Vista Fleet partners with some of the best businesses in the area so clients can experience our top Duluth MN travel recommendations and the best of the Great Lakes during their stay. Before and after taking a Vista Fleet sightseeing or dinner cruise, we encourage guests to visit our travel partners, learn what’s offered around Duluth, and choose their favorite eating, lodging, and other spots. Once you find one Duluth gem, you’ll be eager to mine as many as possible from our wonderful city.
Bellisio’s Italian Restaurant
Craving Italian food, but hungry for something fancier than pizza or spaghetti? Bellisio’s is more than ready to oblige. The restaurant has been an integral part of Duluth since 1999, and their cuisine has won several awards, including the Wine Spectator Award. The owner is a native of Bellisio, a small village in Italy known for its cozy intimacy and fine food. Each of Bellisio’s recipes is imported directly from Italy, so you get an authentic taste of the country. Bellisio’s features an extensive seafood menu, including a catch of the day, and dishes made with fresh herbs. Along with the fantastic food, Bellisio’s boasts a world-class wine menu.
Duluth Grill
If your taste runs more toward Americana, Vista Fleet enthusiastically recommends Duluth Grill. House specials change each day and include everything from comfort food to contemporary dishes like Thai-getti, spaghetti with an Asian twist. The grill makes the dish from zucchini noodles and includes roasted peppers, kimchi, lime, and Korean barbecue sauce. Duluth Grill also has delicious desserts. These encompass classics like German chocolate cake and more innovative sweets like the When Pigs Fly Bacon Sundae, topped with bacon, organic pecans, and Hawaiian red sea salt.
Great Lakes Aquarium
The Great Lakes Aquarium is one of the attractions Duluth is most proud of, for several reasons. It is home to fish, reptiles, birds, and other animals – more than 200 species of them. Tourists get to see coral, stingrays, and sharks up close and can feed some species like rainbow trout. The aquarium is highly interactive, making it the ideal choice for families who want to ensure their kids learn during school vacations. However, these lessons aren’t only for kids; everyone will learn things they never knew about Minnesota’s diverse marine life.
Spirit Mountain Adventure Park
This attraction is one of the most popular among our partners and is on our must-see Duluth MN travel recommendations list. Here, tourists get their adrenaline pumping with rides like the Alpine Timber Twister Coaster. This roller coaster runs across more than 3,000 feet of elevated track, affording you beautiful views of Duluth – if you keep your eyes open – that is. Unlike most coasters, the Timber Twister puts you in complete control of speed; you can go as fast as 26 mph. After the Timber Twister, check out the zip line, disc and mini golf, and the Superior Hiking Trail.
Duluth Port
If you or your family loves all things nautical, don’t let your Duluth vacation end without a trip to Duluth Port. It is the largest freshwater port in the country, hauling an average 35 million short tons of cargo every year. Each year, an average 900 vessels visit; those vessels move freight and passengers, and are nationally and internationally renowned. Vessels include “lakers,” specifically built for the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway, and “salties,” or vessels specifically built for traversing oceans.
Tall Ships Duluth
Once you’ve visited Duluth Port, you may find you want more time on the water. For that, visit Tall Ships Duluth, where you can get up close and personal with historic and modern vessels. Tall Ships has hosted several attractions, including the world’s largest rubber duck and the opportunity to ride in a real Viking warship. Ask the Vista Fleet crew when Tall Ships and attractions like it will be open this spring and summer.