[2024] Is Ann Arbor Worth Visiting? Yes! 5 Reasons You Should Visit.
Intro
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Is Ann Arbor worth visiting? Yes!
Ann Arbor-- a.k.a "A Squared" and less commonly known as "Tree Town"-- is a college town and, thus, is smaller than the large concrete jungles I normally write about! Regardless, I think any city slicker in Michigan should visit Ann Arbor, along with Detroit and Grand Rapids.
I have a bit of a history with the city of Ann Arbor, having lived in downtown for two years while I was in college. Today, since I reside nearby, I still frequently visit the city!
As someone who has traveled to major cities all over the United States, I am delighted to provide you 5 compelling reasons as to why you should visit Ann Arbor this year!
[2024] Is Ann Arbor Worth Visiting? Yes! 5 Reasons You Should Visit...
The fairy doors
My first point of persuasion for you to visit Ann Arbor: the fairy doors!
Searching for all the fairy doors in downtown is easily one of the most unique "things to do" I've ever recommended for an American city!
Why are they called 'fairy' doors? It is because the doors are tiny-- around the size from the end of your thumb to your index finger. You'll be glad you found my guide because this incredibly fun DIY scavenger hunt is easy to miss!
As of September 2024, there are 14 fairy doors. Some of them are located outdoors and some are located indoors. The quantity and locations of all the fairy doors are subject to change, as businesses will sometimes shut down and new fairy doors will pop up in place of old ones.
The two fairy door images I shared earlier are both outdoors.
Below is a fairy door located indoors-- specifically the Youth Department inside the Ann Arbor District Library.
If you enjoy these free, no-tour-guide, DIY scavenger hunts, one other Michigan city you should definitely should check is Grand Rapids. The city has a few scavenger hunts just like the fairy doors in Ann Arbor!
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Worked up an appetite after walking so much to find all the fairy doors? Well, you're in one of the best cities in the United States when it comes to diverse and amazing food, because...
Ann Arbor is a city for foodies
The second compelling reason to visit Ann Arbor is its food scene!
I know cities with good food. Besides Ann Arbor, I've also lived in Portland-- a top city for foodies and especially vegans. I say with confidence Ann Arbor is a city foodies will especially want to come check out!
Detroit is more famous regarding food because of coney dogs, Detroit style pizza, Vernors, and possibly being the birthplace of Superman ice cream-- but Ann Arbor's food is of a finer quality!
For a fun, engaging, and memorable dining experience, I strongly encourage you to go to the Blue Nile.
The Blue Nile is an Ethiopian restaurant. Instead of using silverware, customers use a spot spongey bread called injera to scoop up their food.
Ann Arbor is the only city to date where I've had this kind of cuisine!
This next one is a personal favorite of mine because I love a good burger: Krazy Jim's Blimpie Burger.
Krazy Jim's Blimpie Burger has been an Ann Arbor staple since the 1950s. The restaurant even attracted the attention of chef and media personality Guy Fieri-- and there's even a photograph of him inside dining at the restaurant.
I'll be blunt-- if you're a "Karen" or whatever the male equivalent of a Karen is (Kevin?), don't eat here. The restaurant has specific directions how to order your food and will tease you if you go out of cadence.
Even though their directions are clear, I still once got mocked for asking for cheese sooner than they wanted. The snarky vibe is akin to the famous Ed Debevic's in Chicago. That's the fun and not for sensitive people who thinks the public needs to cater to their every whim!
How many burger places do you know where you can order a quad cheeseburger!? OR... a quint cheeseburger!?!
'Merica!
After 'that one global event that had us locked up in our homes for over a year', many places that were open 24 hours either went out of business or reduced their hours. For me who is especially nocturnal, this has been a bummer for me.
But, just like Zack's in the neighboring town of Plymouth, Fleetwood Diner in Ann Arbor is still open 24 hours a day!
The quality of the food at Fleetwood Diner is like most diners-- but they do have some vegetarian & vegan options, which I haven't seen as many diners offer! The aesthetic is more 'hole-in-a-wall' than the standard 1950's look. Plus, they offer outdoor seating!
Those who think California has the best Mexican food will want to pay attention to this next one.
