Hello Bucket List Nation! I’m Sarah, a web designer and aerialist from metro Detroit. I also blog for my own website, Silly Grrl. I have a huge amount of love for this city, as do most of the people who live, work and play here. I spent a day wandering the city and I’m so excited to share my favorite spots!
First stop was lunch at Mudgies, an artisan deli on the outskirts of Corktown. They offer lots of creative, healthy and vegetarian-friendly sandwiches made from locally sourced produce.
Then it was off to Hostel Detroit, also located in Corktown. Didn’t know we had a hostel, did you?
We took a stroll down the Detroit Riverwalk, which was lined with art from Jocelyn Rainey’s “A Touch of Tranquility.” You can take a ride on the carousel, watch the freighters float down the river and grab a double scoop of Stroh’s Mackinac Island Fudge ice cream.
Toward the end of the Riverwalk you’ll find Wheelhouse Detroit a bicycle shop which offers rentals, repairs and tours. Bike along the Detroit River or ride the Dequindre Cut into Eastern Market.
You can’t visit Detroit without stopping at the Heidelberg Project, an art installation created in 1986 by Tyree Guyton and his grandfather Sam Mackey. In the 25 years since the project’s creation there has not be one act of violence on a street previously riddled with drugs and crime.
For dessert we stopped at La Gloria Bakery in Detroit’s Mexicantown. My sweet tooth ached as I stared at an entire wall lined with tray after tray of goodies. I won’t embarrass myself by showing you how many cookies I bought.
For beautiful architecture there’s no place better than the Guardian Building. Floor to ceiling mosaics, slick marble and cathedral ceilings lead to gasps from first timers entering the lobby.
And of course we had to do a little shopping. My favorite is Citybird, host to Detroit-themed housewares, accessories and paper goods as well as work by more than 75 other artists and designers from Detroit and other Rust Belt cities.
Our last stop for the day was at Dally in the Alley, a street fair started in Cass Corridor in 1982. The streets were lined with vendors, stages nestled in alleys, residents fill the stoops and balconies watching the party below.
I want to have lunch at Mudgies too, and see the riverwalk ! citybird looks like a cool place too.
great pics!
ah! those pastries look to die for! i have always thought that detroit seemed like a cool place ~ the people all seem really cool and very real. thanks so much for the recos! mudgies looks amazing
xoxo ~ ks
I can honestly say I’ve never even contemplated visiting Detroit during a tour of the States. Almost all I’d heard about the place has been universally bad.
But the entry (and maybe the mouth watering food described) have made a believer out of me. Might try and include the city (and a few of the sights mentioned here) when I am in the States next