As a Detroiter, I really enjoy bringing friends and family to my hometown. It only takes them a short time eating at a great restaurant, viewing the amazing art at the Detroit Institute of Arts, enjoying a Detroit Tigers game or walking along the riverfront for any misconceptions that they may have previously held about the city to disappear. The D is the place to be! I look forward to the thousands of PR professionals embarking on my city to show you what a wonderful place it is as well.
I hope you have some time while you are in Detroit to experience all of the great things to do. Stay an extra day if you can! You can start planning your trip at www.visitdetroit.com. I can’t list them all here, but here are a few of my favorite things to do in Detroit:
- Be amazed at the DIA – The Detroit Institute of Arts has one of the top art collections in the world. The Diego Rivera “Detroit Industry” mural is a must see. Other great museums in the Midtown cultural area include the Detroit Science Center, the Detroit Historical Museum, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit.
- Eat a great dinner – Check your PRSA International Conference program for a list of fantastic restaurants that are hosting the Professional Interests Sections networking dinner events. Other favorites include Small Plates, Vicente’s Cuban Cuisine, The Woodward or Mosaic in Greektown.
- Cheer for our teams – There is nothing more I love then going to a Detroit Tigers baseball game at Comerica Park. (Hopefully there will be World Series games going on during the conference!) Meanwhile, the Lions are playing at Ford Field on Sunday, October 26th and the Stanley Cup Champion Red Wings will be in town as well at Joe Louis Arena.
- Walk along the riverfront – The Renaissance Center is at the foot of the riverfront. Take a break from the conference and step right outside the Winter Garden and enjoy the outdoors! The new riverfront walkway stretches from Joe Louis Arena past Hart Plaza to Rivard Plaza, eventually linking to Belle Isle, a 985 acre urban park in the Detroit River.
- Have lunch at Campus Martius – Detroit’s gathering place is Campus Martius Park. With tall office buildings on all sides, it is a great place for business people to eat outdoors and enjoy the fountain and lunch-time music. It hosts different festivals throughout the year and has an ice skating rink in the winter.
- Enjoy a night out – One of my favorite places is a jazz club called Cliff Bell’s with great music and drinks. Centaur is a swanky martini bar and a wine bar recently opened up next to Campus Martius called Enoteca Campo Marzio. Of course, Greektown, Motor City and MGM casinos always entertain with food, drink and gaming.
See you in the D!
Robert Doyle is a member of the 2008 PRSA International Conference Host Committee and Marketing & Communications Manager for The Environmental Quality Company (EQ). He received his B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Michigan Technological University and has an M.A. in Public Relations from Wayne State University.
Join Doyle at the PRSA 2008 International Conference: The Point of Connection Saturday, October 25–Tuesday, October 28, 2008, in Detroit, Michigan!
