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Guide to Grand Rapids, USA - Michigan
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Click to go to Flight Prices for Grand Rapids
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Grand RapidsWhether you're not too keen on heading out for "Sin City" or find that a cooler climate suits your internal climate (whatever that means), Michigan, USA has a place for picky folks looking for a bit of everything, but don't want everything either. Grand Rapids, the home of an all-but-expired textile industry, is now a well-known tourist center, with sights from the familiar to the obscure, all here to appealing to a broad range of travelers. You can pay visits to establishments specializing in nothing but exotic botany, view canvases and sculpture by notable faces, and see how Michigan stacks up against fellow northern US regions in the realm of nature and adventure, all within a 20-mile radius. Former US President Gerald R. Ford was raised in Grand Rapids, a fact its residents take considerable pride in, something they show in extensive depth inside his very own museum. Though it may not be worth writing anything more than a blog entry for, the environment it holds unmistakably positioned to command respect. If you're still not taken with these holdings, you may feel differently once inside the city's Heritage Hill District. Dubbed one of the best historic societies by some board which decides such things, its mansions often strike double takes in passersby. Satisfied yet? We hope so. Anything more of Grand Rapids's you must see for yourself, otherwise we could be taken for spoilers. Oh yes! Mind you, the city as a whole is overwhelmingly conservative. Memorizing a few of Matthew's choicest verses might bode well for you during your stay.
When to go:
Ordinarily, when one sights a seaside or oceanside destination, a hint of intrigue plays a tune across his or her mind. And though our focus, Grand Rapids, doesn't belong in such a category, there are still exceptions to the already-accepted standards. Sliced jaggedly into...(Halves? Thirds?) large chunks, Grand Rapids is positioned in a region known for its ferocious winters. Snowfall is battled by thousands of pounds-per-feet every year, and the cold season appears to situate itself weeks outside its designated three-month slot. That's alright; we've got good news! Summers in Michigan aren't all that bad, and once things do melt away, you're offered another 7-8 months of decent weather.
Getting there and around:
Both commercial and chartered flights will find it rather tough to sidestep stone-set schedules and the shortcomings of fuel-gulping jet engines to attain a direct connection to Grand Rapids, or even Lansing (state capital) or Detroit. Since most major European airports frequent New York more than another other US city, you're best off arranging for a stopover scenario. Grand Rapids is surprisingly well-stocked with public transit vehicles, leaving little reason for avoiding those extra-large candy bars (recommendations for more fitting euphemisms are always welcome). If you're intent on traveling via more compact means, renting a vehicle is a proposition worth consideration.
Attractions:
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum is complex of history- and trinket-packed displays coupled with an extensive library that provides an unparalleled look at the 38th man elected to the Oval Office (albeit by default). Closely linked to the museum is the Betty Ford Garden. The Frederik Meijer Gardens, a collection of exotic greens housed both outdoors and inside a 5-story glass enclosure, is possible to see in roughly an hour's time, though avid plant and art lovers will certainly find the joining of sculpture and nature to be worth closer inspection.
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