Things to do in Detroit

Drive your own car through a preserve where giraffes, zebras, and bison come right up to the window near Lake Erie.

The fast catamaran ferry that turns Lake Erie into a shortcut, downtown Port Clinton to Put-in-Bay in about 30 minutes.

Ohio's Glass City on Lake Erie, home to a world-class art museum and a lively riverfront.

The Midwest's largest dinner riverboat cruises the Detroit River with live shows and skyline views.

Michigan's 'Little Bavaria' delivers year-round Christmas shopping and family-style chicken dinners.

A Hamtramck emporium of Polish stoneware, amber jewelry, folk art, and imported goods.

An Ontario border region on Lake Huron's Blue Coast, across the St. Clair River from Port Huron, Michigan.

Ohio's Lake Erie coast around Sandusky and Port Clinton, gateway to Cedar Point and the Lake Erie islands.

Vehicle and passenger ferry linking Catawba, Ohio to Put-in-Bay and Middle Bass Island.

Parasailing and watersports outfitter serving the Lake Erie Islands region near Sandusky, Ohio.

A five-attraction family fun park on Put-in-Bay island, built around a real underground cave.

A lively Lake Erie island village on South Bass Island, reached only by ferry or plane.

The 31-room mansion, museum, and burial site of the 19th U.S. president, set on 25 wooded acres in Fremont, Ohio.

The Sandusky County seat, home to the Hayes Presidential Library and a base within 30 minutes of the Lake Erie Islands.

Seasonal Renaissance-era fair in Holly with jousting, costumed performers, artisan vendors and themed food, rain or shine.

Federally designated heritage region across southeast Michigan telling the story of the American automobile industry.

Family-owned outfitter renting kayaks, canoes, pedal boats and paddleboards on the Portage River near Lake Erie.

Underground Railroad museum and heritage site honoring Rev. Josiah Henson near Dresden, Ontario.

One of the world's largest and oldest independent museums dedicated to African American history and culture.

Hop-on, hop-off narrated tram that loops South Bass Island in about an hour from a downtown depot, stopping at Perry's Monument, Heineman Winery and Perry's Cave.

Sports bar and kitchen on Catawba Island's Route 53 with 42 TVs, Cameo Pizza on the menu, an arcade, gem mining and a year-round miniature golf course.

An island park in the Detroit River with an aquarium, a conservatory, a beach, a marble lighthouse and a 5.4-mile loop.

A huge Christmas store where you browse ornaments, trees and nativities all year and walk the lit Christmas Lane outside.

Watch the Detroit Tigers at a downtown ballpark with giant tiger statues, a carousel and a baseball Ferris wheel.

See Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry murals and more than 65,000 artworks in a Beaux-Arts building on Woodward Avenue.

A riverside walking and biking path in downtown Detroit with parks, a carousel and views across the water to Canada.

A 125-acre zoo where you watch penguins, great apes and tigers and walk through an Arctic habitat.

Shop for local produce, flowers, meat and specialty foods in historic open-air sheds in Detroit's sprawling public market district.

Walk the 1904 brick factory where Ford built the first Model T, now a museum filled with more than 65 rare early cars.

Watch pickups being built from a suspended walkway inside Ford's working Dearborn Truck Plant, then take in the view from an 80-foot deck.

See a Broadway tour, concert or comedy show inside Detroit's ornate 1928 movie palace, with more than 5,000 seats.

Walk seven historic districts with working farms, craft shops, Edison's lab and rides in a Model T or behind a steam locomotive.

See the Big House, the University of Michigan's 107,601-seat football stadium, at a home game or on a guided tour booked in advance.

See a 352-foot memorial column on South Bass Island honoring the Battle of Lake Erie and lasting peace.

Browse 45 galleries of art from ancient Greece to Picasso, plus a glass-walled pavilion with glassblowing demos.

Meet polar bears, elephants, gorillas and penguins, and tour an aquarium housed in a 1930s WPA building.

A Southfield hotel on Telegraph Road near I-696 and M-24, with the Salt + Ko gastropub on its ground floor.

A 78-room hotel on East Jefferson Avenue near the Detroit riverfront, with free breakfast and a free shuttle.

A 25-story hotel on the site of Detroit's 1701 French fort, with angled bay windows looking over the river and the city.

A 194-room Southfield hotel with an indoor pool and full-service restaurant, close to Royal Oak and the Detroit Zoo.

Stay off I-94 near Detroit Metro Airport, with an airport shuttle, free parking, an indoor pool and breakfast each morning.

A 1966 boutique hotel in Detroit's New Center, connected to the Fisher Building and Cadillac Place.

Walk through galleries on the Holocaust, see a wartime boxcar and a sapling from Anne Frank's tree in Farmington Hills.

An all-suite Marriott hotel by I-94 near Detroit Metro Airport, with a pool, breakfast and an hourly airport shuttle.