Location: Duluth
Top Things to do in Duluth
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Top 8 Specialty Museums in Duluth, Minnesota (MN)
Perfectly positioned at the westernmost tip of sparkling blue Lake Superior, Duluth offers visitors a true escape from the stresses of everyday life and an opportunity to enjoy nature. You can opt for a more leisurely pace: spending time at one of the city's 23 beautiful parks, taking an unhurried drive along the scenic North Shore, bird watching at Hawk Ridge, skipping stones on the Lake with the kids. Or go for a more structured itinerary: the aquarium in the morning, lunch at a sumptuous restaurant on the waterfront plus a tour of the famous Sculpture Walk, then a visit to the historic Railroad Depot in the afternoon. Either way, you are sure to leave Duluth feeling relaxed and refreshed.
Restaurants in Duluth
1. S.S. William A. Irvin Ore Boat Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 402 reviews
This place is temporarily closed. Located at Canal Park, this museum was once an ore boat.
Reviewed By MandySSS - Minneapolis, United States
For people that do not know much about the shipping industry in Duluth, this would be a perfect tour to do. Very informative and something the kids will love, the ship takes a person to what shipping in the great lakes was like in the middle of last century up until the late 70s.My son especially loved it. Highly recommended for both kids and adults!!
2. Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 663 reviews
This maritime museum details the Great Lakes' history and the part they played in the shipping industry.
Reviewed By P4909JAsues - Phoenix, United States
Lots of information, photos and examples of cargo carried by the "lakers". Stories of various ships and sailing disasters
3. Glensheen, The Historic Congdon Estate
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,250 reviews
Finished in 1908, this Lake Superior 39-room mansion enjoys a rare, intact collection of original furnishings and art. Because of that, it closely resembles the days when the Congdon family first occupied it. Truly, it is Duluth's answer to Downton Abbey. Situated on a wooded lot, the home boasts spectacular views of Lake Superior, as well as, multiple gardens including formal, flower and vegetable. Guests are also encouraged to explore the carriage house, boat house, stone bridge and pier. Children enjoy the pebbled beach for hours of rock skipping while parents take in a sit on one of Adirondack chairs. Be sure to check out Glensheen as part of your must-do Duluth bucket list.
Reviewed By 908judiths - Minneapolis, United States
If you do not pre-plan and miss out on the guided tour, fear not! Our family did the self guided tour of the home and gardens on a beautiful sunny October day and we truly enjoyed every bit of the tour. The information provided throughout the home is very informative about the home and the family. The booklet describing the Gowns of Glensheen was fascinating as well. We did not feel rushed. We were able to see the majority of the home and all of the gardens. Oh, to be an invited guest at one of the Congdon's many parties must have been spectacular!
4. Lake Superior Railroad Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 437 reviews
Explore the impressive collection of historic railroad equipment that built Minnesota and our country. The museum is located in downtown Duluth, in the platforms at yard of the original Historic Union Depot, built in 1892. From immaculately restored locomotives and rolling stock, to exciting events and exhibits that bring the memories railroads to life, in an effort to preserve, present, and interpret the history of railroading, especially as it relates to the area.
5. The Duluth Depot
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 141 reviews
Reviewed By TNT51
We had a few hours before a trip to Bentleyville and decided to head to The Duluth Depot. Big mistake!! A few hours wasn't near enough time! I worked for 40 years on the Missouri Pacific and Union Pacific Railroad and the collection of engines, steam and diesel, rail cars, both freight and passenger, cabooses and all the support machines such as snow blowers and plows, track men cars and hand pump cars is extensive! You can climb aboard a huge steam engine and see inside cabooses and passenger cars, see lanterns from the 1800's up to the hand held battery jobs I started out using. Switches, rail, signals, telegraph, pictures of the Iron Range Railroads loading and hauling to the ports, passenger pictures of immigrants heading West and Soldiers headed to and from wars, It is all here and very tidy clean and organized. The building alone is magnificent, making you feel as if you have gone back in time and greeting a loved one arriving by train. No, you can spend hours and hours at the Duluth Depot so plan for more than I did.
6. Tweed Museum of Art
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 19 reviews
The Tweed Museum of Art was established in 1950 when Alice Tweed Tuohy, widow of George P. Tweed, donated their house and approximately 500-piece American and European art collection to the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) to enrich the lives of the people comprised of the academic and civic communities of the region. Following its initial operation from 1950-58 (out of the Tweed home), a museum facility was constructed on the UMD campus in 1958, with funds donated primarily by Mrs. Tweed and her daughter, Bernice Brickson. The museum has been expanded and renovated four times between 1965 and 2008. Today, it operates in a 33,000 square-foot facility with 15,000 square feet of exhibit space and services an average of 33,000 visitors each year. Of great artistic, cultural, regional and historical significance, the collection is the focus of all museum activities. It contains 15th-21st century European, American and world art in all media by artists of regional, national and international importance, including outstanding work by artists from the Upper Midwest and Minnesota. In 2007, the museum acquired the Richard E. And Dorothy Rawlings Nelson Collection of American Indian Art, an acquisition that opened new programmatic territories. By establishing a modestly comprehensive historical canon, the Nelson collection opened the museum to build upon it by collecting contemporary (particularly Woodland) American Indian arts.
7. The Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 14 reviews
Reviewed By 300taylorg - Thunder Bay, Canada
Admission is by donation and the collection belongs to a private collector who is from Duluth. His collection is incredible and the generosity with which he displays priceless manuscripts and other artifacts is nothing short of spectacular. Do not leave Duluth without checking it out - it is absolutely worth a stop to see what treasures are on display. Collection is rotated fairly regularly and traveling exhibits and displays are also prominent and impressive.
8. Great Lakes Aquarium
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 588 reviews
The only aquarium in the U.S. that focuses on freshwater exhibits, this three-story waterfront structure is ready for public viewing after a year and a half and almost $34 million. Plenty of interactive exhibits and re-created habitats are fun and educational for children.
Reviewed By caryneu999 - Cloquet, United States
Get place to bring the family to look at different types of fresh water fish, turtle, and other creatures. They educational things as well. My 3 YEAR OLD LOVED IT.
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