Classic · One day

Hop on, hop off: a whole day riding the QLINE

From the riverfront to New Center along Woodward: a statue, public squares, a movie palace, modern art, city history, Art Deco and Motown.

stops: 9
length: One day
areas: 4

The QLINE streetcar runs 12 stops up Woodward Avenue, from the south end of downtown to New Center, right along the city's spine. This day works like a hop-on, hop-off tour, local style: get off, look around, catch the next car. You start near the Detroit River in the morning and finish at the birthplace of Motown.

Up Woodward Avenue

09:30
The Spirit of Detroit
Downtown
Start by the Congress Street terminus at the city's symbol: Marshall Fredericks' green bronze figure has sat outside the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center since 1958, a golden sphere in one hand and a family in the other.

QLINE from Congress Street to the Campus Martius stop, or a few minutes on foot.
10:00
Campus Martius Park
Downtown
Detroit's outdoor living room on the city's main square. Its story goes back to the plan drawn up after the 1805 fire; summer brings programs, winter brings a skating rink, and the Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument stands here too.

QLINE north to the Grand Circus stop.
10:30
Grand Circus Park
Detroit – Downtown
The northern anchor of Augustus Woodward's 1807 radial city plan and today the heart of the theater district. Woodward Avenue splits the half-circle park in two, with the Fox Theatre and the David Whitney Building around it.

QLINE one stop north to Montcalm Street.
11:00
Fox Theatre
Downtown
C. Howard Crane's movie palace on Woodward Avenue: the ornate lobby and monumental auditorium keep the ambition of the movie-palace era alive with concerts and stage shows today. Inside access is by show or announced tour, but the facade wows right now.

QLINE north to the Canfield Street stop.
11:45
Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
Midtown
Contemporary art in a former car dealership right by the stop. Open since 2006, the museum runs rotating shows, music and talks, and Mike Kelley's Mobile Homestead is here too.

QLINE north to the Ferry Street stop, the museum district.
12:45
Detroit Historical Museum
Midtown
Want context for the city? This is where you get it: the recreated Streets of Old Detroit, the story of car manufacturing, communities and cultural life. A great early stop, because you'll see everything else differently afterward.

QLINE north into New Center to the Baltimore Street stop, then a short walk on Woodward.
14:30
Baobab Fare
New Center
A late lunch with Burundian stories and East African flavors. Refugees founded this New Center restaurant, and community and a sense of home sit at its heart.

A short walk toward Grand Boulevard, or the QLINE to the end of the line.
15:30
Fisher Building
New Center
Albert Kahn's 1928 tower by the QLINE's northern terminus. The decorated ceilings and stonework of the ground-floor arcades are one of the day's highlights, so don't just rush through.

A longer walk west on West Grand Boulevard, or a short drive.
16:30
Motown Museum
New Center
End the day outside Hitsville U.S.A.: Berry Gordy bought this house in 1959, and Motown's early hits were born here in Studio A. Guided tours are paused during construction, so check what's open.

Good to know

The QLINE runs from Congress Street at the south end to Grand Boulevard at the north end, about 24 minutes end to end.
Southbound platforms are on the west side of Woodward and northbound on the east side, and a few stops have a different cross street in each direction.
At Grand Circus you can transfer to the People Mover if you want to loop downtown too.
You can see inside the Fox Theatre only at a show or an announced tour, and Motown Museum's guided tours are paused until spring 2027.