9 replies to this topic

[SweWings]

Alright friends, I tend to lurk here a lot more than I post but I have enjoyed my time here a lot and I'm hoping you guys can help me plan my trip to Detroit and make it amazing-er (that should be a word btw). I'll be visiting a friend of mine in Toronto in February and I'll want to rent a car for a couple days and go to Detroit for at least one game, hopefully two.

If it's only one game then the plan is simple. Rent a car for one day and simply drive to Detroit, do some shopping, watch the game and drive back.

But if it's a visit for two games then:

1. What to do except going to the games? The more Wings-oriented the better of course but if it's something else that's fun then alright. Will also do some shopping as prices compared to Sweden are ridiculously low so a tip on a nice mall or something would be good.

2. Where to sleep? The cheaper the better of course but not a park bench please .

If I can plan a great trip then I'll probably do a 2-game visit because I'm leaning towards that anyway but I'll want everything to be kick-ass!


PS. Also thinking about an outfit... A jersey is a must of course and probably a blue-and-yellow clown wig. Perhaps a Swedish flag to top it off?

[malts85]

Being a visitor myself, I made sure to go to Hockeytown Cafe, their pizza is really good and you'll probably enjoy the decor. Depending on your love of Fords I also enjoyed doing the tour of Henry Ford's estate in Dearborn, and then just down the road there is a large mall. Also go to Hockeytown Authentics in Troy for purchasing team memorabillia/merchandise. And one or two exits before that one there is another mall. There's the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village also in Dearborn and the Zoo. Although locals could probably help you out more.

[SweWings]

Being a visitor myself, I made sure to go to Hockeytown Cafe, their pizza is really good and you'll probably enjoy the decor. Depending on your love of Fords I also enjoyed doing the tour of Henry Ford's estate in Dearborn, and then just down the road there is a large mall. Also go to Hockeytown Authentics in Troy for purchasing team memorabillia/merchandise. And one or two exits before that one there is another mall. There's the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village also in Dearborn and the Zoo. Although locals could probably help you out more.

Cool, I really appreciate this and hopefully it's something to build on. I'll be looking primarily at Red Wings, shopping and other local "unique" Detroit sights; in that order. So maybe the Zoo isn't the best option but otherwise it sounds interesting:

Hockeytown Cafe
Henry Ford's estate in Dearborn and mall nearby
Hockeytown Authentics in Troy and mall nearby
Henry Ford Museum
Greenfield Village

I'm considering going to a Pistons game if I can match it up with 2 Wings games - 3 games/2 nights...

[WizardOfOz30]

I suggest the mall near Hockeytown Authentics, the one by Henry Ford isn't the greatest. If you want to go see the Pistons you might want to look at staying in the Troy area which would put you about a half hour from the Joe and about 20 minutes from the Palace.

[Jwo]

Eat a Coney Dog at American and Lafayette Coney Island,Eat at Buddy's pizza to taste Detroit style pizza, Visit the Guardian building, Go to the Detroit Institute of Arts, Drive around Boston-Edison,Palmer Woods and Indian village neighborhood to see the nice homes. See the giant Tiger in front of Comerica park also Take a picture of the Fox Theatre marquee.

[BigWillieStyle]

For clarity on the mall in Troy near Hockeytown Authentics. If you are going on a shopping excursion, The Somerset Collection, is the place you want to go. It has a very wide range of shops to appeal to almost all budgets. There is also another mall in Troy, Oakland Mall, which is a little more on the low end side and is not quite the shopping experience that Somerset is. At least that's what my wife's Visa bill tells me.

http://www.thesomersetcollection.com/


Another place to check out for shopping that is nearby, would be downtown Birmingham. There are several high-end shops in the downtown area, and several nice places to eat.

http://www.enjoybirmingham.com/


Royal Oak also has a nice downtown district for shopping and eating, and has plenty of bars for nightlife.

http://www.downtownroyaloak.org/


One last place that is local to all the rest is Ferndale. While they don't have the amount of shopping as the others, they have plenty of restaurants and bars for entertainment purposes.

http://www.downtownferndale.com/



Hope this helps and is not too much information overload. Enjoy your visit. We're not as bad as people make us out to be here in Detroit. We just like to play the role.

[malts85]

Yes, I remember before I was supposed to go to Detroit the first time that ended up being cancelled I went on Red Wings World and pretty much asked about the stereo types and would I be safe lol. Although they did give me a good tip about turning left. When I finally did make there, my first time being four years ago I saw what they meant. Basically you have to do a u-turn then turn right in order to do your left turns at certain places.

[vladdy16]

All I could add to what everyone else has so helpfully provided would be to hit Ann Arbor, home to the best deli outside of New York. This is probably too much as you will have only 2 days and A Squared is a 45 minute drive from Detroit, but I had to throw it in there. Who wouldn't want to see the Big House?

Yes, I remember before I was supposed to go to Detroit the first time that ended up being cancelled I went on Red Wings World and pretty much asked about the stereo types and would I be safe lol. Although they did give me a good tip about turning left. When I finally did make there, my first time being four years ago I saw what they meant. Basically you have to do a u-turn then turn right in order to do your left turns at certain places.

My sister and I were cruising Greektown before the Vancouver game. Two guys stopped us and asked us where the Joe was. They were visiting Detroit from Chicago for the first time and literally gushed about how cool Detroit was and how great the people were. Changing perceptions one person at a time. Go Detroit!
And Michigan lefts are a pain in the ass, but rumor has it that it really does improve the flow of traffic.

[malts85]

All I could add to what everyone else has so helpfully provided would be to hit Ann Arbor, home to the best deli outside of New York. This is probably too much as you will have only 2 days and A Squared is a 45 minute drive from Detroit, but I had to throw it in there. Who wouldn't want to see the Big House?



My sister and I were cruising Greektown before the Vancouver game. Two guys stopped us and asked us where the Joe was. They were visiting Detroit from Chicago for the first time and literally gushed about how cool Detroit was and how great the people were. Changing perceptions one person at a time. Go Detroit!
And Michigan lefts are a pain in the ass, but rumor has it that it really does improve the flow of traffic.

Exactly, I love it there, I've gone 7 times in the past four years

[auxlepli]

Other sites, restaurants to consider not yet mentioned ...
Feather bowling at Cadiuex Cafe
Oldest jazz bar in the world, Bakers Keyboard Lounge
Motown Museum
Greene's Hamburgers
Telway Hamburgers
Cloverleaf Pizza
And if you drive back to Toronto be sure to take some Faygo, Vernors and Better Maid chips with you.
Oh and a place to sleep if you stay, Holiday Inn Express on Washington Blvd - a block or two away from Layfayette and American Coney, and also within walking distance to the Joe.