Detroit
Detroit is the most populous city in the U.S.
Detroit is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from the Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario. It is the 26th-most populous city in the United States and the largest U.S. city on the Canada–United States border, with a population of 639,111 at the 2020 census, and an estimated 2025 population of 649,095, its first population increase since 1950. The Metro Detroit area, at over 4.4 million people, is the 14th-largest metropolitan area in the nation and second-largest in the Midwest. The county seat of Wayne County, Detroit is a significant cultural center known for its contributions to music, art, architecture, and design, in addition to its historical automotive and industrial background.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Detroit
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs.
3.5 km · American public research university located in Detroit, Michigan · Wikipedia - 02Ford Field
Ford Field is an indoor stadium in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. It primarily serves as the home of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League, the Mid-American Conference championship game, the annual state championship football games for the MHSAA, the MHSAA State Wrestling Championships, and the MCBA Marching Band State Finals, among other events. It was also the home of the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League from 2023 to 2025.
900 m · stadium in Detroit, Michigan · Wikipedia - 03Detroit Institute of Arts
The Detroit Institute of Arts is an art museum in midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. It has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the U.S. With over 100 galleries, it covers 658,000 square feet with a major renovation and expansion project completed in 2007 that added 58,000 square feet.
3.5 km · art museum in Detroit, Michigan · Wikipedia - 04Joe Louis Arena
Joe Louis Arena was a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Downtown Detroit. Completed in 1979 at a cost of US$57 million as a replacement for Olympia Stadium, it sat adjacent to Cobo Center on the bank of the Detroit River and was accessible by the Joe Louis Arena station on the Detroit People Mover.
800 m · arena located in Detroit, Michigan · Wikipedia - 05University of Windsor
The University of Windsor is a public research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university.
3.2 km · university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada · Wikipedia - 06Little Caesars Arena
Little Caesars Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Midtown Detroit. Opening in September 2017, the arena, which cost $862.9 million to construct, replaced Joe Louis Arena and the Palace of Auburn Hills as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League and the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association, respectively.
1.3 km · indoor arena in Detroit, Michigan, USA · Wikipedia - 07Ambassador Bridge
The Ambassador Bridge is an international suspension bridge across the Detroit River that connects Detroit, Michigan, United States, with Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1929, the privately owned toll bridge was for decades the busiest international border crossing in North America in terms of trade volume, carrying more than 25% of all merchandise trade between the United States and Canada by value.
3.2 km · privately owned suspension bridge that connects Detroit, Michigan, with Windsor, Ontario · Wikipedia - 08Guardian Building
The Guardian Building is a landmark 43-story office skyscraper in the Financial District of downtown Detroit, Michigan. Built from 1928 to 1929, the building was originally called the Union Trust Building and is a bold example of Art Deco architecture, including art moderne designs.
200 m · skyscraper in Michigan in the United States · Wikipedia - 09Fisher Building
The Fisher Building is a landmark office tower located at 3011 West Grand Boulevard in the heart of the New Center area of Detroit, Michigan. The ornate 30-story building, completed in 1928, is one of the major works of architect Albert Kahn, and is designed in an Art Deco style, faced with limestone, granite, and several types of marble.
4.9 km · skyscraper in Detroit, Michigan, United States, including the Fisher Theater · Wikipedia - 10Fort Detroit
Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Detroit was a French and later British fortification established in 1701 on the north side of the Detroit River by Antoine Laumet de Lamothe Cadillac. A settlement based on the fur trade, farming and missionary work slowly developed in the area.
300 m · fort used 1701–1779 in Michigan · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
This is only a small list of some of the biggest attractions and even though they are listed here, their info is brief. Make sure to check out the district articles for more. Renaissance Center, also known as the Ren Cen, is a group of seven interconnected skyscrapers whose central tower is the tallest building in Michigan and the tallest hotel in the Western Hemisphere.
From Wikivoyage: Detroit, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
This is only a small list of some of the key activities and events to enjoy and even though they are listed here, their info is brief. Make sure to check out the district articles for more. Casinos The three major casinos include, MGM Grand Detroit, Motor City and Greektown. Check for performances.
From Wikivoyage: Detroit, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
Detroit is home to many American classics including Sanders Hot Fudge, Little Caesars Pizza, Better Made Potato Chips, and Vernor's Ginger Ale. (Vernor's Ginger Ale shares the distinction as America's oldest soft drink with Hires Root Beer.) Detroit is famous for the ubiquitous Coney Island.
From Wikivoyage: Detroit, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Detroit
- Airports
- Windsor (YQG), 10 km · Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW), 29 km · Cleveland Hopkins (CLE), 142 km
- Stations
- Windsor International Airport, 9.7 km · Coleman A. Young International Airport, 9.1 km · Windsor, Ontario railway station, 3.1 km
- Cleveland → Detroit145 km · quickest by road, 4h 3m · $22–30
- Grand Rapids → Detroit226 km · quickest by road, 3h 41m · $20–28
- Columbus → Detroit264 km · quickest by road, 5h 6m · $24–33
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Detroit
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Detroit. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- 01845 km
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- 032,678 km
- 042,775 km
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If you know how people move in Detroit – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Detroit
- Delrayhuman settlement in Detroit, Michigan, United States of America7.1 km
- Grand Circus Park Historic Districthistoric district in Detroit, Michigan, USA600 m