The Twin Cities With a population of nearly three million, the Twin Cities offers the best of urban living. Minneapolis , the largest city in Minnesota, and St. Paul , Minnesota's capital, are known as the Twin Cities - the state's major metropolitan area. Both cities offer busy downtowns, sophisticated educational and cultural institutions, entertainment and sports, and the always affordable diversions of parks, lakes, and open spaces.
Cultural activities abound.
There are more live theater seats per capita than any other city outside of New York, including those at the Tony-award winning Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis campus features prominently in the Twin Cities dance scene through its Northrop Dance Series. Minnesota is also the home of both the internationally renowned Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra . Live drama has long thrived in the Twin Cities. The theater district near the University's Minneapolis campus features seven theaters, several on campus. During the summer, the Minnesota Centennial Showboat presents melodrama in a stern-wheel paddleboat converted to a theater and moored on the Mississippi River in St. Paul.