‘A magical time’

They really are taking the midnight train going anywhere.
Detroit has been touted by Travel + Leisure as a top destination for 2025 — no doubt raising eyebrows on a list that also plugged other non-traditional tourism spots like Sacramento and Uzbekistan.
“It really is a magical time in Detroit right now, and we hope people will come to check it out for themselves,” Motor City Mayor Mike Duggan told an editor for the glossy mag.
3 Detroit was called a top travel pick for 2025. AP
And exactly what is it that sets Motown — which in 2023 reportedly gained population for the first time since the 1950s, when the automotive capital went into decline — apart from many other places the well-traveled experts might have chosen instead?
Architecture and steady redevelopment of the long-sagging central core were cited as reasons to check out the brawling border town, which editors said now “has its swagger back.”
One highlight mentioned was the revitalization of Michigan Central Station — a classic train hub designed by the architects of NYC’s Grand Central Terminal that shuttered decades ago and became one of the country’s most impressive ruins.
More recently, Ford kicked in a healthy $950 million to convert the vandalized vacant property into a massive tech campus — a boost for the revamping Corktown section.
How could seeing a pharaoh’s tomb compete with that?
Not to be left out, General Motors is building a new headquarters on the long fallow site of the old Hudson’s department store on Woodward Avenue, near other “adaptive-reuse” projects like the “game-changing” Shinola Hotel, as well as the renovated Book Tower, home to a hotel, luxury apartments and restaurants.
Detroit appears to have become something of a favorite among travel writers in recent years — an art deco-packed skyline and impressive waterfront redevelopments earned Hockeytown a spot in another frequent flyer’s off-the-beaten-path picks earlier in 2024.
3 The Detroit skyline’s art deco inspirations also make the city worth seeing.
The rising fortunes of one of the country’s cheapest cities to get a burger, fries, and drink are a stark reversal from the era where Detroit’s urban decay was celebrated in gritty, hit films like “Robocop” and hometown hero Eminem’s “8 Mile” — and in countless photo essays glorifying the city’s modern-day ruins in the wake of the 2008 market crash.
Recently, head coach Dan Campbell has turned the Lions into Super Bowl contenders in the die-hard sports town that has never won it all on the gridiron. Even the longtime losing Tigers roared into the MLB postseason last month.
The city famously and proudly mentioned in Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin”” is abundant with quirks, too, like having a “people mover” instead of a subway system.
3 Sports culture in Detroit, like attending Lions games, is as real as it gets. Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
It is also home to Cadieux Cafe, better known as the American hub of feather bowling — a Belgian bocce-style bar game with lengthy courts. Places to play are scattered few and far between the United States.
Foodwise, Detroit-style pizza, traditionally consumed at local staples like Buddy’s and Loui’s — has become a national sensation in recent years, even served in NYC, despite being a Midwest knockoff of a proper Sicilian pie.
Not all New Yorkers are on board with the invasive trend, however.
“Who wants to bite down on a pile of dough? No way,” one salty Brooklynite previously told The Post, when asked for a review of the style.
Travel + Leisure previously tapped Thailand, home to viral sensation pygmy hippo Moo Deng, as it’s number one destination for 2025.
Other picks included Scotland, home of the Loch Ness monster, and Greenland, the Nordic ice block now opening up to outsiders.