Updated: 4/13/2024

Grand Rapids, Michigan Travel Guide for First-Time Visitors

You might be surprised by all the things to do in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Every time I visit Grand Rapids, MI, I’m reminded of what a fun, vibrant town it is. Actually the second largest city in Michigan, Grand Rapids is a river city in the state’s Lower Peninsula, not far from Lake Michigan.

This bustling Midwest city known for furniture, successful business families, and impressive healthcare, is the perfect place for a Michigan weekend getaway, especially if you’re based in Chicago or Detroit. Since my brother and sister-in-law call Grand Rapids home, I’ve been lucky enough to visit several times.

In this post, I’ll cover what to do in Grand Rapids if it’s your first visit. This Grand Rapids travel guide includes the best activities, landmarks, restaurants, where to stay, and more. I’ll share my personal Grand Rapids favorites like Brewery Vivant, Robinette’s Apple Haus, and Grand Rapids Public Museum.

Whether you’re looking for must-do Grand Rapids activities like the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum or something a little off the beaten path, like hiking around Pickerel Lake, let’s dive into the very best that Grand Rapids offers!

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10 Best Things To Do in Grand Rapids Michigan

1. Go to a brewery

Once, Grand Rapids was known as Furniture City. But since healthcare has replaced furniture as Grand Rapids’ main industry, some people have proposed Beer City as a more apt nickname for the modern city. (Shhh, don’t tell Cincinnati!)

This town has always been a beer town – in part thanks to a large number of 19th century German immigrants – and well ahead of the curve when it came to the craft brewery scene. In 1920, the Grand Rapids Brewing Co. was producing 250,000 barrels of beer annually!

Today, Grand Rapids is well-known as the home of Founders Brewing Co. Personally, my favorite spot in Grand Rapids to grab a drink is Brewery Vivant, located in a revamped funeral chapel in the East Hills neighborhood.

Other breweries to check out during your visit include HopCat, the Grand Rapids Brewing Co., and Arvon Brewing Co. A little further afield in Belmont, Archival Brewing serves up beer, mead, and cider brewed using historical recipes.

2. Tour Meyer May House

If you love old historic homes, you’re going to love Grand Rapids!

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, wealthy Grand Rapids residents built their mansions just up the hill from downtown. Now known as Heritage Hill, this beautiful neighborhood is one of the United States‘ largest urban historic districts. In fact, many people rank Heritage Hill just behind the historic neighborhoods of Savannah and Boston!

Perhaps the most unique house in the East Hills neighborhood is the Meyer May House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and constructed between 1908 – 1909. Built in the Prairie School style, the house features gorgeous custom windows and carpets. (To everyone’s horror, our tour guide got a bloody nose right on top of those custom carpets – yikes!) 

This distinguished house is well worth a tour. You might be surprised by how modern it feels! Best of all, it’s completely free to visit. Just keep in mind that the house is only open for a total of 10 hours each week so it’s best to reserve your free tour online ahead of time.

If you miss the tour times at Meyer May, you can do a self-guided walking tour of the neighborhood to check out Meyer May’s quintessential Frank Lloyd Wright rooflines and the other beautiful homes that surround it.

3. Explore Eastown

One of my favorite spots in Grand Rapids is the vibrant Eastown neighborhood. Located next to East Hills, small businesses ranging from restaurants and coffee shops to boutiques and vet clinics fill this happy corner of Grand Rapids.

Stroll down Lake Drive to take in this neighborhood’s fun fusion of Victorian, post-World War II, and modern architecture with business interspersed with private residences. In some cases, the businesses and homes swap places. A distinctive example is the Paddock Place restaurant located in a stunning Victorian mansion.

Favorite Eastown activities including grabbing breakfast at Wolfgang’s, shopping along Cherry Street, and of course, having a drink at the atmospheric Brewery Vivant.

You can even have a fancy afternoon tea experience at High Tea GR. (The Anglophile in me is compelled to point out that high tea is just the working-class term for supper; if you’re thinking of little sandwiches and scones, we’re talking afternoon tea.) Even if their name is a misnomer, I’m still thinking about High Tea GR’s coronation chicken sandwich!

4. Browse the booths at Grand Rapids Downtown Market

If you love food and small business, you’re going to love the Grand Rapids Downtown Market.

Located just south of downtown on Ionia Avenue, this multipurpose building features food stalls, classes, event space, and even an incubator kitchen and greenhouse. Open seven days a week, you can pop into the market hall to stock up on high quality ingredients (hello olive oil and seafood!)  or grab a meal from one of the numerous on-site restaurants.

Check out the eye-catching displays at High Tide Soda, grab an almond croissant you’ll never forget from Field & Fire Bakery, or sample mochi donuts at Rak Thai. I definitely recommend grabbing a coffee from Squibb Coffee and enjoying a walk through the entire marketplace.

5. Stroll through Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park

,Perhaps Grand Rapids’ biggest attraction, you can’t spend a weekend in Grand Rapids and not visit the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park.

