Things to do in Grand Rapids
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Grand Rapids
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Summer is best overall, late June and July especially, with the lake swimmable, concerts, patios and brewery gardens.
May is the sleeper pick, mild and cheaper, with tulips nearby in Holland and the zoo and Lantern Festival in spring.
Butterflies Are Blooming fills the conservatory in March and April, though March is still winter in every way that matters.
ArtPrize from mid September to early October is the best single window, with orchard season and fall colour following.
Restaurant Week and the wine, beer and food festival make a food trip work before the snow sets in.
Christkindl Markt and the run up to World of Winter make December a legitimate winter trip if you pack for it.
Worst months for a first trip unless you come for World of Winter itself, with freezing highs and lake effect snow.
What's on
- Butterflies Are Blooming March 1 - April 30
Thousands of butterflies in the Meijer Gardens conservatory while it may still be grey outside.
- Tulip Time early-mid May
A major regional tulip festival in Holland, a 35 minute drive from Grand Rapids.
- Grand Rapids Pride June
Part of the June run of local summer festivals in the city.
- Fourth of July fireworks July 4
Fireworks over the river downtown.
- Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival late July - early August
One of Michigan largest festivals, in the Lake Michigan day trip town of Grand Haven.
- ArtPrize Usually mid September to early October; check dates
Citywide art competition that draws huge crowds, with a preview week before it opens.
- Restaurant Week GR early-mid November
Much of the city restaurant scene runs fixed price menus, the best week to eat above your tier.
- Christkindl Markt mid-November - December 23
Held at the Downtown Market through December 23.
- International Wine, Beer & Food Festival late November
A late November food and drink festival that anchors a food trip November.
- World of Winter Usually January to early March
Among the largest US winter festivals, with 60 plus free light and art installations downtown.
Best things to do in Grand Rapids
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
A nationally significant garden and sculpture park with conservatory and Japanese garden, worth three to five hours.
Founders Brewing Co.
The flagship taproom of Beer City, home of All Day IPA and the bourbon barrel aged KBS stout.
Brewery Vivant
Belgian and French inspired beer served in a converted funeral chapel, with serious food including duck nachos.
Arvon Brewing Co.
Small brewery rated among the city best for hazy IPAs and fruited sours, away from the flagship crowds.
Speciation Artisan Ales
The connoisseur pick for wild and sour beer, for drinkers who have done the big taprooms.
ArtPrize
For two and a half weeks each fall the whole downtown becomes a free exhibition in shops, bars and bridges.
Grand Rapids Art Museum
A right sized art museum with American and European works and design collections, done well in ninety minutes.
Meyer May House
A Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie house restored to its original condition, open for free guided tours on limited days.
Where to stay in Grand Rapids
Downtown riverfront / Monroe Avenue corridor
first trip, beer trip, ArtPrize and groups
The only base that works without a car for downtown days, walking distance to museums, arena, Founders and restaurants.
Monroe North / North Monroe + Bridge Street (West Side)
slightly local downtown alternative
A few blocks north and across the river, still walkable to the arena district and a touch less corporate and cheaper.
East Hills / Eastown / Uptown
repeat visitors, food first trips and longer stays
The best restaurant and cafe districts in leafy walkable streets, but rentals only with essentially no hotel stock.
Heritage Hill / Midtown
quiet, historic base
Grand houses and tree lined streets walkable to downtown east edge and East Hills dining, thin on late night options.
Think twice about
- South Division Avenue corridor, south of downtown
The city roughest stretch with visible street homelessness, open drug use and cheap motels. Do not base here for a cheaper room.
- Heartside, immediately south of the arena
Blocks around Veterans Memorial Park and the main library have increased disruptive behaviour and visible homelessness. Fine in daytime, avoid as a late night route or bargain base.
- 28th Street SE strip and airport hotel cluster
A miles long car dealer and chain restaurant strip with nowhere to walk. Fine and safe, but you will drive to everything you came for.
- South of Wealthy in the Eastown fringe and parts of Wyoming and Kentwood
Residential areas with spottier blocks and no sights, dining cluster or transit advantage for a visitor.
Best restaurants in Grand Rapids
MDRD
Modern Spanish cooking on the 27th floor with the city best dining room view, best booked for sunset.
The Chop House Grand Rapids
An old school downtown steakhouse done properly, with in house aged beef, Wagyu ribeye and beef Wellington.
Leo's Seafood Restaurant & Bar
The city seafood house, known for seafood towers, Chilean sea bass and service reviewers name check.
Grove
Chef driven farm to table fine dining with intense local sourcing, the food person splurge in East Hills.
Butcher's Union
A meat centric gastropub with over 200 whiskeys, Wagyu and a bacon wrapped meatloaf regulars pair with a Manhattan.
