The Corridors: icons and hidden gems in the Dakotas

Minneapolis stretches along the banks of the Mississippi River in the heart of Minnesota, forming with neighbouring Saint Paul the metropolitan area known as the Twin Cities. Nicknamed the "City of Lakes" for the many bodies of water dotting its urban fabric, it is a dynamic, green city where Nordic culture blends with a lively creative spirit. Its industrial past comes alive at the Mill City Museum, built into the ruins of an old flour mill, and along the Stone Arch Bridge, a historic pedestrian crossing over the Mississippi offering spectacular views of Saint Anthony Falls. The city's artistic soul beats at the Walker Art Center and its sculpture garden, where the iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry stands as a recognisable symbol of Minneapolis. The city was the birthplace of Prince, the pop music legend, and preserves one of the Midwest's most vibrant music and theatre scenes. In summer the Bde Maka Ska and Harriet lakes fill with cyclists, canoeists and swimmers, while numerous parks invite long walks. Between craft breweries, markets and a growing food scene, Minneapolis surprises with its quality of life and its balance of nature, culture and modernity.

Fargo is the largest city in North Dakota, spread along the Red River at the border with Minnesota, made famous by the Coen brothers' film of the same name. Its revitalised downtown offers the art déco Fargo Theatre, galleries, craft breweries and a lively food scene. A crossroads of the great northern prairies, the city blends a welcoming Midwestern atmosphere with young, creative energy. Between agricultural heritage, culture and hospitality, Fargo is a surprising urban stop in the heart of the American Great Plains.

Bismarck is the capital of North Dakota, a quiet city overlooking the Missouri River at the centre of the Great Plains. The modern tower Capitol, nicknamed the "Skyscraper of the Prairie," dominates the skyline, while the North Dakota Heritage Center tells the story of Native peoples and pioneers. Nearby Fort Abraham Lincoln recalls the expeditions of General Custer. Bismarck is the ideal destination for those seeking prairie history, Native culture and the wide spaces of the northern Midwest.

Medora watches over the southern entrance of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, in the badlands of North Dakota, a landscape carved with buttes and prairies. A historic Western-style town, it keeps the charm of the old West with its main street, open-air theatres and the famous summer Medora Musical. From here trails cross the lands the president loved, roamed by bison and wild horses. Medora is a doorway to wild America and its frontier roots.

Spearfish rises at the northern edge of South Dakota's Black Hills, at the entrance of the spectacular Spearfish Canyon, a gorge carved in rock and covered with forests, particularly striking in autumn. The town, crossed by a stream rich in trout, retains an authentic atmosphere with its historic fish hatchery, the D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery. An ideal base for hiking, fishing and scenic routes toward the canyon's waterfalls, Spearfish blends grand nature and frontier charm. Between forests, waters and badlands, it is a pleasant stop in the Black Hills. Born during the gold rush of 1876 in the Black Hills of South Dakota, Deadwood is one of the most legendary towns of the Old West, today designated a National Historic Landmark. Its brick streets and restored saloons recount the deeds of mythical figures such as Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, buried in the Mount Moriah cemetery overlooking the valley. Among gaming tables, staged gunfight reenactments and frontier museums, the whole town relives the golden age of prospectors and outlaws. A short distance away rise Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. Deadwood is an authentic plunge into the history of the West, between adventure and nostalgia.

Rapid City rises at the foot of South Dakota's Black Hills and has earned its nickname as the "Gateway to Mount Rushmore," the famous memorial carved into the rock a short drive away. The town is known for its "City of Presidents," a series of life-size bronze statues of American presidents scattered across downtown street corners, and for Art Alley, a lane entirely covered in murals. From here, scenic byways lead to Custer State Park, with its free-roaming bison, the granite spires of the Needles, and the nearby Crazy Horse Memorial, dedicated to the history of the Lakota people. Further east unfold the lunar landscapes of Badlands National Park. An ideal base for exploring the wild nature of the American Midwest, Rapid City blends outdoor adventure with historical memory.

Badlands National Park occupies a stretch of southwestern South Dakota, where the Great Plains break into a maze of eroded buttes, spires and gullies. Banded layers of sediment in ochre, rose and grey record millions of years of deposition and erosion, and fossils of Oligocene mammals are still found here. The Badlands Loop Road (Highway 240) links overlooks along the Badlands Wall, while short trails such as Door, Window and Notch lead onto the formations. Beyond the rock, mixed-grass prairie shelters bison, bighorn sheep and prairie dogs. At dusk, the ridges glow red under an enormous sky.

Sioux Falls takes its name from the waterfalls of the Big Sioux River, which tumble over pink quartzite rocks in the heart of the city, now gathered in the striking Falls Park. The main center of South Dakota, it is a lively and growing city, a gateway to the great plains of the American Midwest. The historic Phillips Avenue downtown lines up period buildings, cafés, galleries and a surprising collection of outdoor sculptures scattered along the sidewalks. Among green spaces, riverside bike paths and warm small-town hospitality, the city offers an authentic taste of rural America. Sioux Falls is also a convenient base for reaching South Dakota's icons: Mount Rushmore, the wild spires of the Badlands and the wooded slopes of the Black Hills. A genuine stop along the roads of the Great Plains.