They really are taking the midnight train going everywhere.
Detroit has been promoted by Travel + Leisure as a top destination for 2025 — no doubt raising eyebrows on a list that also included other non-traditional tourist spots like Sacramento and Uzbekistan.
“It’s really a magical time in Detroit right now, and we hope people come to check it out for themselves,” Motor City Mayor Mike Duggan told an editor for the glossy.
And exactly what puts Motown, which in 2023 is said to have gained population for the first time since the 1950s, when the automotive capital went into decline – in addition to many other places that well-traveled experts could have chosen in instead?
The architecture and sustainable redevelopment of the long-stalled central core were cited as reasons to see the embattled border town, which editors said has now “regained its sanity”.
One of the highlights mentioned was the revitalization of Michigan Central Station—a classic train hub designed by the architects of NYC’s Grand Central Terminal that closed decades ago and became one of the nation’s most impressive ruins.
Ford recently forked over a healthy $950 million to turn the vandalized vacant property into a massive tech campus — a boost to the revitalized Corktown section.
How could seeing a pharaoh’s tomb compete with that?
Not to be outdone, General Motors is building a new headquarters on the long-lost site of the old Hudson store on Woodward Avenue, alongside other “adaptive reuse” projects like the “game-changing” Shinola Hotel, as well as the Tower of the renovated book, home to a hotel, luxury apartments and restaurants.
Detroit seems to have become something of a favorite among travel writers in recent years — an art-filled skyline and impressive waterfront redevelopments earned Hockeytown a spot on another frequent off-the-beaten-track guide’s picks before in 2024.
The rise in fortunes of one of the nation’s cheapest cities to grab a burger, fries and drink is a stark shift from the era when Detroit’s urban decay was celebrated in gritty blockbusters like “Robocop” and the hero hometown Eminem “8 Mile” — and in countless photo essays praising the city’s modern ruins after the 2008 market crash.
Recently, coach Dan Campbell has turned the Lions into Super Bowl contenders in the gritty sports town that has never won it all on the gridiron. Even the long-lost Tigers made some noise in the MLB postseason last month.
The city famously and proudly mentioned in Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” also abounds with features, like having a “people mover” instead of a subway system.
It’s also home to the Cadieux Cafe, better known as America’s center for feather bowling – a long-lane Belgian-style bocce bar game. Places to play are spread far and wide across the United States.
Food-wise, Detroit-style pizza — traditionally enjoyed at local staples like Buddy’s and Loui’s — has become a national sensation in recent years, even served in NYC despite being a proper Sicilian pie.
Not all New Yorkers are on board with the sweeping trend, however.
“Who wants to bite into a pile of dough? No way,” one salty Brooklynite previously told The Post when asked about a style overhaul.
Travel + Leisure has previously chosen Thailand, home of pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng, as the number one destination for 2025.
Other choices included Scotland, home of the Loch Ness monster, and Greenland, the Nordic ice block now open to foreigners.
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Image Source : nypost.com