Detroit offers a number of fun ways to entertain friends and family all year. With the number of festivals, parks, leisure activities, and sports and entertainment options in Detroit, you will never run out of things to do in Detroit.
Detroit is an entertainment mecca-with the Motor City Casino, MGM Casino and Greektown Casino, great downtown sports venues showcasing national teams, amazing arts, culture, and music, and great food.
Year-round, amazing outdoor events draw over 19 million visitors. The summer starts with the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, and ends with the Ford International Jazz Festival , the world’s largest free jazz festival. The 4th of July is celebrated with a spectacular international fireworks extravaganza along the Detroit River. Summer in Detroit includes a weekly festival at Hart Plaza, like the Detroit Hoedown or the Caribbean Festival. Neighborhoods host their own events like Detroit Festival of the Arts, Comerica City Fest, Dally in the Alley, and Jazzin’ on Jefferson.
Sports fans will feel at home in Detroit as Sporting News magazine named Detroit as the No. 1 sports city in America in 2007. Sports enthusiasts enjoy the hydroplane races during the Thunderfest, and Formula One racing during the Detroit Grand Prix. Families take their children to the Michigan State Fair, the oldest state fair in America, and fans line the route in Detroit and Windsor, Ontario cheering participants of the Detroit Free Press Marathon, the only international marathon in the country. Bicycling enthusiasts are taking over Detroit streets and parks, and the annual Tour de Troit draws hundreds of participants.
Every holiday season, millions of visitors flock to downtown Detroit to enjoy the Thanksgiving Day Parade, the second largest such parade in the country. Even in the winter there are festivals and things to do in Detroit-with Noel Night and the WinterBlast, which closes a section of downtown Detroit for music, a giant snow slide, and other family entertainment. And of course, each January, while it is too cold to think about convertibles, Detroit hosts the North American International Auto Show.
Detroiters have great access to parks and other personal recreational activities, like biking, boating, and team sports. Detroit neighborhoods host welcoming parks like Palmer Park, Clark Park, and the Chandler Park Family Aquatic Center. The only urban island park in the country can be found at Belle Isle in the Detroit River, which is also home to a golf course, the Detroit Yacht Club, and the Belle Isle Conservatory. Park facilities in the city are complemented by an extensive network of metroparks and state parks throughout the region.
Well-stocked with museums like the Detroit Institute of Arts, Henry Ford Museum, and Detroit Science Center, Detroiters also have access to an amazing 125-acre zoo, the Detroit Zoological Institute, home to the world's largest polar bear exhibit, the Arctic Ring of Life.