Breweries, Ballgames and Exploring: Spend the Weekend Dad in Detroit

We’ll expect that you’re getting into the city on Friday afternoon or early evening for the weekend, and you’ll probably check right into your hotel. There are plenty of great hotels in the city, and we recommend checking out our guide to Detroit hotels. It’s filled with historic hotels all the way to modern ones.

You should also check out the Visit Detroit digital passes, which will offer you deals on tours, food, drinks and more.

If your dad is a beer drinker, Detroit has plenty of breweries and Michigan is known as one of the best states for beer in the United States. There are a few within a couple of miles downtown where you can try flights of unique beer. Atwater Brewery along the Detroit River has a variety of beers to try. We recommend the Dirty Blonde, Vanilla Java Porter and City Juice. Another great brewery to check out is Motor City Brewing Works, one of the first in Detroit, known for its Ghettoblaster Ale.

If you’d rather check out a happy hour since it’s a Friday afternoon, here’s where you can find the best happy hours in the city.

After that, you can take a tour of the city and check out how beautiful Downtown Detroit is. There are plenty of official tours in the city, which you can get discounts on with the Explore Detroit pass, or you can look at the stunning architecture that is hidden throughout the city.

Your first night in the city would be a great night for a nicer dinner. No matter what you’re looking for, Detroit has it. Parc
is located right in the heart of Campus Martius Park and offers what they call “contemporary Detroit cuisine;” Grey Ghost in Midtown has a mix of options with an ever-changing menu; Wright & Co. offers small plates on the second level of a historic Downtown Detroit building; and Oak and Reel offers fresh seafood made over an oak-burning heart with house-made pasta.

After dinner, you may want to end your night with a cocktail, and Detroit is known for its drinks. We have a list of seven unique bars to grab a drink, and they include hidden speakeasies to colorful bars.

Sugar House in Corktown can make hundreds of cocktails, and you don’t even have to order off the menu; Bad Luck Bar is an experimental cocktail bar hidden in a Detroit alley; or The Shelby is located in the back door of a coffee shop in an old bank vault.

Your first and only full day in the city is going to be a big one, so we recommend filling up with coffee and a good breakfast. Some great coffee spots in the city include Anthology, Madcap, Dessert Oasis or Germack.

For breakfast, if you’re wanting a fuller meal, you can check out these 11 spots for brunch in Detroit, or visit our guide to the best bagels in the city.

Detroit is filled with history and culture, and there are a ton of museums to check out. You won’t be able to hit them all in one morning, but you should have time to visit two.

The Motown Museum is a few miles from Downtown Detroit and showcases the history of Motown music; the Detroit Historical Museum tells the story of our city with unique exhibits and some very interesting artifacts; Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
celebrities the culture of African Americans; the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant Museum is the birthplace of the Model T; the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle tells the story of the Great Lakes; and finally, the Detroit Institute of Arts is one of the premier art museums in the country.

For lunch, there’s something for everyone. If you’ve never had Detroit-style pizza, it’s something you have to try before you leave town. The Detroit Pizza Pass has plenty of deals, and Buddy’s Pizza is the original Detroit-style. Another spot for Detroit-style is Niki’s Pizza.

Another option is to try a famous Detroit coney dog. Most people have their favorite – either American or Lafayette– so you could try both and make your pick.

After lunch, you can check out more of the city, explore Eastern Market, or do a distillery tour. The city has two distilleries within its limits. Detroit City Distillery in Eastern Market, and Two James Spirits in Corktown. You should also check out the recently restored Michigan Central Station, which just opened in June after a multi-year restoration that cost nearly $1 billion.

For dinner, we’ll make it easy. If you had coneys for lunch, do pizza for dinner, and if you had pizza for lunch, do coneys for dinner.

One thing you have to do while you’re in town is check out a sporting event. Detroit is one of the best sports cities in the country, with iconic teams like the Detroit Tigers, Pistons, Red Wings and Lions. We also have a professional soccer team which continues to grow, Detroit City Football Club.

Depending on what time of year you get here, you’ll be able to check out multiple events in one weekend.

After the game, it’s time to change things up from the night before. Instead of cocktails, you should check out iconic dive bars, which are all around the city.

Sunday is a day to do whatever you didn’t have time to do over the first two days of exploring. Whether it’s checking out another museum, doing another tour, checking out breweries, or learning more about the fun city before heading out.