There’s no place like home. Sometimes, it takes a trip away to remember what you have in your own backyard. Now that I’m home with the baby and doing less traveling, I’ve become reaquainted with all there is to offer in Minneapolis/St. Paul. We often get emails from readers from the coasts who find themselves with a plane ticket to my adoptive hometown. While I have a list of my go-to restaurants, shops, and sites, our two cities are actually pretty large: about 20 miles of quaint neighborhoods, parks, lakes, and downtown blocks to explore.

With MSP having somewhat of a moment, I am hoping to help readers from out of town discover our northern city one neighborhood at a time. We’re going to start with 50th and France. We were asked to help them focus their social media strategy this summer and through the process it just seemed like a no-brainer to include a little city guide to kick-off this endeavour!

A little bit about the neighborhood: The business district known as 50th and France got it’s namesake from the two cross streets that mark the center of the neighborhood. The bustling cluster of businesses are located in Edina, Minnesota, flanked by Lake Harriet and Minnehaha Creek. This city is known for it’s great school district, beautiful parks, bustling art fair, and it’s ideal location with a close proximity to city life with all the charm of a quaint town. The business district has boomed over the decades and it seems now more than ever, this idea of a “main street” is just as much about community as it is prosperity.

Below you’ll find a new of my favorite locations to visit. There’s plenty more to explore, with a full list of businesses available here.

• Parc (5023 France Avenue South , Minneapolis MN 55410) – I worked on PARC’s branding way back in 2012 and I’ve so enjoyed watching them evolve over the years! PARC is a women’s boutique specializing in clothing, jewelry, accessories, apothecary & shoes. They have a great selection of modern essentials for those who love special pieces that won’t break your budget.
• Grethen House (4930 France Avenue South, Edina MN 55410) – For a long, long time, Grethen House was the only place in the cities where you could find designer duds. They’ve continued to curate an upscale collection of women’s and accessories by cutting-edge designers, including Isabel Marant, Mother Denim, Yigal Azrouel, Cut 25,  Frank & Eileen shirts and Rick Owens.  The personal experience you get at Grethen House is very different than what you get at Barney’s! This family-owned boutique is one of my favorite locations on France.
• Bluebird Boutique (3909 West 50th Street, Edina MN 55424) – Established in 2004, Bluebird Boutique carries vintage jewelry and contemporary women’s brands, such as Citizens of Humanity, Twelfth St. by Cynthia Vincent, Elizabeth & James, Hanky Panky and Saint Grace. This is a great shop for quality basics!!
• Room No.3 (4948 France Ave South, Edina MN 55410) – Room No. 3 is a women’s lingerie, sleepwear, shape wear, and lounge wear boutique with a super sophisticated stockist. I pretty much want to live in this space! Once this baby weight melts off I’m getting back into some lovely little things from this store.
• Spruce Flowers and Home (4940 France Avenue South, Edina MN 55410) – Lovely describing themselves as “a new-fashioned flower shop with a fresh approach to modern, romantic floral designs,” Spruce has become my go-to resource for beautiful arrangements and stunning blooms. Their beautiful boutique boasts great gifts and their vases are the loveliest souvenir after your blooms have passed on. They have a huge walk-in cooler full of exquisite flowers, and a great selection of house plants, terrariums, fine home fragrances, vessels and jewelry.
• Bumbershute (5014 France Avenue, Edina MN 55410 ) – Bumbershute is another fantastic boutique for the latest designs in fashion. You’ll find 3.1 Phillip Lim, ALC, Alexander Wang, Frame Denim, Goldsign, Helmut Lang, IRO, Joie, L’Agence, Rag & Bone and more. It’s also worth checking out their selection of footwear, handbags, jewelry and other accessories from established and emerging designers.
• Bone Adventure (5045 France Avenue South, Edina MN 55410)- The coolest gadgets, gear, food, and garments for the furry friend in your life. This shop is great for pet owners who look for well-designed products for their pets (and themselves) to enjoy!
• Yoga Fit (4507 France Avenue South, Minneapolis MN 55410) – YogaFit’s mission is to provide yoga for everyone at all experience levels in an affordable and non-intimating manner.  My favorite aspect of YogaFit’s membership program is access 24X7, day or night, so you can get your practice in on any schedule.
• dpHUE (4944 France Avenue South, Edina MN 55410) – dpHUE is a totally new concept: they bring professional, best in class hair color directly to you- along with expert guidance and step-by-step education. Think of it as salon hair color, to-go. In addition to their salon and color consulting services, they’ve created an incredible line of hair care products that are great on non-color treated hair, too. I’ve reviewed their ACV product here and continue to love the results!
• goGlow (3922 West 50th Street, Suite 103, Edina MN 55424) – goGLOW is Minnesota’s only sunless tanning provider that has been given an Allure Best of Beauty Award and rated 5 stars in their issue for Best Spray Tans from New York to LA. You’re in good hands with these guys!
• Pacifier (4942 France Avenue South, Edina MN 55424) This is THE shop for the coolest baby gifts in the city. They have multiple locations around the city, with this one being walking distance from all your other shopping needs. They have clothing (up to size 12), wooden toys, gear, nursery furniture, decor and more.
• LUSH (3915 West 50th Street, Edina MN 55424) – Hello, bath bombs! You are probably familiar with LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, they offer selections of eco-friendly skin care, hair care, bath and body products and gifts loaded with natural ingredients. The “cosmetic-deli,” is a really fun shopping experience and I like to pop in to try something new for a little “treat yo self” time.
• Cooks of Crocus Hill (3925 W. 50th Street, Edina MN 55424) – Yes, there’s even a place to up the ante on your cooking skills! Cooks of Crocus Hill is our state’s go-to spot for culinary products and instruction for 40 years. They have since grown the business to include three cooking schools which host a variety of cooking classes and offer private event experiences, as well as three retail stores selling culinary equipment, small wares, books and packaged food. Joe and I are taking a class at the Edina location at the end of the month and we’re so excited to learn something new!

As I said in the beginning of this posts, this is just a small peek inside this small corner of Edina. For more information about the neighborhood and business district, visit www.50thandfrance.com.

Images by 2ndTruth, styling by Judith Marilyn

Kate Arends

Kate is the founder of Wit & Delight. She is currently learning how to play tennis and is forever testing the boundaries of her creative muscle. Follow her on Instagram at @witanddelight_.