The metropolis of ROCHESTER , a white-collar community in a rural setting about eighty miles southeast of Minneapolis and St Paul, was settled in the 1850s by migrants from Rochester, New York, as a humble crossroads campground for wagon trains. After a tornado devastated the town in 1883, Dr William Worral Mayo established the huge Mayo Clinic , 200 First St SW (tel 507/284-2511, ). Free tours serve as ninety-minute promotions for "the first and largest private group medical practice in the world" (Mon-Fri 10am; art tour Tues-Thurs 1.30pm). You can also tour the sprawling family home, Mayowood , 3720 Mayowood Rd southwest of Hwy-52 (tel 507/282-9447; Sat and Sun, May to mid-June at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm, plus Sat at 11am; mid-June to Oct on Tues, Thurs, Sat and Sun, same hours; $10).

Rochester is rife with chain and budget accommodation , especially within the five-block radius of downtown, including the Kahler Hotel , 20 SW Second Ave (tel 507/282-2581 or 1-800/533-1655, ; $75-100). The Broadstreet Café and Bar , 300 NW First Ave (tel 507/281-2451), a bistro in a renovated warehouse, serves excellent meals; there's live music in the cozy Redwood Room downstairs.

Jefferson Union Bus Depot, 405 SW First Ave (tel 507/289-4037), is the hub for bus services . Rochester Express (tel 507/282-8673 or 1-800/479-7824) and Rochester Direct (tel 507/280-9270 or 1-800/280-9270) make between eight and eleven van runs daily to the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport or the Mall of America for $19 one-way, $36 round-trip. Rochester's visitor center is at 150 S Broadway (tel 507/288-4331 or 1-800/634-8277, ).