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
Metro Detroit Wayne County City
The core the whole metro orbits: downtown, the riverfront and Belle Isle
01 / Why it matters
Whenever you see “Metro Detroit” on a sign, this is the city in the middle of it. Detroit sits on the Detroit River, right across from Windsor, Canada, and it's been here since 1701, when French settlers started it as a fort. The downtown skyline, the stadiums, the big museums and the oldest neighborhoods are all inside the city limits.
This is where the auto industry grew into a global business, hence Motor City, and where Motown and techno were born. The late 20th century was rough: in July 1967 days of unrest shook the city, and in 2013 Detroit filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. It came out the other side in December 2014, and old theaters, high-rises and train stations have been coming back to life ever since.
Most of the metro is suburban, but the heart of Detroit is dense and walkable. The RiverWalk takes you along the water from downtown to the bridge to Belle Isle, a streetcar runs up Woodward, and old neighborhoods like Corktown and Eastern Market each have their own personality. If you only have one day in the area, start here.
02 / Known for
Motor City and Motown: the home of the American auto industry and the Motown sound, and the birthplace of techno.
The seat of Wayne County, and the city that gives the whole Metro Detroit region its name.
The city motto, Speramus meliora; resurget cineribus (“We hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes”), dates from the Great Fire of 1805 and is credited to Father Gabriel Richard.
Named a UNESCO City of Design in 2015.
03 / What’s on
Sep 10, 2026, 6:00 PMFreeSwords Into Plowshares Peace Center and Gallery · (sub)surface, a fully accessible group exhibition for people with visual impairments, runs Thursday, September 10 through Saturday, October 24 at Swords Into Plowshares Peace Center and Gallery in Detroit during Detroit Month of Design. Free admission; the gallery is open Fri–Sat 1–6 p.m.
Sep 19, 2026, 6:00 PMOffice Space Gallery · Mosaic Productions’ collaborative exhibition (Interpretation Show #9) runs Saturday, September 19, through October 17 at Office Space Gallery in Detroit, with the opening reception on Saturday, September 19, at 6 p.m. Photographers shot from their cars and artists reinterpreted the images—40+ participants, curated by Tim Tonachella and Billy Hunter.
Sep 30, 2026, 10:30 AMSusan Sareini Manor · Susan Sareini Manor: Fresh Truck Mobile Market — event at Susan Sareini Manor, 5500 Calhoun St, Dearborn, MI, 48126, United States, Detroit.
Sep 30, 2026, 11:00 AMCadillac Square · A rotating food truck lineup at Cadillac Square.
Sep 30, 2026, 1:30 PMACC WIC Highland Park · ACC WIC Highland Park: Fresh Truck Mobile Market — event at ACC WIC Highland Park, 201 W. 7 Mile, Highland Park, MI, 48203, United States, Detroit.
Sep 30, 2026, 2:00 PMDetroit Public Theatre · A progressive elementary school, a mumps outbreak and a community that can't agree on what's true. Detroit Public Theatre stages the Michigan premiere of Jonathan Spector's Tony Award-winning, bitingly funny Eureka Day on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, at 2 p.m., at 3960 Third Avenue in Detroit. The run has 22 performances.
Sep 30, 2026, 4:00 PMCool Cities / Hope Village · Cool Cities/Hope Village: Fresh Truck Mobile Market — event at Cool Cities / Hope Village, 14150 Woodrow Wilson, Detroit, 48238, United States, Detroit.
Sep 30, 2026, 5:30 PMEastern Market · Shed 5 SkillsLab: Creating Profitable Holiday Products — event at Eastern Market, Shed 5, 2810 Russell St., Detroit, MI, 48207, Detroit.
Sep 30, 2026, 6:00 PMMain | Detroit Public Library · Emmy Award–winning filmmaker Phill Branch talks about his new memoir with tech executive Jamila Thompson Holt on Wednesday, September 30, at 6 p.m. at Main | Detroit Public Library in Detroit. Go if you want a fresh take on the book straight from the author.
