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
Free museum daysFlip the calendar: when museums let you in for free
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
My tripYour flights, your events, day by day, with an itemized budget in dollars and your own currency
Plan your tripWhen to come, how to get here, where to sleep: all in one place
Weather & seasonsWhat it’s like right now and month by month
Coming from abroad?Entry, money, phones, power, Canada: what you need to know
TransitBuses, trains and ferries with live departures
Driving in MichiganLicenses, rental cars, the rules and the yellow school bus
Lanes and left exitsKeep right? Here people pass on the right and exit on the left
Road work and potholesOrange barrels, detours, 45 mph: driving Michigan’s work zones
People MoverThe free elevated loop above downtown
QLINE streetcarThe free streetcar on Woodward Avenue
DTW airportRed or blue terminal? We’ll show you.Your license in MichiganRental carsSpeed limitsMiles, gallons, MPGThe Michigan left and the rulesSchool busesTraffic lights, a Detroit inventionPulled over by policeDrinking and drivingWinter drivingWildlife on the roadGas and parking
Family · One day
A downtown park, coney dogs for lunch, a People Mover loop, a riverfront walk, a lighthouse, then an aquarium, a palm house and a marble lighthouse on Belle Isle.
This day is built for little legs: short walks, lots to see, and a train that loops you through the air between the buildings. Mornings are downtown and on the river; in the afternoon you drive over to Belle Isle for an aquarium, a conservatory and a lighthouse. The People Mover is free, but plan on a car for the island.
10:00
Downtown
Start in downtown's living room: open space around the Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, skating in winter, and family events in fall and winter. Check rink season and reservations with the Downtown Detroit Partnership.
Two minutes on foot to Lafayette Boulevard.
11:15
Downtown
Early lunch at one of the best-known addresses in Detroit's coney dog tradition. American Coney Island is right next door, so the brave can compare two classics in one short walk.
A few minutes' walk to the nearest People Mover station.
12:15
Downtown
To a kid, this is pure magic: driverless cars gliding through the air between buildings. The 2.9-mile loop takes about 15 minutes, it's free, and all 13 stations have artwork you can hunt for together. Get off at the Renaissance Center station.
Through the RenCen and out to the river, a few minutes.
12:45
Riverfront
The Riverwalk is made for small legs: parks and places to rest, with Windsor and Canada across the water. Head east and take your time; next up is Milliken State Park.
About a 25-minute walk east along the Riverwalk.
13:45
Riverfront
The 63-foot (about 19-meter) white lighthouse echoes the Tawas Point lighthouse, surrounded by wetlands, a harbor and views of Canada. A good spot to let the kids run before you get in the car.
About 10 minutes by car east, over the MacArthur Bridge to Belle Isle.
15:00
Belle Isle
Opened in 1904, the aquarium's vaulted ceiling is covered in green glass tiles, so it feels like you're underwater. It's not a huge aquarium complex but a one-of-a-kind little building with fish and aquatic life; it reopened in 2012, is run by the Belle Isle Conservancy, and may open only on selected days.
Right next door, a few steps.
15:45
Belle Isle
Palms, a glass dome and tropical plants right beside the aquarium: the 1904 conservatory honors Anna Scripps Whitcomb, who donated a major orchid collection to Detroit. Even the kids will look up under that dome.
About 5 minutes by car to the island's northeastern tip.
16:30
Detroit – Belle Isle
The grand finale is a record holder: the only marble lighthouse in the United States, first lit in 1930. Hungarian artist Géza Maróti designed it with Albert Kahn and carved the relief above the door. The tower is fenced, but it's stunning from outside, and its light still burns around the clock.
6 stops
Where should you take kids under 10 in Detroit?A streetcar on Woodward, hands-on science and a planetarium, an Afro-Caribbean lunch, old Detroit streets in a museum, the zoo in the afternoon and a kids' bookshop.
10 stops
Spring Break in the D: A Two-Day Family PlanHands-on science, old Detroit's streets, Diego Rivera, a free ride above downtown, penguins, an indoor waterfall, a green-glass aquarium and square pizza.
10 stops
Look up! A day with Detroit's most jaw-dropping buildingsA sailors' church, Yamasaki's first skyscraper, Art Deco lobbies and Albert Kahn's New Center: a whole day spent looking up.We built these plans from our own checked place pages. Hours and prices change, so check each place’s page before you go.