Tio's Mexican Cafe and Tequila Bar was featured on the Food Network television show Man V. Food for their gigantic nacho dish named Mount Nacheesmo. I've never attempted to eat Mount Nacheesmo. I gotta keep up this slim photogenic figure of mine!
But I have had several other items on their menu-- all which are some of the best Mexican food I've ever tasted. Their margaritas are also quite stellar!
Two more restaurants I'd like to bring up: the Gandy Dancer (pictured above) and Zingerman's Delicatessen.
The Gandy Dancer is a highly regarded seafood restaurant and among one of the more expensive restaurants in Ann Arbor. I've been there for some friends' college graduations. They also are right next to the Amtrak station!
Zingerman's Delicatessen in Kerrytown is another one of Ann Arbor's most famous restaurants-- one that even caught the attention of the New York Times. When you go there, I suggest you order their signature Zingerman's Reuben.
For dessert, come to Blank Slate Creamery! They offer close to 30 different ice cream flavors-- many of them not so common! I am kind of boring when it comes to experimenting with sweets so I stuck with their choccolate fudge brownie flavor.
Some odd flavors that caught my attention: bourton turtle, apple cider sorbet, and lavender lemon honey!
To wrap up this section, some other cuisines you'll find great restaurants for in Ann Arbor include Korean, Japanese, Cuban, Middle Eastern, and Italian.
Street art in Ann Arbor
My third reason you should visit Ann Arbor is a topic I cover in many of my "Is X Worth Visiting?" articles: the street art.
Ann Arbor's street art scene is comprised of several murals, an alley where the ground & walls are covered in graffiti, and some cool sculptures.
Similar to the fairy doors, Ann Arbor has a self-guided mural tour entitled A2AC Murals.
To help you find all the A2AC murals, I highly recommend you download this really awesome and free iPhone app called CANVS Street Art. I use this app a lot for my US city explorations!
CANVS works pretty much the same way an app with GPS does. When you're in the downtown of a major city, you can toggle 'Hunt' on and the app will locate all nearby murals with artist information and a brief description of the mural!
An added bonus of these scavenger hunts is you'll be able to walk a lot of downtown.
One can't bring up the topic of Ann Arbor street art without mentioning Graffiti Alley. It is a visually stimulating public space and a highlight of both Ann Arbor and Michigan tourism!
In the list of most Instagrammable spots in Ann Arbor, this would be at the top!
Graffiti Alley-- previously known as Poet's Alley and Bubblegum Alley-- sprung from rebellious origins. In 1999, the city of Ann Arbor commissioned an Ann Arbor artist to paint a mural in an effort to revitalize the formerly troubled city block.
Reception to the mural was not positive and other artists spray painted over the mural. In the years following, many other artists expanded on the defacing of the mural with their own graffiti. The area eventually become known as Graffiti Alley.
The entrance to Graffiti Alley is off E Liberty St, across the street from Necto nightclub.
Earlier in 2024, I wrote an opinionated piece on Graffiti Alley which attracted the attention of MLive-- one of the largest newspapers in Michigan. You can check out my article here, if you are interested!
The last of Ann Arbor's street scene to check out are its sculptures. Pictured below is The Cube:
Formally known as 'Endover' but colloquially known as 'The Cube', this Instagram-worthy sculpture is located on the University of Michigan central campus outside the Michigan Union.
The Cube rotates without stop on an edge. The speeds and direction of the rotations will vary throughout the day. It is possible to stop the cube from spinning if you hold it.
Last, there's these two sculptures outside the entrance of the University of Michigan Museum of Art, or UMMA, for short! Below is the first...
... and here is the second.
Ann Arbor is home to one of the world's finest universities
The fourth reason to visit Ann Arbor is to see the University of Michigan campus.
I've been to a fair share of college towns throughout the U.S, such as Madison (University of Wisconsin), East Lansing (Michigan State University), and Oxford (University of Mississippi) and I honestly will state that Ann Arbor is a college town really worth seeing!
One big thing the University of Michigan is famous for is 'The Big House': it is the largest American football stadium in the world.
The University of Michigan is often referred to as a "public Ivy". In 2023, the school had an acceptance rate as low as 20%. US News frequently ranks many of their undergraduate and graduate programs in the top 10.
As for famous commencement speakers, the University of Michigan has attracted some high profile names such as former U.S president Barack Obama, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Google co-founder Larry Page, and former First Lady and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.
