Detroit has traditionally been the centre of the car industry in the US, so it should come as no surprise that this is a city that’s great to drive in and around, with a comprehensive road network. It’s also a large city so car hire is essential to really see everything this place has to offer.

Familiarise yourself quickly with the major driving rules in Michigan state – seat belts are compulsory, and you drive on the right, overtake on the left. On freeways that have three lanes or more you can drive in any lane but when they have two lanes, you must drive in the right hand lane at all times, except for when you want to pass the car in front, when you can use the left hand lane.

Speed limits will vary by area, with residential areas having a limit of 25mph, increasing to 70mph on urban freeways. As of 2017, some 600 miles of rural freeways in Michigan have increased their limit to 75mph.

From the airport, there are several routes into downtown Detroit, all of them taking approximately 25 to 30 minutes. They include the I-94 E, the I-75N and the M-39N. Our local team at the airport will be able to advise you the best road to take, depending on where you’re visiting or staying.

If you plan on heading out of Detroit to take some nearby day trips, there are some fantastic places less than two hours away. Head north-west on the I-96 for Lansing, the state capital and a place full of historical insight. West on the I-94 you’ll find Ann Arbor, known for being a creative town with a large and diverse artistic community. There’s an art fair each summer and great local food. For something completely different, drive 93 miles north on I-75 N for Frankenmuth, a town with a Germanic flavour and Bavarian restaurants and architecture.

Detroit is a city that’s doing a great job of looking to the future. It’s automotive past and urban changes have led to a spurt of redevelopment as the city attempts to define itself once more in the new millennium. Detroit natives weren’t prepared to see their historic city decline, so the entrepreneurial drive is strong here.

Car Wars

The Gilmore Car Museum is outside of the city but firmly captures the Michigan love for motoring. You can see hundreds of vintage vehicles here, from modern muscle cars to 19^th century Locomobiles, as well as classics that look like they’ve been plucked out of 1930’s gangster films. Drive to Dearborn for the Automotive Hall of Fame and the nearby Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. The latter has brilliant interactive elements for the budding engineers in your family, such as building a Model T Ford, or you can discover the science behind Pixar movies.

To see a different side of the car industry, the old Packard Plant, which was one a 3.5 million square foot production behemoth, is now a vast ruin which you can organise a tour of – although there are plans to redevelop the site.

Head for Hitsville

There are those that would argue that cars aren’t the best thing to come out of Detroit, and that music is. Jazz is still a big thing in the city, and Baker’s Keyboard Lounge on Livernois Avenue has been going for over 80 years. Many of the greats have graced the stage here – Miles Davis, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and Cab Calloway among them. Now it’s the perfect place to take in a show while eating superlative soul food such as catfish, smothered pork chops and peach cobbler.

Detroit was also home to Motown, and you can see the small but fascinating museum on W. Grand Boulevard that once housed the studio where Berry Gordy kickstarted the careers of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and dozens more, before they upped sticks to Los Angeles in the 1970’s.

Amazing Art Deco

There are some grand and imposing buildings in Detroit, including the Guardian Building which, upon construction in 1929, towered above all other stone-built buildings in the world. It remains distinctive among the other high-rises that have since grown around it, thanks in no small part to its subtle Art Deco touches.

That particular style is much more apparent in Albert Kahn’s 1928 Fisher Building. Striking from the outside, it’s stunning within, with a stupendous lobby ceiling and liberal use of marble, bronze, brass and mosaics. It’s a place that’ll have you purring and snapping away with your camera at the same time, and a living relic of Detroit’s first boom era.

A city picking itself up off the canvas and moving forward with innovation and creativity, this is also a place with a rich and proud history that is best explored with car hire at Detroit Metro Airport.