National Geographic Traveller UK 10.2019

Getting there & around

Delta Air Lines, Air France, KLM and

Virgin Atlantic all ly direct to Detroit

Metro Airport from Heathrow.

delta.com airfrance.co.uk klm.com

virginatlantic.com

Average light time: 8h40m.

The QLine streetcar connects

Downtown and Midtown. A regular

fare is $1.50 (£1.24) for three hours

or $3 (£2.48) for a day pass. The

Detroit People Mover, an elevated

light rail line, circles Downtown and

a journey costs $0.75 (62p). Uber

and Lyft taxis are available via their

respective apps, while ride-share

bikes can be picked up with MoGo.

Lime, Bird and Spin offer electric

scooters. qlinedetroit.com

thepeoplemover.com uber.com

lyft.com mogodetroit.com li.me

bird.co spin.app

When to go

Summer (June-August) sees highs of

30C; winter (December-February)

ranges from -6C to 2C.

Where to stay

Rooms at Shinola Hotel from $255

(£205) a night, room only.

shinolahotel.com

More info

visitdetroit.com

visittheusa.co.uk/music

Grand Circus Magazine.

readgrandcircus.com

Murals in the Market.

muralsinthemarket.com

A History Lover’s Guide to Detroit,

Karin Risko. RRP: $21.99 (£18.13)

How to do it

AUDLEY TRAVEL offers tailor-made

trips to the Great Lakes. An

eight-day, self-drive costs from

£2,290 per person (based on two

sharing). Includes three nights at

Shinola Hotel plus time in Sleeping

Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and

Mackinac Island, international

lights, transfers, car hire, room-only

accommodation and some

excursions. audleytravel.com/usa

ESSENTIALS

the city’s pivotal role in the Underground
Railroad, celebrate famous scions, like the
boxer Joe Louis, share Prohibition Era tales
of smuggling, and map out the industrial
boom-and-bust that shaped the Motor City.
One chapter that needs little introduction
is the birth of Motown music in the 1960s,
which can be experienced in a sing-a-long
museum tour of record label founder Berry
Gordy’s headquarters and recording studio
on West Grand Boulevard. citytourdetroit.com
motownmuseum.org

5PM
SWING BY MIDTOWN
Many locals can still scarcely believe that
Detroit’s renaissance has even spread to the
once-notorious Cass Corridor. In a few short
years, dozens of microbreweries and local
retailers have set up shop. Highlights include
Third Man Records, the recording studio,
vinyl press and music emporium opened
by Detroiter Jack White in 2015, and the
beloved bakery Avalon International Breads.
thirdmanrecords.com avalonbreads.net

6PM
EXPLORE THE RIVER WALK
Broken sidewalks and concrete silos have,
over the past decade, given way to a 5.5-mile,
landscaped promenade that’s the ideal way
enjoy the Detroit River and glimpses of

Canada on the far shore. Pick up a MoGo bike

to visit Belle Isle, Detroit’s answer to New

York’s Central Park (landscaper Frederick

Law Olmsted designed both), pausing

for photos at the James Scott Memorial

Fountain and Sunset Point. mogodetroit.org

8PM

DINNER AT WIGHT & COMPANY

This is one of Detroit’s best restaurants,

holding its own amid a sea of new Downtown

openings since 2014. It doesn’t take any

reservations, so bank on a wait at the bar

— no great hardship, as there’s theatricality

aplenty in the elaborate cocktails and moody

industrial decor. The owner also runs The

Sugar House — regularly ranked among the

country’s best bars — in Detroit’s ultimate

hipster hood, Corktown. wrightdetroit.com

10PM

COCKTAILS AT THE BELT

The Belt, an alleyway in Downtown’s former

garment district, is the place to be at sundown.

Join the Millennials sipping al fresco cocktails

at The Skip, and look up to appreciate the

murals and bold slogans by Detroit-based art

gallery Library Street Collective. Later, slink

below ground to the neon wonderland of live

music venue Deluxx Fluxx, or duck into new

mixology mecca Bad Luck Bar, a few blocks

away. thebelt.org badluckbar.com

DETROIT

WINDSOR

CANADA

DOWNTOWN

CORKTOWN

MIDTOWN

EASTERNMARKET

Michigan CentralStation

Detroit Vineyards

Bert’s Marketplace Dequindre Cut

Detroit Instituteof Arts

Third ManRecords

Woodward Ave

Bad Luck Bar The Belt

Belle Isle Park1 mile

Detro

it^ Rive

r

Detroit

UNITED STATESOF AMERICA

1/2 Mile

Eastern Market

146 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel

DETROIT