The Fans’ Guide to Downtown Detroit: What to Do Before and After the 2027 NCAA Final Four
Things to do in Detroit – April 2027. In December 2025, the NCAA made it official: the Final Four is coming home to Detroit. On Saturday, April 3, 2027, the nation’s four best college basketball teams will tip off inside Ford Field for the national semifinals, with the championship following on Monday, April 5, 2027. It’s Detroit’s first Final Four in 18 years, and it’s landing in a downtown that has seen many positive changes since the last time the Final Four stopped here.
If you’re planning a trip in for the games, you’re going to have a few days in one of the most walkable, most historically dense downtowns in the Midwest. Here’s how to make the most of them.
Get Your Bearings
Ford Field sits at the heart of Detroit’s stadium district, within easy walking distance of Comerica Park, the Fox Theatre, and Campus Martius Park — the park that functions as downtown’s town square and the unofficial center of gravity for major events. Expect the NCAA, Downtown Detroit Partnership, and Visit Detroit to activate the surrounding blocks with fan festivities in the days around the games, but even without official programming, this stretch of downtown rewards wandering: it’s dense with restaurants, bars, and architecture spanning more than a century.
Most of what matters for a first-time visitor is packed into about a one-mile radius, and Detroit’s People Mover and QLINE streetcar both loop through downtown if your feet need a break.
Walk the History Before You Watch the Game
Ford Field itself sits on ground with a story. So does nearly every block around it — Griswold Street’s canyon of early-20th-century skyscrapers (the Wall Street of Detroit), Jefferson Avenue, along Detroit’s Riverfront, plus the vanished neighborhoods of Black Bottom and Paradise Valley, the boom-bankruptcy-rebound arc that’s made Detroit’s downtown a genuine case study in American urban history.
This is exactly the terrain we cover on our walking tours, and a Final Four weekend is a great excuse to actually learn the city you’re standing in rather than just passing through it:
Explore Downtown Detroit Walking Tour: Architecture & History — A roughly 1.5-mile walk through Griswold Street and the surrounding core, tracing downtown’s evolution from Gilded Age prosperity through bankruptcy to its current renewal. Great primer before a weekend of walking these same streets to and from the games.
This tour runs about 1.5 miles at a modest pace, and is built on original research rather than a recycled script, and work wells for small groups — handy if you’re rolling into town with a crew for the weekend. [Looking for Things to Do in Detroit | Book your tour before the crowds arrive.]
Eat and Drink Like You Live Here
Downtown’s food scene has grown up considerably in the last decade, and you won’t need a car for any of it.
- American Coney Island vs. Lafayette Coney Island — Elbow-to-elbow rivals on Michigan Avenue – hot dogs, coney sauce, mustard, and onions – and a genuine Detroit rite of passage. Pick a side.
- Grand Trunk Pub — Housed in a former railway ticket office with the original marble and mosaic tile still intact; a good stop to fold in a little architecture with your beer.
- Jacoby’s Biergarten — Detroit’s oldest biergarten, and the oldest bar in downtown Detroit, serving customers here since 1904.
- Parc at Campus Martius Park — Solid options if you want to eat somewhere with a view of the one of America’s greatest public squares. Across the street, you will find Central Kitchen + Bar, which has a great vibe and happy hour.
- Golden Fleece in Greektown — What could be better than flaming cheese (saginaki – say Opa!) and hearty Greek food, right in Detroit’s Greektown.
- Detroit-style Pizza — Pizza and basketball is a perfect combination. You will find Buddy’s Pizza right downtown on Grand Circus Park. Another great option is in Corktown, Grandma Bob’s, where the Bar Style pizza made the Detroit way, but with a thinner crust.
- La Lanterna — Pizza and crafted Italian food in a relaxed atmosphere. The Neapolitan-style brick oven pizzas are delicious, and the minestrone soup is great for a warm-up on a cold day. This restaurant is conveniently located on Capitol Park.
- Breakfast — Two of my favorite breakfast spots are Hudson Cafe and Dime Store Cafe. Both have a bustling atmosphere, friendly staff, and fresh food.
- Cliff Bell’s — Detroit has a legendary jazz scene, and Cliff Bell’s is right downtown, within easy walking distance of Ford Field. You can also catch live jazz on Fridays and Saturdays in nearby Corktown at Motor City Wine.
- Looking for big screens to take in the games. Try Gilly’s Clubhouse or Cosm.
- Eastern Market — A short drive or rideshare from downtown, and worth it even outside of Saturday market hours; the surrounding streets are full of good restaurants and bars, and there are amazing curated murals.
Beyond the Court: Culture Worth the Detour
You’ve got a few days in the city — use some of it beyond the stadium district.
- Detroit Institute of Arts — Home to Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry murals, among the finest public art in the country, plus a permanent collection that punches well above its city’s population.
- Guardian Building — Sometimes called the “Cathedral of Finance.” Free to walk into the lobby, and one of the great unsung Art Deco interiors in the country. Take a tour with Detroit Legacy Tours and you will learn about the rich history of this place.
- Michigan Central Station — Recently reopened after a long, high-profile restoration; a physical symbol of downtown’s turnaround and worth seeing even from the outside (you can combine Michigan Central Station with a stop at Grandma Bob’s for pizza).
- Fox Theatre — A few blocks from Ford Field, and one of the most ornate movie palaces still operating in the U.S.
- Piquette Plant — A short rideshare or QLine ride to Milwaukee Junction — the cradle of the automotive industry— will lead you to Henry Ford’s Piquette Plant, where Ford once manufactured cars and where the Model T was invented. This is now a museum that is perfect for car buffs.
Get Some Air on the Riverwalk
If the weather cooperates in early April, the Detroit Riverwalk is worth the walk — a nearly continuous 4-mile path along the river with views across to Windsor, Ontario. Start near the GM Renaissance Center and head east toward the William G. Milliken State Park, or west toward Ralph C. Wilson Park, a new and exciting green space west of downtown.
Getting Around
Downtown Detroit is genuinely walkable, and most of what’s listed here sits within a 15–20 minute walk of Ford Field. For longer hops:
- The People Mover loops downtown for free and connects to most major landmarks.
- The QLINE streetcar – also free – runs up Woodward Avenue toward Midtown, useful if you’re extending a trip to the DIA or Piquette Plant.
- Rideshares are plentiful, and traffic around Ford Field will be heavier than usual on game days — build in extra time.
Plan Ahead
With the Final Four confirmed for Ford Field on April 3 and 5, 2027, expect hotels and tour availability downtown to book up well in advance, especially for the championship weekend. If a walking tour is on your list for the trip, booking early gives you the best shot at a time slot that fits around tip-off.
Ready to see downtown Detroit the way locals do? Book your tour with Detroit Legacy Tours before Final Four weekend fills up.