Metro Detroit Bucket List: 188 Things Every Local Must Do in Their Lifetime

It’s a long list, so you’d better start planning

This year’s City Guide: Metro Detroit Bucket List includes iconic places, newer venues, and top picks from experts and influencers of the local food, drink, music, arts, and recreation scenes. Here are 188 things every local must do in their lifetime.

Arts

bead museum - metro detroit bucket list
We asked locals to experience our Bucket List. Here, model LaPorschia visits the Dabls Mbad African Bead Museum in Detroit.
  • Arab American National Museum
  • Blkout Walls
  • Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
  • Comedy Club
  • Cranbrook Educational Community
  • Dabls Mbad African Bead Museum
  • Detroit Film Theatre
  • Detroit Hair Wars
  • Detroit Historical Museum
  • Detroit Institute of Arts
  • Detroit Public Theatre
  • Detroit Symphony Orchestra
  • Eastern Market
  • Fisher Building
  • Greenfield Village
  • Guardian Building
  • Heidelberg Project
  • M Contemporary
  • Motown Museum
  • N’Namdi Center
  • Norwest Gallery of Art
  • Playground Detroit
  • Reyes Finn Gallery
  • The Dirty Show
  • The Henry Ford
  • The Independent Comedy Club
  • Zekelman Holocaust Center

Read more about these Metro Detroit Bucket List items here


Drinks

LaPorcshia; Paige, a regional sales manager at Axios Communications; Brent, a senior financial analyst at General Motors Co.; and Joe, an application software engineer at Applied Intuition, take it easy at Old Miami in Cass Corridor.
  • Bad Luck Bar
  • Baker’s Keyboard Lounge
  • Cafe D’Mongo’s Speakeasy
  • Candy Bar
  • Castalia Cocktails
  • Detroit City Distillery
  • Dragonfly
  • Frame Detroit
  • Ghostbar
  • Henrietta Haus
  • Kuhnhenn Brewing Co.
  • Madam at The Daxton
  • Menjo’s Entertainment Complex
  • Motor City Wine
  • Nancy Whiskey
  • Shelby Detroit
  • Spot Lite Detroit
  • Supergeil
  • The Oakland
  • The Old Miami
  • The Sardine Room
  • The Sugar House
  • Urbanrest Brewing Co.
  • Valentine Distilling Co.

Read more about these Metro Detroit Bucket List items here

Food

coney island city guide - metro detroit bucket list
Take the side-by-side Coney Island taste test with a visit to Lafayette Coney Island (pictured above) and American Coney Island.
  • Al Ameer
  • American Coney Island
  • Baobab Fare
  • Bucharest Grill
  • Buddy’s
  • City Ramen
  • Clawson Steak House
  • Cloverleaf Pizza
  • Feast
  • Freya
  • Giovanni’s Ristorante
  • Hamido
  • Hong Hua
  • Hunter House Hamburgers
  • Joe Muer’s Seafood
  • Lafayette Coney Island
  • Lobster Pitstop
  • Mabel Gray
  • Maré Mediterranean
  • Metropolitan Bar & Kitchen
  • Mom’s Spaghetti
  • Mudgie’s Deli
  • Mumma Maria’s House
  • New York Bagel
  • Noble Fish
  • Phoenicia
  • Polish Village Cafe
  • Polonia
  • Rafic’s Falafel
  • Ray’s Ice Cream
  • Redcoat Tavern
  • Roma’s Bakery
  • Scotty Simpson’s Fish & Chips
  • Selden Standard
  • SheWolf Pastificio & Bar
  • Sister Pie
  • Stage Deli
  • Supino Pizzeria
  • Sushi Coup
  • Sylvan Table
  • Taystee’s Burgers
  • Toast
  • Tomatoes Apizza
  • Trizest
  • Tuhama’s
  • Union Assembly Union Joints
  • Vinsetta Garage
  • Zingerman’s Deli

Read more about these Metro Detroit Bucket List items here


Music

city guide music - metro detroit bucket list
Brent and LaPorcshia take a trip to Third Man Records.
  • Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre
  • Cliff Bell’s
  • Concert of Colors
  • Dally in the Alley
  • Detroit Jazz Festival
  • Detroit Opera House
  • Hamtramck Labor Day Festival
  • Hill Auditorium
  • Marble Bar
  • Movement
  • Outer Limits Lounge
  • Paramita Sound
  • Pine Knob
  • PJ’s Lager House
  • Rivera Court at the Detroit Institute of Arts
  • Sanctuary Detroit
  • Spot Lite Detroit
  • The Fox Theatre
  • The Majestic
  • Third Man Records
  • UFO Factory
  • Willis Show Bar

Read more about these Metro Detroit Bucket List items here

Recreation

city guide ice skating
LaPorcshia goes ice skating at Campus Martius Park.
  • Belle Isle
  • Blake’s Cider Mill
  • Brighton Recreation Area’s Jump Island
  • Campus Martius Park
  • Clinton River Park North
  • Comerica Park
  • Detroit River
  • Detroit River Sports
  • Detroit Riverwalk
  • Detroit Zoo
  • Dyno Detroit
  • Ford Field
  • Frankiln Cider Mill
  • Hawthorne Ridge Park’s BMX Track
  • iFly Detroit
  • Independence Oaks County Park
  • Kensington Metropark
  • Lake St. Clair Metropark
  • Legacy 925
  • Lily Pad Springs
  • Little Caesars Arena
  • Michigan Stadium
  • Midway Sports and Entertainment
  • Putting Edge
  • Riverside Kayak
  • Shepherd’s Hollow Golf Club
  • TreeRunner Adventure Park
  • Waterloo Recreation Area
  • Westview Orchards
  • Yates Cider Mill

Read more about these Metro Detroit Bucket List items here


Shopping

pewabic metro detroit bucket list
LaPorcshia and Asia, a stylist/creative producer at Styled By Jones, enjoy a trip to Pewabic Pottery.
  • Atelier_Det
  • AYV x Fresher
  • B_KS@
  • Bird Bee
  • BOYC Co.
  • Burn Rubber
  • Busted Bra Shop
  • Carhartt
  • City Bird and Nest
  • Coup D’etat
  • Cream Blends
  • Downtown Birmingham
  • Downtown Rochester
  • Downtown Grosse Pointe Park
  • Eastern Market
  • John K. King Used & Rare Books
  • Leon & Lulu
  • Literati Bookstore
  • Lost and Found Vintage
  • Mongers’ Provisions
  • Odd Fellows Antiques
  • Old Soul Vintage
  • Pages Bookshop
  • Pewabic Pottery
  • Rat Queen Vintage
  • Royal Oak Farmers Market & Flea Market
  • Shinola
  • Simply Casual
  • Somerset Collection
  • Source Booksellers
  • Spectacle Society
  • Tailored Detroit
  • The Lip Bar
  • The Lowry Estate
  • The Peacock Room
  • Vault of Midnight

Read more about these Metro Detroit Bucket List items here.


This story is from the April 2022 issue of Hour Detroit. Read more in our digital edition