St. Paul has a history rife with gangsters, ghosts, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and owner Cynthia Schreiner Smith’s CynCity Tours can teach you all about the city’s colorful past, as well as its architecturally extraordinary present. And although CynCity Tours will do what Schreiner Smith calls “step-on” tours via tour bus for groups upon request, most tours are experienced on foot.
“There are a whole lot of people who really appreciate a walking tour,” Schreiner Smith says. “You’re really just strolling by the city, and you’re really seeing it.”
Schreiner Smith’s two most popular tours are the “Gangsterland Walking Tour” and the “Ghosts & Gables Summit Avenue Tour.” CynCity is the official tour company of Union Depot and the Saint Paul Winter Carnival, and the company also partners with Saint Paul Brewing, 11 Wells Distillery, and The Saint Paul Hotel. Each tour can accommodate up to 20 attendees, but for larger groups, CynCity Tours books additional tour guides, with each guide taking part of the group.
But what really sets CynCity Tours apart, Schreiner Smith says, is the big hug it gives St. Paul. “We are the company that has the biggest heart for St. Paul. We really want to promote it. We want to lift everybody else, float all boats.” –Todd R. Berger