Sep 30, 2026, 6:00 PMRobert C. Valade Park · Wise Guys Chess Club hosts a chess night on Wednesday, September 30, at 6 p.m. at Robert C. Valade Park in Detroit. It’s free, with complimentary lessons from 6–7:30 p.m. for all ages and levels.
Sep 30, 2026, 6:30 PMMotorCity Wine · MotorCity Wine hosts a Tango Night on Wednesday, September 30, at 6:30 p.m. at MotorCity Wine in Detroit. If you’re in the mood for tango, that’s the vibe all evening.
Sep 30, 2026, 7:00 PMSaint Andrew's Hall · Saint Andrew's Hall hosts Unpopular Opinion Night (21+) on Wednesday, September 30, at 7 p.m. in Detroit. A 21+ night at Saint Andrew's Hall.
04 / Places
ACLU of Michigan – Nancy Katz & Margo Dichtelmiller LGBTQ+ Project2966 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201
Alpino1426 Bagley St, Detroit, MI 48216
American Coney Island114 W Lafayette Blvd, Detroit, MI 48226
Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory4 Inselruhe Ave, Detroit, MI 48207
Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre2600 Atwater St, Detroit, MI 48207
Atwater Brewery — Detroit Tap House237 Jos Campau St, Detroit, MI 48207
BARDA4842 Grand River Ave, Detroit, MI 48208
Bad Luck Bar1218 Griswold St, Detroit, MI 48226
Baker's Keyboard Lounge20510 Livernois Ave, Detroit, MI 48221
Baobab Fare6568 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48202
Basan2703 Park Ave, Detroit, MI 48201
Batch Brewing Company1400 Porter St, Detroit, MI 4821605 / What to do
A nearly 1,000-acre island park in the Detroit River, run as a state park since 2014. You get an aquarium (opened in 1904), a conservatory, the James Scott Memorial Fountain and the only marble lighthouse in the country.
Official site ↗About 4.75 miles of riverfront path from near the Ambassador Bridge to the bridge to Belle Isle, with parks along the way and the Dequindre Cut greenway. On the west end, the 22-acre Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park opened in October 2025.
Official site ↗Detroit's market has been here since 1891, and at 43 acres it's the largest historic public market district in the country. The Saturday market runs year-round, surrounded by more than 150 shops and food businesses.
Official site ↗The city's great art museum. Its heart is Rivera Court, where Diego Rivera's 27 Detroit Industry fresco panels (1932–1933) show the workers of Ford's River Rouge plant; they've been a National Historic Landmark since 2014.
Official site ↗Berry Gordy bought the house at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in 1959 and set up Motown's first studio, Studio A, inside. It's been a museum since 1985.
Official site ↗06 / History
On July 24, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and Alphonse de Tonty, with more than a hundred settlers, began building a fort on the river's north bank: Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit.
On June 11 a fire leveled almost the entire town by afternoon, though no one died. The city motto was born from the rebuilding.
Berry Gordy bought the house on West Grand Boulevard and started Motown inside it.
On July 23 a police raid on an unlicensed after-hours bar on 12th Street set off unrest that lasted until July 28. Forty-three people died and more than 400 buildings were destroyed. Many now call it the Detroit Uprising.
On July 18 Detroit filed for bankruptcy with $18–20 billion in debt. It exited on December 11, 2014, and the “Grand Bargain” that made it possible kept the Detroit Institute of Arts collection from being sold.
On June 6 Michigan Central Station reopened. The last train had left in 1988; Ford bought the building in 2018 and restored it.
07 / Born here
Mitt Romneypolitician, businessman · 1947
Francis Ford Coppolafilm director, screenwriter, producer · 1939
Charles Lindberghaviator, military officer, author · 1902
Diana Rosssinger, actress · 1944
Alice Coopersinger, songwriter · 1948
Steve Ballmerbusinessman, investor, NBA team owner · 1956
Ellen Burstynactress · 1932
Ralph Bunchediplomat, political scientist · 190408 / People
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Detroit city).
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: +1.5 percent.
