1. Go to the MBAD Museum
Visit the home, shop, and outdoor exhibit of visual artist Olayami Dabls, who created the space to honor the cultures and art of Mother Africa within the city.
2. Go to the DIA
Admission to this incredible museum is miraculously free of charge for Oakland, Wayne, and Macomb county residents. Make sure you check out the free entertainment and films on Friday nights.
3. Go to the Detroit Historical Museum
Learn about this city’s never-boring past — be it French fur trappers, Civil War forts, rum running, or sports heroes.
4. Wave “hi” to Canada
No really, they love it!
5. Walk or bike the Dequindre Cut
Or skate, or jog, or line dance. Just get out and enjoy this beautiful 1.35-mile path of green space in the city!
6. Browse volumes at John K. King Used & Rare Books
Stories upon stories within stories upon stories.
7. Do a group bike ride
Join dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of other city boosters on bike rides through the city’s wide and open streets. Check out Slow Roll, Critical Mass, and Fender Bender collective — just to name a few — for upcoming rides.
8. Sit on the beach in Campus Martius
Someone had the brilliant idea of creating a giant adult sandbox in the middle of Downtown, complete with adult beverages and smooth jazz.
9. Watch a movie at New Center Park
This green oasis in New Center is a great place to catch a film and admire the lights of the towering Fisher Building.
10. Visit Old Tiger Stadium
Run the bases on this legendary corner in Detroit with the spirits of Mark Fidrych and Sparky Anderson cheering you on.
11. Go to Eastern Market
There’s always something going on, either within the market or in the bustling shops and restaurants that surround it.
12. Go to a free festival
From the Detroit Jazz Festival to Dally in the Alley to Meridian Winter Blast and a wildly high number more, there’s always free entertainment options in the city.
13. Visit a cider mill
As the nation’s third-most prolific apple-growing state, Michigan has this awesome combo that not every state gets to enjoy. Cider and donuts in Florida? Yeah right.
14. Visit the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory
Wander around the cacti, palms, and all manner of exotics housed within this historic greenhouse.
15. Ride the elevator at the Renaissance Center
Climbing the up 72 stories and watching the view of Windsor and the Detroit River through the glass also provides a you with a sweet chance for the aforementioned wave at Canada.
16. Walk or bike the Riverfront
Detroit’s riviera is just as beautiful as that of any other town. Err… any other Midwestern town.
17. Get a museum adventure pass
Visit your local library to pick up a Detroit Museum Adventure Pass, which can help you get in free to museums that charge pesky old admission fees.
18. Visit Pewabic Pottery
Rearrange the house number tiles they sell there so they spell “boobs” (80085!) and giggle to yourself as you peruse this historic ceramics studio.
19. Take a tour of the old Sanders Candy Factory
It’s now operating under the name of Morley Candy Makers, but you can still see how they make their chocolates, and if you’re lucky, maybe you’ll have hit your head and wake up thinking you’re in Willy Wonka’s lair.
20. Go see live music
Absolutely available, all the time, almost all over the city, and often for free. Just make sure to tip the bands.
21. Walk or bike to Belle Isle…
If you don’t have the $10 yearly fee to enter the island, get on for free on two feet or two wheels.
22. … And once you’re there: go swimming…
Many a great city lies on the bank of some body of water, but would you ever swim in New Orleans’ Mississippi River? How about the San Francisco Bay? The Detroit River may not win any cleanliness awards, but by all counts, it’s safe to baptize yourself in the river of rock.
23. … And play disc golf on Belle Isle?
While you’re out adventuring on Belle Isle, you may as well toss a disc around. Just don’t forget your mosquito repellant.
24. Sing karaoke
One of Detroit’s favorite sports is karaoke. Granted, the bartenders would appreciate you purchase a drink, but the actual singing is free.
25. Wander around in antique stores
Lose yourself for an afternoon as you browse through rows and rows of useless junk. Just kidding! There are always some gems and lots of Detroit memorabilia at Detroit Antique Mall, The Detroit Mercantile Co., and Eastern Market Antiques, among others. And hey, just because you aren’t looking for a cardboard cutout of Chuck Berry to put in your bathroom doesn’t mean someone else isn’t.
26. Visit the Detroit Public Library
All libraries are great (books are good, mmmkay), but the main branch on Woodward is particularly exquisite. Peruse through the historic building and imagine the city in its heyday.
27. Wander around Greektown
One of the liveliest parts of town, always bouncing with odd and delicious smells and behavior.
28. Hang out at Hart Plaza
Let your freak flag fly in the city’s waterfront central park.
29. Visit art galleries
See what your creative sistren and brethren are up to and maybe even get inspired.
30. Visit Cranbrook’s gardens
Explore forests, gardens, and even a lake or two within this art academy’s 319-acre campus.
31. Go to Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum
Let your inner child run free (literally, there’s no admission fee) at this arcade that doubles as a historical museum. Bring some spare change or return bottles if you want to play some vintage games.
32. Take a garden tour at Meadow Brook Hall
A beautiful spot north of the city.
33. Read Thrillist articles and become irate
For when you want to go agro but don’t have a reason. We’ll give you one!
34. Wander around Hamtramck
The most diverse city in Michigan — representing humanity across the seven seas.
35. Cruise Jefferson Ave along the water
See many sides of the city by bike, by car, by… um, pony?
36. Take a self-guided architectural tour
By car, by bike, or by foot — don’t buy the ticket, take the ride.
37. Cruise Woodward Ave
Get in before we have a streetcar to drag race with.
38. Take a selfie at the Train Station
And while you’re at it…
39. Sleep under a tree at Roosevelt Park
Seriously, posting up in the green space outside the aforementioned foresaken landmark is a pretty romantic idea for many Detroiters — and wayyy better than it would have been before the parks revival.
40. Track down famous graves
Son House, Rob Tyner, Fred “Sonic” Smith, Hiram Walker, etc., are all buried around our fair city. Go pay your respects to these important figures in Detroit history.
41. Visit the Heidelberg Project
Stroll around this outdoor art exhibit and marvel at the combination of visual art, community, and the beautifully weird that makes this place uniquely Detroit.
42. Go fishing at William G. Milliken State Park
One of the best views of the city!
43. Take a tour of the Masonic Temple
Go get creeped out and simultaneously informed as you wander through the freakishly high number of rooms in this, the largest of all Free Mason buildings in the world.
44. Visit Power House Productions
Visit a neighborhood in Hamtramck that’s been transformed house by house into art spaces and even a skate park.
45. Ride bikes along Hamilton Ave
One of Detroit’s straightest shots and a nearly deserted strip, take it up to Palmer Park and enjoy the city’s peace and quiet.
46. Visit Hamtramck Disneyland
It could be considered the most bizarre place in Detroit, if Detroit didn’t have so many bizarre places.
47. Volunteer with a local organization
Lord knows the city needs help, and there is a multitude of organizations that will help you help others. Donate your free time to a worthy cause, and have fun doing it.
48. Go wildlife watching
Pheasants, coyote, deer, bald eagles, peregrine falcons… who knows what else?! Our urban prairie is home to many unexpected animals.
49. Bust a move
And now for something completely different: learn how to salsa dance on Fridays and Saturdays at Vicente’s Cuban Cuisine or even make the trek out to Diamondback Saloon to learn how to line dance.
50. Run around with your pooch at a dog park
Or, go by yourself and run around with someone else’s pooch, since most owners will let you pet their dogs for free.
