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A One to Three Day Itinerary for Southeastern Michigan

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You will want to begin your exploration of southeastern Michigan in Detroit, the state's largest city. Spend your first day exploring some of the city's museums:

Detroit Institute of the Arts, where you will be able to enjoy more than 100 galleries with art from ancient to modern times. 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.

Detroit Science Center, which includes traveling exhibits, five hands-on exhibit laboratories, two demonstration stages, an IMAX theater and a digital dome planetarium.

Detroit Historical Museum, which showcases the history of Detroit and southeastern Michigan, including exhibits that recreate the streets of Old Detroit and 19th Century stores, celebrate automotive history and reveal a pilot house from a Great Lakes freighter.

Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, offering exhibits and programs that explore the diversity of African American history and culture. The museum features Mae Jamison's NASA flight suit, a replica of Dr. Martin Luther King's Birmingham jailhouse door, among other artifacts.

Motown Historical Museum -- When you visit this museum, which is located in an old brick house, you will be standing on the site where the Motown sound of the 1960s began. Guided tours are offered at regular hours.

For day two, head to nearby Dearborn for some more history, courtesy of Henry Ford. Dearborn is located about 10 miles from downtown Detroit. Spend your morning at the Henry Ford Estate - Fair Lane at 4901 Evergreen St. Tours are available of this estate, which sits on a 1,300-acre site. Visitors are invited to explore the home, as well as the six-level Powerhouse, including Ford's personal garage and cars. This Powerhouse, created by Ford and Thomas Edison, gave the estate the independence to produce its own power, heat and light - and in fact, still produces electricity today.

Once you have finished at the estate, make your way to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village at 20900 Oakwood Blvd. The museum and village cover 93 acres and highlight American innovation and enterprise. Its exhibits feature the Rosa Parks bus, the chair that Abraham Lincoln sat in when he was assassinated, the limousine in which John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and Edgar Allan Poe's writing desk. Greenfield Village's 81 acres cover more than 300 years in exhibits, including steam locomotives, a steamboat, and a Model T. There is an IMAX theater in the visitors' center, as well as plenty of places to enjoy lunch and snacks throughout the day.

Spend day three enjoying the morning at a Detroit classic - Eastern Market on Russell Street. This indoor-outdoor marketplace is more than a century old and remains one of the city's major attractions. Spread over a 43-acre area, the market draws 45,000 people on a given Saturday, so be prepared for crowds. The market is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, so get there early for the best selection.

Then make your way to the Detroit Zoological Park, 8450 W. Ten Mile Road in Royal Oak. The zoo covers 125 acres and includes a great ape complex, a snow monkey area with hot spring, a reptile house, a free-flight aviary, and penguin and polar bear exhibits. A miniature railroad carries visitors around the grounds of the zoo. The zoo is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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