Things To Do
Explore Midtown
Midtown and New Center serves up some of the city’s best eats, bars, restaurants, shopping and entertainment! For a more comprehensive list of things to do, go to VistMidtown.com.
Restaurants & Bars
Midtown Detroit restaurants serve up some of the city’s best eats! Whether you’re stepping out for lunch or for the evening, you’ll find a diverse mix of culinary choices. As you traverse the district, you’ll find delicious eats. Everything from casual to farm to fork to international to fine dining. It’s all waiting just steps away!
Looking for a taste of excitement, a local hangout, or a place to enjoy a good conversation? In Midtown Detroit, you’ll find local bars, craft cocktails, wine bars, and neighborhood joints throughout the district. From stimulating coffeehouses to vibrant venues, Midtown Detroit bars and establishments are the starting grounds to tap into the buzz and excitement surrounding the district.
Shopping
Looking for a one-of-a-kind gift? Or on the hunt for a great find? Midtown Detroit’s shopping scene offers an experience unlike any other. Throughout the district, you’ll find a diverse mix of bookstores, independent boutiques, specialty gift shops, and stores. Whether you’re looking for high-end fashion, unique gifts, or vintage finds, you’re sure to find something that fits your style and budget in this vibrant neighborhood. Discover something new, while supporting a local business and strengthening the Midtown Detroit community.
Entertainment
From traditional to unique – enjoy Midtown & New Center as you participate in MDI’s many quality events including New Center Park’s Summer Movie Series, Noel Night, DLECTRICITY, and more.
Arts & Culture
There is nowhere else in Detroit with the density of world-class cultural institutions, museums, and galleries. From the old masters to modern art, to our city’s history, Detroit museums have something for everyone to enjoy. Immerse yourself in some of the best arts and culture Midtown Detroit offers!
Hotels & lodging
Parks & Greenspace
NEW CENTER PARK
New Center Park, owned and operated by Midtown Detroit, Inc., is a unique green space located on the southwest corner of Second Avenue and West Grand Boulevard across from the Fisher Building. The park presents free movie screenings, theatrical performances, and more every year from June through August. The park is open from 8:00 AM until dusk on weekdays as weather permits through October 15. Movies and special events are scheduled for evenings throughout the summer.
MIDTOWN DETROIT DOG PARK
Midtown Detroit Dog Park is grassy space for Fido to play off-leash. The Dog Park is fenced-in and features picnic tables. Midtown Detroit Dog Park is open seven days a week from 7:00am to 8:30pm and is located at the corner of Cass Avenue and West Canfield Street.
Call 313.420.6000 for more information.
Special EVENTS
There is nowhere else in Detroit with the density of world-class cultural institutions, museums, and galleries. From the old masters to modern art, to our city’s history, Detroit museums have something for everyone to enjoy. Immerse yourself in some of the best arts and culture Midtown Detroit offers!
NOEL NIGHT
Each year, Midtown ushers in the holidays with the ever popular Noel Night community event. Noel Night attracts over 50,000 visitors to celebrate a Cultural Center-wide holiday “open house.” Over 110 Midtown venues, including the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Historical Museum, the Detroit Public Library, many churches and others, open their doors to the public free of charge. Noel Night has activities for everyone to enjoy including the Ice Scraper’s Challenge, an ice sculpting competition between Center of Creative Studies (CCS) and WSU students, glass-blowing demonstrations, holiday shopping, family craft activities and performances by over 150 area music, theatre, and dance groups. The evening’s festivities culminate with a community sing-along led by the Salvation Army Band -a long-standing Noel Night tradition. Noel Night activities take place all throughout the Midtown Detroit neighborhood. Daytime events focus on the Cultural Center institutions, and Nighttime events take place throughout the Midtown Detroit Neighborhood.
DLECTRICITY
DLECTRICITY, inspired by Nuit Blanche arts festivals from around the world, has presented three major light-based art + technology festivals in 2012, 2014 and 2017. Produced by Midtown Detroit, Inc., the spectacular outdoor visual light + art celebration takes place along the Woodward Corridor as well as DTE Beacon Park. Attendees are immersed in a landscape of light through groundbreaking installations of video art, 3D video mapping, lasers, interactive design and engineering, and captivating performance.
During each event, DLECTRICITY showcases over 40 internationally acclaimed and emerging artists from around the world, including Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and Detroit. Attendance has grown rapidly from 75,000 in its inaugural year to 250,000 in 2017. The Light Bike Parade, unique to DLECTRICITY, also draws over 3,000 individuals to its 4-mile route.
DLECTRICITY was inspired by Detroit’s very own Electric Park, formerly located on the site of what is now Gabriel Richard Park. From 1906 until 1928, Electric Park served as a major attraction, beginning as a trolley park and later expanding into a dazzling amusement park with the development of electrification.
