Down in southeastern Michigan, Ann Arbor is a town with a funny name but quite a bit of money as one of the wealthiest in the region thanks to high-tech industry. It lies in Great Lakes country but is not actually positioned on the edge of any of them, the closest being Lake Huron to the east. The town is dominated by the University of Michigan, creating a student population that accounts for nearly one-third of the total number of people here.
With so many students milling around it’s no surprise that events like the Hash Bash and the Naked Mile are considered among the city’s strongest cultural traditions. The former relates the jailing of a local resident for marijuana possession. More than a generation later, local enthusiasts gather together to wax lyrical every year on why the hemp plant should be made legal. The Naked Mile sees graduating students run across the campus naked and no one really knows why.
If you don’t feel the need to make nudity and illegal drugs an integral part of your holiday, Ann Arbor is also strong on cultural attractions such as street sculptures, which include the balancing cube and the many murals on Liberty Street. The city is also well-known for its many excellent restaurants serving everything from Vietnamese noodles to kosher Middle Eastern fare.
Highlights
Alley Mural: head to Liberty Street for Ann Arbor’s alternative street art featuring hundreds of ever-changing murals and graffiti.
Fine Art Gallery: the largest exhibition of its kind in the state, the Fine Art Gallery features a wealth of works mostly from the early 20th century.
Domino’s Petting Farm: owned by Domino’s pizza, the large restaurant chain, this is a great place to keep kids happy with a variety of farm animals from around the world.
Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum: a science museum that specializes in interactive displays that include a mini hurricane-maker and a solve-it puzzle area.