massive churches and Mount Zion Temple (founded by the first Jewish settlers to Minnesota), colleges, groomed lawns and towering trees.

Bicyclists cruise the 6.4-kilometre stretch of pavement and joggers pound the wide footpaths, but you can imagine Jazz Age author F Scott Fitzgerald, whose birthplace is a few blocks off Summit, sauntering down the shady street.

Take in sculptures such as the Nathan Hale statue honouring the hanged Revolutionary War spy or the art deco Indian Hunter and His Dog sculpture by St Paul native Paul Manship. Drink in the view of the Mississippi River Valley from the small park near the University Club of St Paul.

And check out the imposing rough stone James J Hill House, built by the Gilded Age railway baron.