MY DETROIT VACATION by David Landsel, the Travel Editor at the New York Post

HOLA, DIEGO

Everyone has a general idea of all the things that are wrong with Detroit -- most of the things you hear are true (except for the part where people joke about needing flak jackets to visit.) The truth is, nearly every city in America hides (or doesn't hide) a little or a lot of what you find here in Detroit. Not all of these cities have murals by Diego Rivera in their art museum. Painted in 1933, they depict the good, the bad and the ugly of Detroit's industrial heritage. Rivera Court is a focal point of the wonderful Detroit Institute of Arts, one of the best art museums you probably have never visited.


MY, THAT'S OLD

One of the things that people don't realize is how old Detroit is. And, because it has been economically depressed for so many years now, the beautiful old architectural pieces that many other cities tore down have survived. A great example is the beaux-arts/neo-classical Wayne County Building, constructed in the late 1800's. On a grey day, it looms into the mist like something out of a bad day in Budapest. Marvelous!

COLOR ME CORKTOWN

Michigan Avenue in the Corktown district features a lot of 1800's-era storefronts. Again - never got around to tearing it all down, like in so many other cities. (Land is not exactly at a premium, with more than half of the population having left the city since the 1950's.) For years, this block was boarded up and falling apart, like so many other blocks in this town. On this block you can go to a snazzy bbq joint, hit a cafe that offers latte art and organic food, or buy a condo at one of the city's lone storefront real estate offices. This area is as close as you'll come to the typical organic urban American gentrification around here. Ironically, it's across the way from one of the city's most famous abandoned structures, Michigan Central Station.

BUT IS IT ART?

There apparently used to be a slogan around here that I hear old-timers repeat now and then: Detroit: Cars, bars and a few weirdos. Pretty accurate, except that I'd amend that to a lot of weirdos. One of the weirdest Detroiters is Tyree Guyton. Years ago, he appropriated most of a decrepit east side block, and over time, it has become a monster public art installation,known as the Heidelberg Project. Outsider art before the term was invented, this is one of Detroit's top tourist attractions. (Hey - this isn't exactly Disney World, here.)

TAKE A SHOWER

Detroit is a border town -- it sits on the north side of the Detroit River, facing the city of Windsor, Ontario. On the riverfront, where a beautiful promenade is currently coming online in fits and starts, you'll find Hart Plaza. This has traditionally been the public square of the city, and while it is mostly concrete-ish and horrendous, it does have, as a focal point, Isamu Noguchi's 1970's Dodge Fountain. The world's largest shower head (can't actually confirm that) sits in the shadow of Minoru Yamasaki's One Woodward Avenue, which looks alarmingly similar to the architect's infamous World Trade Center, which Yamasaki would design about a decade later.

MORE FOUNTAINS? WHY NOT?

As much as the city can be a complete horror show, it's easy to see just how wealthy Detroit once was - in fact, the wealthiest city in America, during its time. Grand boulevards, magnificent mansions (many of them available for a song - security not included!) and lovely parks. Belle Isle is Detroit's centerpiece, park-wise: Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted of Central Park fame, this island in the Detroit River is like an amusement park for nature lovers, with many different environments, views, quiet spaces and architecture to admire. Cass Gilbert built this marble fountain in 1925 at the behest of wealthy ne'er-do-well about town, James Scott. Some idiot stole the copper for scrap a while back - thankfully, things are back to normal now.

SECRET GARDENS

With all that empty land, might as well garden, right? One of the city's oldest soup kitchens, run by the Capuchin order, has its own "farm," a sprawling garden off of Mt. Elliott Street on the city's east side. You never know who you'll meet when you drop by - in season, there's usually someone composting or weeding or showing folks how gardens work. It's all kind of back to the land and nifty, particularly since here, you're only a minute or two out of downtown.

SPICE UP YOUR LIFE

It isn't in any tourist brochures, but the Eastern Market is one of the best public markets in the United States, hands down. This historic district just steps from the flashy new downtown stadiums is interesting any time, but is best visited on Saturday mornings, when loads of people turn out and give you a sense of just how diverse and interesting the depressingly segregated Metro Detroit region actually is. With the whole garden thing happening, a Grown in Detroit cooperative of sorts has formed, selling their produce in season in one of the market's handful of covered sheds.

THIS IS NEW FRANCE, AFTER ALL

New Orleans grabbed on to its French heritage and never let go; Detroit's French connection is mostly observed via street signs (Gratiot, Beaubien, Riopelle, Rivard) and read about in history books. Former French teacher Torya Blanchard is doing her bit to bring joie de vivre back to the city via her downtown crepe stand. Good Girls Go To Paris. The wee-hours incongruity of tweaked-out club kids stumbling down from the Bleu Room for nutella crepes, served up by someone in a maid's outfit, is one of those only-in-Detroit experiences that remind you that while you may be in the Midwest geographically, this is not the Midwest at all.

SUITABLE ACCOMMODATIONS

Many people ask me, "but where do you stay?" In a hotel, of course. My current favorite is the Book Cadillac. Now a Westin, this was the tallest building in Detroit when it went up in the 20's. Once almost Plaza-like in the sense that it was a huge part of Detroit's identity, it was abandoned for more than twenty years. A whopping $180 million later, the old girl is back in business. It's a classy joint, but this is still Detroit -- the reborn Motor Bar (a famous gathering place in years gone by) now offers, on tap, the city's best microbrew: Ghettoblaster Ale.