Here, the Mississippi does not yet have the lazy width it is known for in Louisiana. It flows briskly between wooded bluffs, and it is in Saint Paul, capital of Minnesota, that the great voyage up the river ends or begins. River ships, including the Viking Mississippi and its 386 passengers, moor at Lambert's Landing, at the foot of the Lowertown district: the downtown towers rise just above the docks, within walking distance.

Lowertown, a First Impression

On disembarking, there is no need to look for a coach: Lowertown begins at the top of the riverbank. The former warehouse district has kept its brick façades and freight elevators, converted into artists' studios, cafés and microbreweries. On weekend mornings, the farmers' market draws producers and strollers beneath its awnings, among cheeses from neighbouring Wisconsin, maple syrups and summer bouquets. The old Union Depot station, carefully restored, recalls the era when dozens of trains unloaded travellers and goods here. It is the best place to take the pulse of Minnesota's capital before heading up to its monuments.

The Victorian Lady on the Hill

The capital has the air of an elegant old lady. On its heights, the cathedral spreads a dome inspired by St. Peter's Basilica in Rome; the interior, all marble and stained glass, surprises with its scale in a city of this size. Nearby stretches Summit Avenue, a long row of remarkably preserved Victorian mansions. It was in this neighbourhood that F. Scott Fitzgerald was born, and as you walk past the lawns and porches, you understand where the author of Gatsby got his perspective on American fortunes.

Twin Cities, Two Characters

Across the river, Minneapolis plays a more contemporary score. Art lovers are spoiled for choice: the Minneapolis Institute of Art and its encyclopedic collections, the Walker Art Center for contemporary creation, or the Weisman Art Museum and its crumpled steel façade by Frank Gehry. The two banks answer each other: one preserves, the other invents. Moving from one to the other in the same day gives you the measure of this duo nicknamed the Twin Cities.

Nature in the Heart of the City

Few American metropolitan areas live outdoors as much. More than 800 kilometres of bike paths criss-cross both banks, and the Mississippi River trail follows the river closely, between bluffs and urban forests. At Como Park, you go from the greenhouses of the Japanese garden to the paths of a zoo popular with families, without ever leaving the city limits. In summer, kayakers and cyclists share the banks; the water flowing under the bridges is a reminder that everything here began with the current: the sawmills, the flour mills, then the fortunes that built Summit Avenue.

Three Ideas Depending on Time Available

• Two hours: stroll through Lowertown, its converted brick warehouses and cafés, then walk along the Mississippi docks.
• Half a day: climb up to the cathedral and walk back down Summit Avenue, lingering in front of the 19th-century mansions.
• A full day: cross over to Minneapolis for a museum, then return along the riverbanks by bike or shuttle.

Come evening, from the ship's deck, the lights of Saint Paul are reflected in the dark water. You think of the rafts, the steamboats and the generations of Americans who set out from here toward the south, with Mark Twain leading the procession. The great river begins its 3,700-kilometre journey to the Gulf; the traveller is only beginning to grasp everything these twin cities had to tell.