The Best Things to Do in Grand Rapids, Michigan

East of downtown, the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park combines beautiful nature and art to create one of the top cultural destinations in the Midwest. The vast 158-acre (64ha) site comprises indoor and outdoor gardens, sculpture galleries and Michigan’s largest tropical conservatory. Among the many themed gardens are a Japanese garden, children’s garden and farm garden. There are also works by Rodin and Degas among the nearly 300 sculptures.

America’s 38th president was raised in Grand Rapids, and the Gerald R Ford Museum offers the chance to learn more about his life. There are replicas of the Oval Office and Cabinet Room during his time in office, and exhibitions containing thousands of artefacts, including head-of-state gifts, campaign materials and merchandise commemorating the bicentennial. You can also visit the burial site of Ford and his wife, Betty, on the museum’s grounds.

Learn about the history of Grand Rapids across three floors at Michigan’s oldest and second-largest museum. The Grand Rapids Public Museum lies on the riverfront, and highlights among its permanent collection include a 1928 carousel, a planetarium and a detailed recreation of the city in the 1890s.

A trip to Beer City wouldn’t be complete without a visit to a brewery, and Founders is the big one. Established in 1997, it has become one of the most recognized breweries in the country. Its Grand Rapids location has a brewery you can tour and a large taproom modeled after a German beer hall. As well as a deli menu, it serves rare and special beers not available anywhere else.

As cool and innovative as markets come, the Downtown Market Grand Rapids is among the first LEED-certified markets in the country, with a green roof and live walls among its many sustainable features. It’s also a hub for local food producers, education and entrepreneurship in the city, with a produce market, restaurants, a school and performance hall.

Also displaying the green credentials of Grand Rapids is the Gram, which became the world’s first LEED Gold-certified art museum when its new building was constructed in 2007. The striking building is an attraction in its own right, but inside is an impressive collection of artwork that spans thousands of years and comes from across the world.

Frank Lloyd Wright designed this house for a prominent Grand Rapids clothier in 1909. In 1987, it was meticulously restored and opened to the public, and you can tour it for free during the brief opening hours on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. It’s an excellent example of Wright’s prairie-style house and features a restored mural, repaired art glass windows and original furnishings from 1909.

Located in the park of the same name west of downtown, the John Ball Zoo is a popular destination for families thanks to its many fun and hands-on exhibits for kids. It’s also home to more than 210 species and more than 2,220 individual animals, as well as seasonal attractions such as the Sky Trail Ropes Course, a zipline over the zoo, and camel rides. There’s also educational programming on wildlife conservation and preservation.