Best Sightseeing Tours In Detroit
Guardian Building (credit: Mike Campbell/WWJ)
If you want to find out more about Detroit and want a tour to guide you, there are more than a few options available. From bus rides which will take you to historic sites to a tour to the Beer Festival at Eastern Market, you can find it in Detroit. And if riding a bus is no fun, then consider zooming around downtown on a Segway.
Show Me Detroit LLC
8200 E. Jefferson Ave., Suite 1503
Detroit, MI 48214
(313) 444-2120
www.showmedetroittours.com
Have you ever wondered why the buildings in downtown Detroit are named what they are or where the first seats of power in the city were located? You will find out this and much more on a two-hour tour with Show Me Detroit Tours. Beginning at various downtown and suburban hotels, the tours take in areas of the city that include Greektown, Campus Martius Park, the Heidelberg Project of Tyree Guyton and many more locations. Each tour offers guides with a huge depth of knowledge about the city and insight that only adds to a morning or afternoon of sightseeing. Tours take place when there are enough bookings for a single day, so advanced reservations are necessary.
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Detroit Tours
(800) 713-7618
www.detroittours.net
With Detroit Tours, various tour operators have come together to provide some of the most unique venues in the tri-county area. And if you really want to find out about Detroit, then consider taking the Detroit Rise and Fall Tour. You will take in sights that include the Art Deco 1929 Guardian Building along with Westin Book-Cadillac Hotel. Offered along the way are insights into the reasons why some areas of the city have flourished while others have floundered. Finally, each tour finishes with a stop at a local "watering hole" for a free locally brewed beer or soft drink. Pick up for the tours take place at area hotels, so check with the tour operator to find out where and when the next event will take place.
Detroit Bus Company
2350 Burdette St.
Ferndale, MI 48220
(313) 444-2871
www.thedetroitbus.com/specialevents
The Michigan Brewers Guild Detroit Fall Beer Festival (October 25-26) held at Eastern Market can be experienced with help from Detroit Bus Company. Each year, the tour leaves from Birmingham, Royal Oak or Ferndale to travel to the downtown Detroit icon for a day of beer tasting, food and fun. Along the way, you will find out about local brewers and the history of the festival. After the visit, sit back and relax on your ride back to your pickup city at the end of the day. The Fall Beer Tours fill up quickly, so make reservations as soon as possible.
Ford Rouge Factory Tour
The Henry Ford Museum
20900 Oakwood Blvd.
Dearborn, MI 48124
(313) 982-6001
www.thehenryford.org
The Ford Rouge Factory is a city unto itself with a story that goes back to the days of Henry Ford and the beginning of what came to be the Motor City. Take this self-guided tour with a 13-minute film that offers insights into the Rouge plant, a multimedia look at how an auto is built, a tour of the world's largest "living roof" illustrating the efforts of Ford Motor Company to embrace a greener role in the world and finally, a walking tour of the production plant where workers assemble the F-150 pickup truck. Tours leave from the Henry Ford Museum, beginning at 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays.
Segways 2 U Detroit
100 Renaissance Center
Detroit, MI 48243
(855) 873-4929
www.segways2u.com/detroit
So you don't want to take a bus tour of downtown Detroit, but would still like to cover a bit of ground. Then consider taking the Segways 2 U Detroit tour. Each Saturday in October, a tour begins in downtown using the high-tech two-wheeled vehicles to take you to different historic sites in the city. The area covered will take you to Greektown, the stadium district and along the waterfront of the Detroit River. A quick lesson on riding a Segway is given to each member of the tour and then it is time to glide around the town. Tours last for two hours and a maximum of 10 people will be on each tour.
Award winning freelance writer and photographer Lawrence DiVizio is based in Southeast Michigan and works to convey in words and images the world around us. His work can be found at Examiner.com.