There are two free museums for tourists to explore on the school's central campus: the University of Michigan Museum of Art and the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology.
Some well-known landmarks to see on the central campus of Umich include Burton Memorial Tower and The Diag.
There is a large 'M' at the center of The Diag. Legend has it that if a student walks across the 'M' at the start of freshman year, they will fail their first exam.
A list of buildings that tourists will want to see on the University of Michigan campus are Angell Hall, the Law School, and the Ross School of Business.
By now, I hope you're convinced that Ann Arbor is worth a visit-- however, if you need one more point to persuade you, then you should know that...
Most of the best things to do in Ann Arbor are free
The fifth and final point: most of the best things to do in Ann Arbor are free!
With the exception of the restaurants, everything recommended in this article thus far is free. There is no paid tour for the fairy doors nor the murals. Graffiti Alley is a public space. The Kelsey Museum and UMMA have no admission fee.
For those who are fond of the outdoors (not me), Nichols Arboretum is also a free attraction.
Nichols Arboretum, or simply known as 'The Arb', is popular for outdoorsy attractions in Ann Arbor. Depending on the season you visit, you'll see different things in bloom. Summer and fall are the best seasons to visit Nichols Arboretum. Winter-- there's less of a point.
Matthaei Botanical Gardens has a collection of hiking trails adding up to about 4.3 miles long! Parks surrounding Huron River also have opportunities to hike.
Public transportation
Ann Arbor's public transportation is limited to bus lines.
If you fly into Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and do not want to rent a car, you can take the D2A2 bus line to get from Grand Circus Park in downtown Detroit to Blake Transit Center in downtown Ann Arbor.
While Ann Arbor does offer a bus line called TheRide to get around the city, to be honest, I don't think you'll need to use it.
Ann Arbor is an easily walkable city and nearly all of the best things to do in the city are within short walking distances.
The only scenarios where a visitor would want to use TheRide would be to go see The Big House or to get to Nichols Arboretum, as both are further out from the rest of the fun Ann Arbor things mentioned earlier in this article.
Safety
Of the three Michigan cities I've covered in this blog-- Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Ann Arbor-- Ann Arbor is the safest city of the three.
According to one trusted source who cross-references multiple databases for crime statistics, Ann Arbor has a violent crime rate below the national median.
Best times of year to visit
The best times of year to visit Ann Arbor are either in the summer or autumn.
Ann Arbor is located in the state of Michigan-- a state surrounded by four large lakes. Due to being surrounded by water, winters in Ann Arbor can be extremely cold.
In addition, Ann Arbor can receive several inches of snow during the winter, which can make driving challenging.
Due to the lakes, temperatures can widely fluctuate in the spring, going from winter temperatures to summer temperatures within 24-48 hours times. Due to the volatility of the temperature, visiting during the spring isn't advised either.
Where to stay
I will recommend three hotels for this section.
GRADUATE BY HILTON ANN ARBOR
The Graduate by Hilton Ann Arbor has the best location of the three hotels. It is near the intersection of Huron & State Street.
This hotel is about a five minute walk from the central campus of University of Michigan and Graffiti Alley and a ten minute walk to the Kelsey Museum and UMMA.
To keep providing you all this valuable information, I would be especially grateful if you booked this hotel using my link below! I'll earn a small commission that'll help keep Michael Visits All running at no additional cost to you!
🏨 Click here to book your stay at The Graduate by Hilton Ann Arbor!
BELL TOWER HOTEL
Like the aforementioned Hilton, the Bell Tower Hotel also has a stellar location, as it's even closer to central campus.
The hotel has good ratings and is usually below $200/night.
Conclusion
I presented you five reasons why you should visit Ann Arbor.
To recap: the fairy doors, the food scene, the street art, the University of Michigan campus, and the fact that most of the best things to do are free!
Ann Arbor is one of the best charming and fun towns in the US as well as a place every city lover visiting Michigan should check out, in addition to Detroit and Grand Rapids!
Have I convinced you that Ann Arbor is worth visiting this year? I sure hope so! If you ever end up visiting Ann Arbor, let me know what you thought of it!
Thank you for reading! Like... seriously. So many people just skim sh*t and don't read anything past the headline. You're one of the good ones!
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About the Author | Michael DeFranceschi
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