San Chez A Tapas Bistro
Spanish tapas downtown since 1992, the best group dinner format with patatas bravas, paella and sangria.
The Green Well
The Cherry Street gastropub all rounder with Michigan beer mussels, chicken and waffles and real veggie depth.
Brewery Vivant
The Belgian brewpub half of the Cherry Street double, for duck nachos and steak frites across from The Green Well.
Best bars in Grand Rapids
The B.O.B.
A 70,000 square foot building with brewery, restaurants, comedy, live music and Eve nightclub under one roof.
Outdoor things to do in Grand Rapids
Grand Haven State Park
A wide soft sand Lake Michigan beach with pier, lighthouse and boardwalk, the best summer day trip from the city.
Pilgrim's Run Golf Club
A destination round carved through forest and ponds with a northern Michigan feel, thirty minutes from downtown.
Thousand Oaks Golf Club
A Rees Jones design minutes from downtown, a proper test and the premium round without the Pierson drive.
The Mines Golf Club
A Mike DeVries course built above old gypsum mines, hilly and affordable, minutes from downtown.
Thornapple Pointe Golf Club
The prettiest conditioning of the local public courses, set by the river in Cascade for a higher price.
Millennium Park
A 1,400 acre urban park with trails, a swimming beach and splash pad, and boat rentals, five minutes out.
Kent Trails
Paved trails connecting Millennium Park to downtown along the river, for runners and cyclists wanting distance.
P.J. Hoffmaster State Park
Three miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and ten miles of forested dune trails, quieter than Grand Haven.
Best hotels in Grand Rapids
JW Marriott Grand Rapids
The modern luxury pick, a 23 storey riverfront tower with the best river views, a spa and an indoor pool.
Amway Grand Plaza, Curio Collection by Hilton
The historic grand hotel from 1913 with a glass tower and MDRD on the 27th floor, the city best dinner downstairs.
Canopy by Hilton Grand Rapids Downtown
The design forward modern pick near the arena, praised for quiet rooms and Euro style design.
AC Hotel Grand Rapids Downtown
Marriott minimalist brand in a restored downtown building with a good bar and central everything.
CityFlatsHotel
The boutique eco pick, LEED Gold with 48 individually designed rooms and locally made furniture.
Homewood Suites by Hilton Grand Rapids Downtown
The only downtown extended stay, in the historic Waters Building with full kitchens and free hot breakfast.
Hyatt Place Grand Rapids/Downtown
A dependable known quantity hotel a block or two from the arena district, in the suite and points tier.
Courtyard by Marriott Grand Rapids Downtown
A known quantity downtown alternative in the dependable suite and points tier.
Is Grand Rapids expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $90 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $170 a person |
| Splurge | $340 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park: a few days ahead
- ArtPrize: weeks ahead
- Meyer May House: a few days ahead
- Van Andel Arena: a few days ahead
- DeVos Performance Hall: a few days ahead
- The Intersection: a few days ahead
- Silva: a few days ahead
- Pilgrim's Run Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Book MDRD for a sunset window table, plus Grove, The Chop House and Leo's on weekends.
- Meijer Gardens summer concert tickets and peak butterfly season timed entry sell out.
- Hotels are the binding constraint on ArtPrize and Christkindl weekends, so book rooms early for late September and mid December.
- Book Pilgrim's Run weekend tee times ahead in summer, and check Meyer May House limited tour days before building a day on it.
Is Grand Rapids safe?
- Do not base on South Division, and use busier Monroe or Ionia routes late at night around the Heartside library blocks.
- Car break ins are the realistic property risk, so leave nothing visible in a parked car anywhere.
- Winter is a safety topic, with icy pavements downtown and lake effect squalls on the drives toward the lake.
Grand Rapids travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- The Fish Ladder as a standalone sight is ten minutes at best, fine on the riverwalk but never a destination.
- Doing Founders as your only brewery misses the scene, so add Vivant, Arvon or a Bridge Street taproom.
- Downtown on a Sunday to Thursday evening with no event on can feel like a ghost town, so check arena and venue calendars.
- The 28th Street dining strip is every chain you already have at home, and Grand Haven at noon on a peak Saturday has full lots and beaches.
- Expecting rapids, since the river through downtown is scenic and calm and the rapids were channelled long ago.
Getting around Grand Rapids: public transport and more
- Downtown is walkable and flat along the river, and the free DASH shuttle loops downtown sights.
- The Rapid bus works for Meijer Gardens and the zoo but is slower than driving.
- You need a car or rideshare for golf, orchards and any Lake Michigan excursion, as there is no practical transit to Grand Haven beach.
- Hotel self parking runs roughly $38 to 45 a day downtown, and Gerald R. Ford International Airport is about 15 minutes southeast.
Who Grand Rapids suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Great |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Grand Rapids your trip
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