Katie
Los Angeles
I'm going to be in Pontiac (Michigan) next month and will be on a pretty tight budget. I'm looking for the best free and inexpensive things to check out! I love the outdoors, art, museums, you name it. Thanks!
I would head to downtown Detroit to the Detroit Institute of Arts - Catering Institute of Arts or a Tiger game at Comerica Park Comerica Park, it's a great stadium. There are a bunch of bars/restaurants within walking distance. For something closer, check out the Cranbrook Art Museum . The grounds there are beautiful & less than a 10 minute drive from Pontiac (Michigan)
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Check out the Crofoot website if you love rock music. Check out Decourtney Galleries
This is a tough question to answer as most people tend to go to Birmingham for a small town, upscale experience. It's delightful for wandering and grabbing a coffee or meal outside. Pontiac doesn't really have the reputation of people going there for the town. The hotels in and around Pontiac are used for easy access to the various concert venues in the northwest: Meadowbrook, DTE and the Auburn Hills automotive area. Bloomfield Hills, which is between Pontiac and Birmingham doesn't have a town at all but it does have The Cranbrook Educational campus. The gardens are free and beautiful, the museum is inexpensive and I'm not sure what the Science Institute charges. There is a charge to tour the inside of Cranbrook house but you get a wonderful look at the outside when wandering the gardens and outside sculptures. 350 acres in all.
From Pontiac to Detroit all one has to do is drive Woodward Ave. That road connects Bloomfield, Birmingham, Royal Oak (very happening place), Ferndale, on and on to Detroit. From one point to the other would take about 45 minutes with all sorts of interesting places scattered along the way.
Good luck.
Katie
