It doesn’t matter if you’re a visitor or a resident, there are many ways to maximize your Detroit experience.

If you’re a local, you think you already love Detroit — but there’s always something new to fall in love with in the Motor City. If you’re a visitor, there’s plenty to do during your stay that will make you plan your next trip back.

From our favorite spots to hidden gems, these are the best decisions you can make in Detroit.

Make friends with someone who has a boat. Trust us. Credit: Noah Elliott Morrison
Enjoy the city’s free cultural institutions. Admission to the Detroit Institute of Arts is free for residents of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit is also free, with a $10 suggested donation. Credit: Shutterstock
Make friends with someone who has a boat. Even avid boaters will tell you these things are expensive, but what’s the point in being surrounded by 11,000 lakes if you can’t explore them? (Tip: Try crashing a concert at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheater by listening in from the Detroit River.) Credit: Shutterstock
Appreciate the architecture. Detroit has one of the most recognizable skylines in the world, which includes one of the largest surviving collections of late-19th-to-early 20th century buildings in the U.S. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has listed many of the city’s skyscrapers as endangered. Credit: Shutterstock
Live in the city. While Detroit has been losing thousands of residents each year since the 1950s, many of those who’ve stayed or moved in will happily tell you it’s a world-class city with its own charm. Plus, suburbia is boring. Credit: Cody Ross, Detroit Stock City
Patronize old restaurants. In recent months, we’ve said goodbye to a number of Motor City spots like Traffic Jam & Snug, Cass Cafe, and Orchid Thai. Support your favorites while you still can. Credit: Yelp, Inc., Flickr Creative Commons
Take a stroll on the Riverwalk. Detroit’s riverfront has seen improvements in recent years, leading USA Today readers to deem it the “best riverwalk in America” for the past three years. The Detroit Riverwalk includes more than 3.5 miles of parks and greenways, with even more improvements on the way. Credit: Shutterstock
Check out a local art gallery. There’s always some kind of art opening happening every weekend in the city, from newcomer gallery-music venue Spot Lite to stalwarts like the Scarab Club, where famous artists have autographed the ceiling’s beams in a long-standing tradition, including Diego Rivera, Marcel Duchamp, and Norman Rockwell. Credit: Lizz Wilkinson
Go to a concert at one of the city’s great venues. It’s easy to take it for granted if you go to many concerts, but Detroit’s music venues are unparalleled. We can’t even recall all of the times a touring act stopped their show to remark upon the ornate beauty of old theaters like the Fox or the Fillmore. Credit: Shutterstock
Check out a professional sports game. OK, so the Lions, Tigers, Red Wings, and Pistons haven’t been doing so great, but don’t sleep on Detroit City FC. Founded in 2012, “Le Rouge” has exploded in popularity, and its games at Hamtramck’s scrappy Keyworth Stadium are a sight to behold. Watch out for the smoke bombs. Credit: Jon DeBoer/DCFC
Get fresh produce from the Eastern Market. Support local farmers at Detroit’s historic commercial district, the largest historic public market district in the U.S. On Saturdays, some 45,000 people shop at the open air market. Credit: Shutterstock
Eat at happy hour. You can avoid crowds, the prices are much better, and the food and drinks are just as good. Credit: Ray Rushing, Detroit Stock City
Enjoy Belle Isle. This island park is a real gem, whether you’re simply soaking in the sun on the beach, firing up a barbecue grill, or enjoying attractions like the Belle Isle Aquarium, the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, or the famous giant slide. Credit: Shutterstock
Enjoy Hart Plaza. There’s a big festival happening at Detroit’s riverfront plaza every month throughout the warm season, including Movement Music Festival in May, Motor City Pride in June, African World Festival in July, Ribs and R&B Music Festival in August, and Detroit Jazz Festival in September. Credit: Leah Castile, Detroit Stock City
Peruse the aisles of John K. King Books. Established in 1983 in abandoned Advance Glove Factory, John K. King Used & Rare Books has more than 1 million books and was described by Salon magazine as having “one of the largest and strangest collections in North America.” You’re bound to discover something you’ll love. Credit: Shutterstock
Go roller skating. Detroit has a great roller skating scene, including the bi-annual roller disco at the Northland Roller Rink hosted by DJ Moodymann and Southwest Detroit’s RollerCade, a Black- and family-owned business since 1955. Credit: Courtesy of Bedrock Detroit
