All eventsConcerts, festivals and markets, tonight and this weekend
Annual festivalsJazz, techno, cars and parades: Michigan’s year, festival by festival
Holidays & seasonsPumpkin season, Halloween, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, the Fourth
Sports: games & scoresLions, Red Wings, Pistons, Tigers: live scores and trophies
ItinerariesReady-made day plans, stop by stop
Places to exploreMuseums, parks, neighborhoods and icons
Metro Detroit mapWhat Metro Detroit is, and what every town is about
The Henry FordRosa Parks’ bus, Greenfield Village and the Ford Rouge Factory
RenCen: live trackerThe Renaissance Center’s past, present and future, up to the minute
Gordie Howe BridgeThe new bridge to Canada: live waits, tolls, and yes, you can walk it
ToursBy boat, by bike or on foot, with a local guide
Escape roomsOne hour, one lock and your crew
Plan a meetingVenues, hotels and what’s on in town on your dates
Detroit A–ZFrom limos to chambers of commerce: every business and service in one place
ShoppingDetroit-made brands, markets and shopping streets
Detroit with kidsZoo, science center and rainy-day ideas
Motor City cultureFactories, museums and car events
Wellness & rechargeA riverside sauna, spas, yoga and running trails
Wellness · Weekend
Brunch, a massage, your own perfume, handmade bonbons, a retro hotel, piano karaoke and Shinola: two days that are all about you.
Always looking after everyone else? Call your friends and leave the to-do list at home. Saturday brings brunch, a downtown day spa, blending your own scent and bonbons in Parker's Alley; that night it's cocktails in a retro hotel and singing with a live pianist. Sunday wraps up with Creole brunch, two Midtown favorite shops and Belle Isle's palm house.
10:00
Downtown
Southern-leaning brunch inside the Westin Book Cadillac: the star is the Haus Chicken N' Waffle, buttermilk-brined in a 12-spice Yemeni dredge, with crab cake Benedict and shrimp and grits close behind. They cook with local produce and halal meats and say nothing is frozen.
About a 10-minute walk up Woodward Avenue toward Grand Circus Park.
11:30
Downtown
A downtown day spa on Woodward: you're greeted with warm tea and can unwind in the Quiet Room between services. Massages, facials including Hydrafacial, body treatments and multi-hour packages if you want to make a morning of it.
A few minutes' walk into Parker's Alley, the little shopping lane off Farmer Street.
14:30
Downtown
Blend your own scent at a 40-note perfumer's organ with staff coaching you, then take it home bottled the same day. They save your formula for reorders; small groups can walk in, but parties of six or more need to book.
A few steps down the same alley.
15:30
Downtown
Handmade Detroit bonbons since 2014, from head chocolatier Alexandra Clark: every bon is made by hand from Ecuadorian chocolate and packed in reused, recyclable boxes. Grab a box for yourselves, not just as a gift.
A few steps out to Woodward Avenue.
16:15
Downtown
Melissa Butler started mixing lipstick in her kitchen in 2012, and the brand now sells in more than 2,000 stores. At the Detroit flagship you can swatch the vegan, cruelty-free shades, and there's a brow bar too.
About a 5-minute walk to Broadway.
17:30
Downtown · Broadway / Grand Circus Park
The 1926 Wurlitzer Building sat empty for decades before New York's ASH NYC restored it and it opened as a hotel in 2018. Its 106 rooms mix retro-modern furniture, vintage finds and big downtown views, and tonight's plans are all under this roof.
Downstairs in the hotel, just an elevator ride.
19:00
Downtown
An intimate cocktail lounge behind velvet curtains, pouring classic martinis and seasonal drinks. Order the Dealer's Choice and let the bar team decide.
Next door, in the same building.
20:30
Downtown (Broadway, Siren Hotel)
Piano karaoke with no screen: a live pianist plays your pick from the request list and follows your pace. It opened in July 2019, and the Baldwin piano room runs Wednesday through Saturday.
Next morning, take the People Mover from the Broadway station across the street to Financial District.
10:00
Downtown (Financial District)
Wendy Ringo's brunch spot in the Financial District, practically on top of the People Mover station: Southern comfort food with Creole spice, fluffy pancakes, benedicts, and cakes and pies baked fresh every day. Brunch cocktails and a dog-friendly patio, too.
A few minutes' walk to the Congress Street QLINE stop, ride to Canfield Street, then a short walk.
12:30
Midtown
Shinola's Detroit flagship since June 28, 2013, back when it doubled as the brand's bike assembly HQ. Try on watches, browse leather bags, and get engraving or a monogram done while you wait; there's a cafe inside.
Just across the street.
13:30
Midtown
The shop of seventh-generation Detroiters Andy and Emily Linn, now the oldest store on West Canfield. Work from 200-plus Great Lakes makers, its own Detroit-themed line and a wall of 500-plus cards; sister shop Nest next door handles home goods and plants.
Drive over the MacArthur Bridge to Belle Isle.
15:00
Belle Isle
Palms, glass and light under a 1904 dome. Nobody's rushing you here: wander, sit down, and enjoy an hour where the only things that need you are the plants.
14 stops
Detroit in 48 hours: the classics and the brand-new citySaturday market, the riverfront, Art Deco lobbies and the newest Detroit: a two-day plan you can mostly do on foot.
10 stops
Where's Detroit's art? A whole weekend's worthRivera's murals, a bead-covered sculpture garden, houses turned into art and big street murals: a weekend from museum halls to alleys.
9 stops
The Dad weekend: cars, barbecue, bowling and a little luckThe Model T's birthplace, a ballpark, whiskey, barbecue, bowling and The Henry Ford: two days Dad will be talking about for years.We built these plans from our own checked place pages. Hours and prices change, so check each place’s page before you go.
