TIPS FOR VISITING DETROIT

ll my life I have lived in       Institute of Arts. The museum has
Detroit. I have often           over 60,000 works of art in their
struggled with where I          collection. The collection
should take visitors that come in     includes paintings by Cezanne,
from out of town. Detroit is not      Degas, Rembrandt, Rubens, and
Chicago, New York, or Boston.         Warhol.
However, if you look in the right
places, there are many great          2. Visit Belle Isle. An island
sites to be seen.                     park, located in the Detroit
                                      River, originally designed in
To be honest, Detroit has seen        1883 by Frederick Law Olmstead.
better times. Growing up in the       He was the designer of Central
city, I remember many great           Park in New York City. At the tip
things about the city that no         of the island, you will find a
longer exist today. However, I        great view of downtown Detroit.
think the city is on the rise and
there is a great future ahead.        3. Have a hot dog at Lafayette
Downtown Detroit has improved and     Coney Island. A “Coney” in
there are many more improvements      Detroit is a hot dog covered in
in the works. For those with the      chili, mustard and onions.
entrepreneurial spirit, I think       Lafayette is the best in the
this is a great place to be.          city. Don’t just order a dog.
                                      Make sure to include chili fries
In this article, I will give you      and a coke.
my top ten things which you
should do on your visit to            4. On any given Saturday, visit
Detroit.                              Eastern Market. This is the
                                      farmer’s market for local area.
1. The cultural minded should         After browsing the spectacular
spend a day at the Detroit            fruits, vegetables, meats and

other food products, head over to     Ambassador Bridge from Canada.
the Russell Street Deli. The          You cannot miss the building. It
sandwiches and food cannot be         is the one which has no windows.
beat.
                                      8. Take a trip over to Windsor,
5. For those animal lovers, visit     Canada. It is just a short drive
the Detroit Zoo. The Zoo is not       through the tunnel or across the
located in Detroit proper. It is      Ambassador Bridge. Windsor has a
located a two miles outside the       nice downtown and many great
city in Royal Oak. Over 3,000         restaurants. The best Italian
animals call the zoo home.            restaurants are located on Erie
Considered a cultural gem.            Street.

6. Now that the Detroit Tigers        9. Take a trip to the suburbs.
are contenders, take in a             Just outside the city, visit
baseball game at the new stadium.     Ferndale, Royal Oak, and
After the game, take a trip down      Birmingham. They are all off of
to the old Tigers stadium at          the Woodward Avenue corridor.
Michigan and Trumbull. Marvel at      Each of these towns have a small
the place where Ty Cobb once          downtown with unique boutiques
played. It may soon be gone.          and restaurants. Each one is good
                                      for an afternoon of browsing.
7. For what I call the ruins of
Detroit, visit the old Michigan       10. Further up the Woodward
Central Station. It was built in      corridor, visit Cranbrook. An
1913 and abandoned in 1987. It is     educational community started in
the largest train station I have      the early 1900’s. It features
ever come across. You can get a       architecture by Eliel Saarinen,
spectacular view of the building      Albert Kahn, Steven Holl, Tod
if you are coming over the            Williams and Billie Tsien and

Rafael Moneo. It has been called      with some ideas of things to do
"the most enchanted and               on your visit to Detroit. I am
enchanting setting in America".       sure I have missed some great
                                      places. The key when visiting
I hope my tips will provide you       anywhere, get out and explore.

About the Author:

Sharon Stajda has been a Detroiter for life. For further information on Detroit, please visit Detroit - The Dynamic .

Tips For Visiting Detroit