See a movie at the Ford-Wyoming Drive-In. Opened in 1950 in nearby Dearborn and once the largest drive-in theater in the U.S., Ford-Wyoming shows double features all year long. Tip: Bring a lawn chair and FM radio, which can broadcast the films’ audio, so you can enjoy a summer night in its fullest. Credit: Josh Kesner, Flickr Creative Commons
Sign up for a local CSA. Community supported agriculture, or CSAs, are crop-sharing systems that allow local farms to directly sell to consumers. In Michigan, there are a multitude of farms that participate in CSAs, and you can get anything from vegetables and fruit to meat, flowers, and more. Find one at localharvest.org. Credit: Keep Growing Detroit, Facebook
Catch a play. There are plenty of places in Detroit to experience the magic of live performance, including the Detroit Public Theatre, which recently opened a new home in the Cass Corridor, and the Detroit Repertory Theatre, open since 1957. Credit: Chuk Nowak
Get a library card. Did you know a library card can be used for more than just checking out books? You can use it to read newspapers and magazines, rent DVDs and music, and also use Kanopy, a film streaming service that comes with your library card. Credit: Shutterstock
Support Black-owned businesses. Detroit is one of the biggest Black-majority cities in the U.S., and its Black-owned businesses are the backbone of the city. Credit: Kahn Santori Davison
Kayak the Detroit canals. Did you know Detroit has a canal district? It’s like a Midwestern Venice, with houses right along the water. Bring your own kayak or take a guided tour with Detroit River Sports. Credit: Evan Gonzalez, Detroit Stock City
Volunteer at a community garden or farm. Detroit’s massive size and shrinking population make it attractive for urban farming, and by some counts these farms make up the city’s largest industry. Talk to your local neighborhood farmers to see how you can help. Credit: Cody Ross, Detroit Stock City
Shop local for gifts. Stop giving all of your money to Jeff Bezos and support local businesses instead. There are plenty of local shops selling unique gifts that your loved ones will love. Credit: Hannah Ervin, Detroit Stock City
Check out local music. The Motor City’s music scene remains undefeated, and any night of the week you can catch amazing live music at a variety of bars and clubs. Who knows, that band you saw might one day become the next big thing, and you’ll be able to say you saw them before everyone else. Credit: Mike Pfeiffer
Visit the city’s century-old cemeteries. Put some respect on their names. You can visit memorials to former Mayor Coleman Young, former governor Lewis Cass, and the MC5’s Fred “Sonic” Smith at Elmwood Cemetery, while Woodlawn Cemetery has Aretha Franklin, Rosa Parks, and several members of the Ford family. Credit: Shutterstock
Take a guided tour of the city. Think you know Detroit? We guarantee you’ll learn something new on a guided tour. The Detroit Bus Company offers a number of themed tours, as does The Black Scroll Network, the tour service run by the city’s official historian, Jamon Jordan. Credit: Courtesy photo
Vote in local and statewide elections. Only 45.8% of Wayne County voters cast a ballot in November, and an even lower 33.8% in Detroit — well below Michigan’s 56.8%. Many elections were decided by razor-thin margins,and decisions made in the statehouse and city hall will affect your lives. Vote! Credit: State of Michigan
Don’t wait until the last minute to stock up on supplies before a winter storm. Yeah, we know, sometimes the local weather forecasters oversell storms that never come. But storms do hit Southeast Michigan, and you don’t want to be fighting over rolls of toilet paper at Meijer, so stock up ahead of time. Credit: Shutterstock
Hang out at a dive bar. Saddle up to the bar, order a cheap beer, and get ready for the stranger next to you to talk your ears off with their life story. It’s the reason dive bars are great, and metro Detroit has plenty of them. Credit: pverdonk, Flickr Creative Commons
Read local media. Stay informed and support your local news publications. In Detroit, there are plenty to choose from, including the Detroit Free Press, Detroit News, Hour Detroit magazine, MLive, Crain’s Detroit Business, Axios, and Between the Lines, among others… oh, and a little alt-weekly that has been serving the community since 1980 called Metro Times. Credit: Lee Devito

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Since 1980, Metro Times has been Detroit’s premier alternative source for news, arts, culture, music, film, food, fashion and more from a liberal point of view.