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
LGBTQ+ · One day
Palmer Park's historic gayborhood, then Ferndale: a pizza spot from 1961, an artisan market, Michigan's largest LGBTQ+ center, a leather shop, queer theater and SOHO.
For decades Detroit's best-known gay neighborhood was the apartment district around Palmer Park; in the 1980s, crime and police harassment pushed many residents up Woodward to Ferndale and Royal Oak. This day follows that path: Palmer Park in the morning, then downtown Ferndale for the afternoon and evening, where everything around 9 Mile is walkable. Plan it for a Saturday, since the market is only open Friday to Sunday.
10:30
Palmer Park
This is where the story starts: the ornate 1920s and '30s apartment buildings here were Detroit's best-known gay neighborhood for decades, with LGBT-owned bars, bookstores and restaurants, and the district has been on the National Register since 1983. It's residential, so take in the buildings from the streets between Pontchartrain Boulevard, McNichols Road and Woodward Avenue.
A few minutes' walk to the park.
11:30
North Detroit
Neighboring Palmer Park grew out of Thomas W. Palmer's 1893 land donation: woodland paths, Lake Frances and a historic log cabin. It's also where Hotter Than July holds its candlelight vigil and picnic.
About 10 minutes by car north on Woodward to Ferndale.
13:00
Ferndale
Lunch at a pizza institution serving since 1961 at Nine Mile and Woodward, a gay hangout for decades. It reopened in 2019 under new owners with a pastel makeover and a drag-themed mural on the patio that openly embraces its LGBTQ+ history; the big covered patio sits right next to the Ferndale Pride grounds.
One minute, right next door.
14:15
Ferndale
A weekend artisan market in a former big-box store: since 2011 it has housed about 30 independent shops, many queer-owned, plus a bar and event space. It's open Friday to Sunday only, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays.
A 4-minute walk west on 9 Mile.
15:30
Ferndale
Michigan's largest LGBTQ+ community center has served the community since 1989, now in a purpose-built home in downtown Ferndale: support groups, youth and senior programs and arts events. The building also houses the Pittman-Puckett Gallery and The Ringwald Theatre. Open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays.
A 3-minute walk along 9 Mile.
16:30
Ferndale
Metro Detroit's original alternative, leather and fetish boutique since 1983: it started in Royal Oak, famous for its window displays, and now sits on 9 Mile near SOHO and Affirmations. Leather, corsetry, kink gear and clubwear; since 2021 it has been veteran- and Black-owned. Some merchandise is adults-only, so bring ID.
A 3-minute walk back to the Affirmations building.
20:00
Ferndale
Theater night: since 2007 The Ringwald has been Metro Detroit's queer-identified theater company, mixing campy LGBTQ-forward shows with classic plays and musicals, inside Affirmations since 2021. Check the company's site for the schedule and curtain times.
A 2-minute walk along 9 Mile.
22:30
Ferndale
Nightcap at the heart of 9 Mile's nightlife: SOHO has been a relaxed martini-and-video lounge since 2004, with a pool table and a dog-friendly patio; the crowd is mostly gay men, and everyone's welcome. Karaoke, trivia, dance parties and drag bingo; check Facebook and Instagram for what's on.
8 stops
Drag, dancing and bingo: where does queer Detroit go out for a weekend?A queer-friendly pub, a drag party bus, disco since 1927, a queer bookstore, Royal Oak's showbar, a drag cabaret, bingo brunch and a Sunday tea dance.
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.
8 stops
How to spend a whole day on Belle IsleA bridge over the river, a green-tiled aquarium, a palm house, a leaping gazelle, a marble lighthouse and hydroplane history.We built these plans from our own checked place pages. Hours and prices change, so check each place’s page before you go.
