Day One

Morning Activity: Spend the morning visiting the Detroit Institute of the Arts, where you will be able to enjoy more than 100 galleries with art from ancient to modern times. Exhibits include 17^th century Dutch and Flemish paintings, the William Hurst Collection of armor, the Tannahill Collection of impressionist paintings, the Pre-Columbian Native American Art exhibit, the G. Mennen Williams collection of African art and Diego Rivera’s Detroit industry murals. Keep your eye out for Vincent Van Gogh’s “Self Portrait with a Straw Hat” and Auguste Rodin’s “The Thinker,” just a few of the many prestigious works of art on display here. The museum opens at 10 a.m. every day but Monday and Tuesday, when it is closed.

 

Lunch: The Detroit Institute of the Arts has several options for lunch right inside its walls in the CaféDIA. Offerings include homemade soups, award-winning chili, fresh baked chili, fresh fruits, garden salads, hot entrees, grilled sandwiches and burgers, pizzas and dessert. The café opens at 11:30 a.m. so when you are finished viewing the collections, fuel up with a hearty lunch.

 

Afternoon Activity: After a morning inside, it is time to enjoy some fresh air in Belle Isle Park. Take a cab to the footbridge at the foot of East Grand Boulevard. You can access the park by walking across this bridge. The nearly half-mile long bridge was built in 1923 and renovated in 1986. With 983 acres, Belle Isle Park is the largest city-owned island park in the country. The park features a  conservatory, Great Lakes Museum, and plenty of room for recreation. Enjoy the view of America’s busiest inland waterway and watch the freighters pass. Visit the Great Lakes Museum, which has the world’s largest collection of scale-model Great Lakes ships. Enjoy the Scott Memorial Fountain, which was built using the entire fortune of eccentric gambler James Scott. And see one of the largest collections of orchids in the country at the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory.

Dinner and Evening Activity: Make your way to Comerica Park at 2100 Woodward Avenue for an evening Detroit Tigers game – and plenty of ballpark food for dinner. This state-of-the-art facility is the new home for the Detroit Tigers, opened in 2000. Built next door to the Detroit Lions new entertainment complex, Ford Field, the 40,000-seat Comerica Park maintains traditional architecture while adding luxury suites and other modern comforts. Get there early to buy dinner at the concessions, enjoy the picnic area and go for a whirl on the carousel and Ferris wheel before the opening pitch. Be sure to buy tickets in advance.