Michigan

The state

Get to know Michigan

Michigan is made up of two peninsulas surrounded by four of the five Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie), which give the state more than 5,000 km of freshwater shoreline, with beaches, dunes and lighthouses. The Lower Peninsula, glove-shaped, concentrates the cities; the Upper Peninsula, to the north, is forested, with waterfalls and small towns.

Detroit, the motor city, has the Motown Museum, in the studio where the label's hits were recorded, and the Detroit Institute of Arts, with Diego Rivera’s murals about industry. In Dearborn, the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village bring together cars, planes and historic houses, and the Ford Rouge truck plant accepts visits.

In the north, Mackinac Island has banned cars since the late 19th century: you get around on foot, by bike or by carriage, among Victorian houses, a fort and fudge shops, the island’s chocolate candy. The Mackinac Bridge, about 8 km long, links the two peninsulas. On Lake Michigan, the Sleeping Bear Dunes rise more than 100 meters above the water, and Traverse City is known for cherries.

In the Upper Peninsula, Pictured Rocks, on the shore of Lake Superior, has sandstone cliffs stained by minerals, waterfalls and beaches, seen by boat or kayak, and Tahquamenon Falls lie in the middle of the forest. On the plate, the pasty, a meat pie brought by Cornish miners, lake fish and cherry pie.