"In a few short years, Detroit has gone from being a cautionary tale to a success story, and now bills itself as 'America’s Great Comeback City,'" writes Corina Quinn of Travel + Leisure, which recently named the Motor City one of 50 top travel destinations for 2016. "This is more than just clever marketing—formerly desolate stretches of the riverfront, city streets, and buildings have been resurrected for locals and visitors alike," she writes.
Sure, we have our fair share of problems — education, water, and roads jump to mind — but things have, in fact, turned around. Earlier this year, we bid farewell to our title as the murder capitol and just this week police chief James Craig said there are more likely targets than Detroit for terrorist attacks, so there's that.
Cheek aside, Detroit is really a swell place to visit with a wealth of eateries, artistic offerings, and performances venues, not to mention a growing startup scene. We're stoked Travel and Leisure took notice. Here's T+L with more:
Aside from increasing its hotel offerings, the city has several other new draws: the West Riverfront Park, great for biking, running, and fishing; and the DNR Outdoor Adventure Center with a freshwater aquarium and man-made waterfall and climbing tree. Almost 100 new restaurants, along with breweries and distilleries, opened in the past two years (such as Detroit Water Ice Factory, a dessert shop from writer Mitch Albom, and Kuzzo’s Chicken & Waffles, former NFL cornerback Ron Bartell’s effort to continue to revamp the Livernois Avenue of Fashion), with more on the way. Now that retailers like John Varvatos and Carhartt have opened outposts in the city, and Nike is making plans to join the fray, Detroit might not be able to sell its comeback story for much longer—it’s decidedly back. —Corina Quinn
