We just returned from a trip to Detroit—somewhere I’ve been wanting to visit for quite a while. The main reason for our visit to Michigan was to attend a funeral for Andrew’s grandparents. I’m truly grateful we were able to be there, and it was really special getting to connect with more of Andrew’s family. We ended up extending our stay by a few days to explore “Motor City,” and even though Sage was going through a bit of a rough patch, we still managed to have a great time discovering the city and making some sweet family memories. Both Andrew and I were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed Detroit. It’s such an underrated city, and we’re happy we finally got to experience it for ourselves. In this post, I’ll be sharing 10 things we did in Detroit that are family friendly (and free!).

Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory

Andrew and I both love botanical gardens, so this location was high on our list! The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory is located in Belle Isle Park. We had a rental car thanks to Mazda, who I partnered with on this trip, so we were able to drive over to the island. It was an $11 entry for our car, but once you are on the island you can check out the gardens, walk trails, see views of the city, and check out the aquarium. We loved the desert garden the most! The lawn outside the botanical garden is a great place for a picnic, and you can’t miss the stunning koi pond. The architecture of the conservatory is just stunning as well!

Detroit Riverwalk

The Detroit Riverwalk is a popular attraction in the city and one that we had to visit, of course, because Andrew loves being by the water! You can see Canada on the other side of the river. There was a pretty lighthouse we walked to next to a marina and a gorgeous view of downtown Detroit. We walked past a sandy park and the Aretha Franklin Amphitheater on our way to the lighthouse. The weather was perfect and it was very relaxing, other than the graduation that was going on at the amphitheater lol.

Eastern Market

On our last morning in Detroit, we headed to the Eastern Market neighborhood, famous for its 19th century market hall. Sunday is the big day at the market, but we visited on a Tuesday, so it was a little more laid back. After checking out the vendors there, we explored the neighborhood. There are so many cool murals in this industrial area of Detroit! We ended up grabbing coffee at Anthology Coffee and checking out Vintage Eastern Market, a funky little vintage store. For lunch, we grabbed pierogi’s and a hot dog from one of the vendors at the market.

Downtown

After a fabulous brunch at Presley’s Kitchen & Bar, we explored the downtown Detroit area on our way to check out The Belt. It’s actually a beautiful downtown area with stunning old buildings, churches, hotels, theaters, and more. There was also a lot of high-end shopping, although that doesn’t interest Andrew and I very much. Everything was very well-maintained, clean, and pleasant.

The Belt

Located between Broadway and Library Street, The Belt is a “culturally re-defined” alleyway, newly developed in the heart of downtown Detroit with museums, murals, artwork, and more. Its purpose is to showcase the artistic endeavors of Detroit artists. I think there is normally a lot more going on than when we visited early in the morning, but it was still cool to stop by and check it out!

Fox Theatre

We found street parking not too far from Presley’s Kitchen & Bar where we had breakfast near Fox Theater. I had planned on checking out the indoor of this museum, which looked stunning in photos, but it wasn’t open on the Monday we visited, unfortunately. The colorful exterior of this historic theatre, built in 1928, is truly incredible! It’s one of the most iconic theater music venues in the world!

Detroit Institute Of Arts

We had intended on exploring the Detroit Institute of Arts on our second afternoon in Detroit, but we didn’t realize it was closed on Mondays! It’s really hard to plan everything perfectly and there is always something bound to go wrong during a trip. It was a bummer but just one of those things! We did enjoy admiring the beautiful architecture though. It’s across the street from the Detroit Public library, another stunning old building. We ended up walking over there and checking it out instead. Tickets for the DIA are around $20 for adults.

Detroit Public Library

The Detroit Public library is a beautiful historic building directly across the street from the Detroit Institute of Arts. The downstairs has been remodeled, but the second floor has beautiful fresco-style ceilings which I believe are all original, as well as the furniture and displays. Andrew and I love old architecture and this old library looked like something you would see in Europe! It was a cool spot to check out and totally free.

Midtown

We spent a good portion of the afternoon in midtown, checking out the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Detroit Public Library. From there we walked over to the nearby Wayne State University area, where Andrew’s grandfather was a percussion professor. Afterward, we drove over to a different part of midtown where we had a dinner reservation that evening at Bar Pigalle. There were some gorgeous old houses in this neighborhood so we walked around admiring those with Sage in his stroller until our reservation.

Greetings From Detroit Mural

On our last morning in Detroit, we stopped by this fun mural. I kind of have this tradition of going where I take a photo with the “greetings from…” mural in every new city I visit that has one. I did this by myself during all my travels and have started taking them with Sage ever since. I did a quick Google search the night before and found out that Detroit has one downtown! It’s located on the side of a wall in a paid parking lot, so we quickly parked our car on the street just to snap a few photos. This one was incredibly cool! Afterward, we drove over to Eastern Market.

XOXO