Herbivorous Butcher

The Herbivorous Butcher offers vegan sausages and cheeses that rival the wares at any traditional butcher shop. They've got a large variety of meatless items such as bacon, brats, ribs, breakfast sausages, and sandwiches.

World Street Kitchen

How about some global flavor? World Street Kitchen specializes in creating dishes that incorporate tastes from around the world. They offer rice bowls, tacos, sandwiches and lettuce wraps

Agra Culture

This fast-casual spot inside of the Minneapolis Institute of Art is perfect for healthy foodies. They offer Instagram-worthy plates and allow you to customize your meal to your liking, from bulletproof coffee and farro porridge to a deconstructed sushi salad and one of their most popular items, the Paleo Plate

People’s Organic

Local, organic ingredients make the food at People’s Organic high quality, tasty and something you can feel good about eating. Think salads that will keep you full for more than an hour, sandwiches loaded with nutrients and farm-to-table entrees like street tacos and grilled salmon. Plus, breakfast all day!

Brim

Right across the street from Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun), Brim is the perfect casual spot to meet friends for brunch, stop by for happy hour, or grab a bowl for dinner and then take a stroll around the lake. Their menu easily caters to those who are vegan or gluten free, with options like a vegan poke bowl, gluten free club sandwich, and gluten free/vegan cookies and pastries galore.

Brasa Premium Rotisserie

Taste the flavors of the southern U.S., Caribbean and Mexico at Brasa. They source as many local products as they can and they always use 100% natural ingredients. The star of the show here is their rotisserie chicken. Try it on one of their plates paired with vegetarian black beans and yellow rice, or get it in a bowl filled with veggies and spices. They also offer a completely vegetarian menu for the non-meat eaters.

Go shopping. No, seriously.

The Mall of America is the largest mall in the United States, which makes it great for shopping, but also for walking! Plenty of people head to the mall to get their daily dose of exercise by walking the 1.15 miles around each level. Plus, no sales tax on clothing or shoes? Added bonus.

Get on (or in) the Water

Rent a kayak, pedal boat, or stand-up paddle board from Wheel Fun Rentals, enjoy a swim from one of the many public beaches on six different lakes, enjoy a keelboat lesson from the Minneapolis Sailing Center, or check out all the other ways to enjoy our rivers and lakes.

Go cross country skiing or snowshoeing at Theodore Wirth Regional Park

As the snow begins to fall, the fun really picks up at Theodore Wirth Regional Park. The walking trails can be used as cross-country ski and snowshoeing trails, so strap on your cross-country gear and conquer more than 20 miles of well-kept trails. Along the way, you'll get great views of Downtown Minneapolis to wooded trails filled with the sights of scenic lakes. It’s a great workout and a truly unique way to see the beauty of nature in Minnesota.

Try a group fitness class

In Minneapolis, we love to move our bodies however we can. Whether that's taking a walk around one of our many lakes, or heading to a local fitness studio to burn those muscles. From classic yoga where you can stretch and flow, to Barre and Burn, where the intensity is turned up a notch, YogaFit has multiple locations with multiple class times every single day. Another favorite is Sunna, specializing in Pilates, Yoga, GYROKINESIS® and Barre class formats, with an emphasis on alignment, healing, integration and functional movement. MÖV Hot Yoga is another option for everything from sweaty flows and sculpt workouts to calming candlelight classes at affordable prices.

Other great options include Alchemy 365 (merging yoga, strength, and conditioning), Solcana (queer-friendly, social-justice minded feminist gym) ALTR (small-group HIIT classes), and Embody (Gyrotonic classes).

Your boots are made for walkin’

How about some good, old-fashioned walking? (Yes, even in the winter!) Walking around the city is the best way to get the vibe of each neighborhood and see the natural beauty we have in the heart of downtown. Wander down by the river, take a walk around one of our 13 lakes, or walk down Nicollet to do some shopping. And yes, walking from brewery to brewery in Northeast does count as exercise.

If you're looking to get deeper into nature, we've rounded up some great resources for you, from family-friendly hikes, wheelchair-accessible trails, and the top bike trails and scenic routes.