Rely on two dependable mass transit systems, the People Mover light rail loop and the Q-Line electric streetcar line, and you’ll get easy access to Detroit’s best downtown attractions: buzzy restaurants and bars, sports arenas and theaters, Hart Plaza (where the city’s best festivals take place), the Museum District, Midtown shopping, and the Detroit riverfront. But if you plan to explore the wider city, you’ll need to rent a vehicle or book a car service. Attractions like the Henry Ford Museum, the Detroit Zoo, Belle Isle State Park, and the vast estates of the Fords and the Dodges are well worth venturing out for, but they all require four wheels. 

Downtown Detroit has become a magnet for food and beverage lovers thanks to its trendy and chef-run restaurants and bars. Dine at James Beard Award-winning restaurants, eat cuisines that span the globe, drink at themed bars in The Belt and at semi-secret speakeasies. But first, check to see if reservations are available, and if so, book your table in advance, particularly if you’re headed downtown.

The city that’s home to the Motown Sound, Techno, and the world’s longest-operating jazz bar (Baker’s Keyboard Lounge) is famous for its music. But music is just one piece of Detroit’s artistic heritage. Head to Hart Plaza to see a dozen impressive public sculptures, including the iconic Monument to Joe Louis, a.k.a. The Fist, by Robert Graham; Eastern Market for its collection of more than 150 murals; and the Detroit Institute of Arts, home to one of the nation’s most extensive African American collections, featuring works by Elizabeth Catlett, Charles McGee, and Tyree Guyton.

Why stay in a modern cookie cutter-style hotel when you could spend the night in an architectural landmark? The Detroit of the 1920s built incredible buildings, and many of those architectural gems have found new life a century later as boutique hotels. Book a stay at the Detroit Foundation Hotel, which occupies the city’s former fire department headquarters; ROOST, which carves space out of the marble-rich Book Tower; the Cambria Hotel, set in a vintage radio station; or the Siren Hotel, located in what was once one of the world’s largest music stores.

Detroit is a city synonymous with urban culture and manufacturing prowess. But outdoor recreation has always been important to ordinary Detroiters, so you’ll never lack for great places to take a morning walk or bike ride. Head to the Detroit Riverwalk for bicycle rentals or to join locals on a morning run. Visit Belle Isle State Park to stroll past botanical gardens and a marble lighthouse. Or head to the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood for a history tour of Detroit from the seat of a kayak.