Top Rated Attractions in Detroit

Located in Dearborn, the Henry Ford Museum showcases the fascinating history of American innovation. You'll find a 1909 Ford Model T on display, as well as the bus that Rosa Parks made a stand on in 1955. See a kitchen from the 1930s, a locomotive, and other interesting historic memorabilia. The range of items in the museum is wide, featuring interesting pieces relating to manufacturing, transportation, entertainment, and technology.

View nearly 60,000 amazing works of art at the Detroit Institute of the Arts. 100 galleries are filled with sculptures, paintings, and other artworks that will fascinate. The Thinker, the famous sculpture by Auguste Rodin is placed near the entrance. Permanent collections in the museum include Islamic, Flemish, pre-Columbian, European, African, Asian, and American art. Cultural events are held throughout the year at the auditorium and recital hall.

One of the world's largest museums of African American history and culture, this impressive building opened in 1997 and is named after the local doctor and activist who first established it. With 120,000 square feet (11148 meters) of exhibit space, the Charles H. Wright Museum includes several exhibit galleries, a research library, classrooms and a museum store. The anchor exhibit, “Of the People: The African American Experience,” uses Detroit's own history to tell the story of the African-American experience in the United States. Previously, much smaller incarnations of the museum existed, dating back to 1965.

One of the many spirited attractions in downtown Detroit, Comerica Park is an extensive verdant field which has been a host to some iconic sporting events and concerts in the past. Named after the bank whose funds made its creation possible, Comerica Park overlooks some of the soaring high-rises residing in the city's downtown. Home ground of the Detroit Tigers, this sprawling ballpark is anything but a run-of-the-mill, neighborhood stadium. Strewn across its course are glorious tiger statues, a baseball-themed Ferris wheel, and the enormous Chevrolet Fountain. Hence, Comerica Park harbors a lively, further amplified by enthusiastic cheers and celebrations when the Tigers hit a home run. The ballpark is also home to the Big Cat Court, which offers a wealth of delectable foods like pretzels, deli sandwiches, French fries, Chicago-style hot dogs and more.

The National Football League's Detroit Lions played outside the city at the Pontiac Silverdome since abandoning Detroit's Tiger Stadium at the end of the 1974 season. In 2002, The Lions moved back to the city and into their new digs at Ford Field, a massive 65,000-seat stadium of steel and glass in the city's downtown entertainment district. Besides sporting events, the facility holds concerts, banquets, corporate events and other special events as well.

The Detroit Zoological Park is one of the nation's oldest and most stately zoos. Its huge main campus is located on land situated in the suburb of Huntington Woods but owned by the city of Detroit. Renovations of many of the zoo's older buildings and new exhibits have modernized the zoo. Popular exhibits include the new Amphibiville, home of the National Amphibian Conservation Center, a Wildlife Interpretive Center and adjacent butterfly/hummingbird gallery, a chimpanzee exhibit, a penguinarium and a model farm. The grounds are large and a free train is often crowded in summer.