There’s a good reason why Meijer Gardens is at the tippy-top of most lists of things to do in Grand Rapids. A 158-acre property just east of Grand Rapids features more than 200 sculptures, a Japanese garden, and a massive conservatory. Don’t miss the Da Vinci horse sculpture which was cast at the same time as one of my favorite Milan landmarks!

Throughout the year, Meijer Gardens puts on several temporary seasonal exhibits. During the summer they host concerts in the amphitheater. Moral of the story: take a minute to check their event calendar before visiting.

If you’re heading to a popular temporary exhibit like the spring butterfly exhibit, I recommend visiting on a weekday. When we swung by on a beautiful April Saturday, we found a very long line to the tropical conservatory. On a previous weekday visit (to be fair, also in the middle of a snowstorm) we breezed right into the butterfly exhibit.

6. Check out the Grand Rapids Public Museum

I love the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Part children’s museum, part city museum, this space hosts many excellent permanent and temporary exhibits. In fact, this is where I saw the highly acclaimed Titanic exhibit way back in 2013. On paper this museum might sound little chaotic, but I assure you, they pull it off very well.

It’s well worth a couple hours out of your day in Grand Rapids to wander through the museum’s three stories of varied exhibits. On the first floor, definitely check out the Streets of Old Grand Rapids where you can walk into historically accurate shops and interact with volunteer shop owners.

Sadly, my favorite exhibit in the museum, Furniture City, has been replaced, but I love the newer exhibit Fashion + Nature almost as much. Also, you can’t miss the impressive full skeleton of a fin whale (cleverly named Finny) hanging overhead of the first-floor hall or the working clock salvaged from the old Grand Rapids City Hall.

Perhaps the most notable artifact housed in the Grand Rapids Public Museum is its Spillman Carousel. This newly renovated carousel dates back to 1928. You’ll get a great view of the Grand River if you opt to include a ride in your visit.

7. Visit the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum & Library

You have to celebrate President Gerald Ford during a visit to Grand Rapids! While Michigan certainly isn’t the presidential hotbody of Ohio, they’re very proud to have had at least one of their own hold the top office in Washington DC. 

Ford graduated from high school in Grand Rapids and is embraced as the city’s native son. Both his presidential museum and final resting place are on the west banks of the Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids.

Ford actually had the fifth shortest term in presidential history, shorter even than JFK’s. While he wasn’t an extraordinary president, he was certainly a sincere one. He spent most of his brief time in office focused not on his own legacy but on moving America past the scandals of his predecessors.

I enjoyed my tour of the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum far more than I expected to. The museum features a 20-minute film, permanent exhibits, and a space for special exhibits. Truly a Grand Rapids must-see.

8. Kayak at an area lake

People don’t think of Grand Rapids as a lake town, but not unlike Minnesota’s Twin Cities, the Grand Rapids’ metro area is speckled with small lakes such as Reeds and Dean Lake.

A super pleasant way to pass a sunny afternoon in Grand Rapids is to grab a kayak and beverage of your choice and do a little toodle around an area lake. If you need to rent a kayak (and have a way to transport it), several sporting goods stores in the area rent kayaks by the day including Bill and Paul’s Sporthaus.

Another option is to kayak on the Grand River itself. The City of Grand Rapids offers several kayaking opportunities during the summer, included guided trips up and down the river, paddling in the lagoon at Riverside Park, and kayak rentals on Saturdays in Canal Park.

If you’re not into kayaking, be sure to check out the extensive network of Kent County Parks. You can do a great hike around Pickerel Lake in the Fred Meijer Nature Preserve just north of Grand Rapids.

9. Go to a Griffins Game at Van Andel Arena

Did you know that Grand Rapids is home to the Detroit Red Wings’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate team? The Grand Rapids Griffins have called the Van Andel Arena in downtown Grand Rapids home since 1996.

I’ll admit I haven’t been to many major league sporting events, but I have been to a fair amount of minor league games. (My family used to go up to Thunder Bay, Ontario to watch the Whiskey Jacks, a minor league baseball team.) To be brutally honest, I think the minor league games are often way more fun than a big-name sporting event. That’s certainly true with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

The crowd is really into it . . . even when the Griffins are doing poorly, which unfortunately was the case at the game we attended. I also loved the intermission entertainment. There’s a skating griffin mascot and they fire up the t-shirt/hot dog cannon at regular intervals. What more could you want?

10. Do a wine tasting at Robinette’s

Robinette’s Apple Haus and Winery on the Four Mile Road is a Grand Rapids institution. The Robinette’s family orchard dates back to 1911. While they’re primarily known for their apples, they also grow cherries, apricots, peaches, nectarines, and more.

While many of the activities at Robinette’s like picking your own fruit or the corn maze are seasonal, they keep a women’s clothing boutique shop, bakery (for all your cider donut needs, natch), gift shop, and wine tasting room open year-round.

