If you are only going to the Clinic, you may not need a car as most hotels provide free shuttle service to the Clinic. However, most visitors will want or need a car to get around.
Parking
In most areas of Rochester, parking is not an issue, with plenty of surface parking. The only exceptions are downtown and near the Clinic. It is possible to find street parking downtown, although difficult in the inner downtown. Note that the time limit on parking meters is enforced even for cars with handicap parking placards. The city-owned parking lots are free nights and weekends, with the first hour free during weekdays. However, the privately-owned lots do not offer this, so look for the "free evening parking" signs if you want to take advantage of this. The signage downtown is pretty much non-existent, so you're own your own to find the lots. If you are going to the Clinic, there are Mayo-owned lots near the primary patient-care buildings; Mayo provides a map showing them. Rates are $2 for the first hour, $1 per hour thereafter. You can purchase 5 or 10 day passes which allow in-and-out in the same day. They also do not need to be used on consecutive days. The Mayo lots sometimes fill during the morning hours, but turnover is very quick and you are unlikely to wait more than 10 min.Public bus system
(http://www.rochesterbus.com): There is a public bus system, but it is likely not to be useful to the visitor. There is no bus service on Sundays or holidays, and during the rest of the week, they will stop running fairly early, generally the last routes end at 9PM. The main goal of the bus system is to serve the downtown area. Also, the bus system revolves around the Mayo Clinic schedule, so if the Clinic were to close early Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, the buses will also stop running early as well. The buses run generally on an hourly basis with half hour service during the rush hours. The bus system utilizes a wagon-wheel-spoke type of grid, with routes all ending up in the downtown area to make transfers. You can request a transfer pass from one bus to the next if you are getting on a bus to get to another part of the city. On Tuesdays, there is a Shopper's bus that will get you to some of the different shopping areas in Rochester. A bus terminal was recently made downtown, with electric signs telling when the bus route is scheduled, and whether is is on time or delayed like an airport.The central part of the city is arranged on a more-or-less standard grid. Streets run east-west and avenues run north-south. This divides the city into four quadrants, NW, NE, SE, SW. There are some named streets you might encounter.
The dividing line between east and west is Broadway up to about 25th St north when things get weird.
The dividing line between north and south is Center St.
Civic Center Drive runs east-west from Hwy 52 to downtown approximately at 5th St. NW.
West Circle Dr. also called CR 22 runs north-south at the west edge of town.
There is also an East Circle Dr, but there are fewer businesses there. In case you're wondering, the two circle drives do not meet, yet they are both CR 22. They are both 4-lane expressways.
Most of the newer residential development in the last 15 years has largely abandoned the numbered grid system and gone to named curved streets. If you need to find these, there are free maps available in most hotels and the local phone book.