As you might expect from an orchard, most of Robinette’s wines are very fruit forward. Fruit wine isn’t normally my jam, but I have to say, their Riesling is the best I’ve ever tasted. Seriously, you’ve got to try it, even if you don’t think you like sweet wine.

Don’t forget to stock up on jam and jelly in their gift shop before you leave!

Getting to Grand Rapids, MI

Grand Rapids sits in the west central region of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. This city of nearly 200,000 residents sits 25 miles inland from Lake Michigan. Don’t mistake it for Judy Garland’s  small northern Minnesota hometown of the same name! 

How To Get To Grand Rapids

Fly – Grand Rapids is home to the Gerald R. Ford International Airport. This well-reviewed small airport has just 15 gates, but is served by all major airlines. Security is a breeze, luggage claim is super fast, and as the flight attendant on my last flight in said, “If you have a connecting flight, I’m pretty sure you’re on the wrong flight.”

Train – Grand Rapids does have an Amtrak station! That’s good news if you’re a fan of train travel like me. If you’re based in the Chicago area, it’s easy to jet up to Grand Rapids for the weekend on the Pere Marquette Amtrak Train. The train runs every day and the ride from Chicago to Grand Rapids takes about 4 hours.

Drive – This is an assumption on my part, but I’d say the vast majority of people drive to Grand Rapids. The two major roads leading into Grand Rapids are Interstate 96 (runs east and west) and U.S. Highway 131 (runs north and south).

Drivetimes to Grand Rapids, MI

Lansing to Grand Rapids: 1 hour
Detroit to Grand Rapids: 2 hours 20 minutes
Traverse City to Grand Rapids: 2 hours 15 minutes
Chicago to Grand Rapids: 3 hours
Cleveland to Grand Rapids: 4.5 hours

Grand Rapids Landmarks

Blue Bridge
You can’t miss the Blue Bridge in downtown Grand Rapids. Built in 1892 as a railroad bridge, it’s now a pedestrian bridge and favorite spot for photos.

La Grand Vitesse
This large red abstract sculpture by Alexander Calder has dominated Vandenberg Plaza since 1969. In fact, the plaza is now commonly referred to as Calder Plaza. The sculpture’s title “La Grand Vitesse” loosely translates from French into “Grand Rapids.” (Literally, it means “big swiftness.”) The local government has incorporated this beloved Grand Rapids landmark into the city’s logo.

Stand Up For Rosa Parks
You’ll find a bronze statue of civil rights icon Rosa Parks at the intersection of Pearl Street and Monroe Avenue in the green space called Rosa Parks Circle. Instead of being portrayed in her usual seated position, in this statue she’s standing tall in front of her bus seat. The statue was installed in 2010 to symbolize Grand Rapids’ commitment to resisting racism.

One landmark you won’t see in Grand Rapids? Rapids!

A series of dams removed the rapids from Grand Rapids’ downtown landscape at the turn of the 20th century. There’s actually an active movement to restore rapids in the downtown section of the Grand River. Although this effort has faced serious setbacks recently, the hope is to turn downtown Grand Rapids into a whitewater rafting destination!

Famous Grand Rapids Residents

President Gerald R. Ford and First Lady Betty Ford
Betsy and Dick DeVos (daughter-in-law and son of the co-founder of the multi-level marketing company Amway)
Jay Van Andel (the other co-founder of Amway)
Frederik Meijer (of Meijer grocery store fame)

Favorite Grand Rapids, MI Restaurants

Grand Rapids offers a lively and varied dining scene that ranges from independent coffee shops and excellent bakeries to high-end downtown dining. Here are some of my favorite Grand Rapids restaurants to check out during your weekend:

Roam – This downtown restaurant serves up global cuisine inspired by street food from around the world. I might be slightly obsessed with poke bowls after my Hawaii trip and the peanut sauce in their Calder Plaza poke bowl is so good. They also have a line-up of paleta cocktails: aka cocktails that involve a popsicle!

Field & Fire – You can find Field & Fire bakery items in many Grand Rapids grocery stores and farmer’s market. They also operate out of the Grand Rapids Downtown Market and have a café on Monroe Avenue.

I can confirm, their bread and pastries are as delicious as they are beautiful. If you’re staying in a vacation rental, definitely grab a loaf of their multigrain bread for your breakfasts!

Early Bird Café – It’s not an exaggeration to say I had the best iced coffee of my life in this little café tucked on an angled lot along Lake Drive in Eastown. While the vibe is unapologetically hipster, the food is truly delicious.

Green Well – An East Hills favorite, the Green Well serves up a little of everything from fried chicken sandwiches to beef bulgogi. Their menu is especially great if you have any dietary restrictions in your group. It’s also literally across the street from Brewery Vivant, so it’s super easy to grab a drink if there’s a wait for a table.

Wolfgang’s – A Grand Rapids’ institution, Wolfgang’s is the place to go for breakfast in Grand Rapids. Their extensive menu includes a wide selection of eggs benedicts, omelettes, and every other breakfast staple under the sun.

Where To Stay in Grand Rapids, MI

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