In 1928, Henry Ford laid the cornerstone to one of the greatest museums in the United States. Built to preserve the artifacts of American history and ingenuity and consistently ranked one of the best museums for families and car aficionados, the Henry Ford Museum is an absolute must-see. Stand next to the car in which JFK was shot, climb aboard one of the most powerful steam engines ever built, and experience "the history of our people as written into things their hands made and used."

Detroit boasts one of the most impressive and important art museums in the United States, the Detroit Institute of Arts. Home to over 100 galleries, the DIA is considered to be in the top six art museums in America. Once you step inside the building, which is itself on the National Register of Historic Places, find your way to Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry cycle of frescoes, which is just past the impressive armor collection of William Randolph Hearst. Or, admire works by Van Gogh, Matisse, Bruegel, Rubens, and Rembrandt. Make sure you do not miss William-Adolphe Bouguereau's, The Nut Gatherers, a personal favorite of the bride's.

Designed by legendary architect C. Howard Crane, the Detroit Opera House is one of the city's crown jewels and a symbol of its remarkable renaissance. Crane designed the stage to rival the grand opera houses of late 19th century Europe. When Detroit collapsed, so did the theater. It sat empty while rain poured through holes in the roof, rotting the once-fine velvet and making a boat out of a piano. But then, in the 1990s, a team of visionaries saved the theater from destruction and restored it to its former glory. Come to the city a day early and enjoy a production of Puccini's Tosca, performed on the very stage that Pavarotti himself christened at its Grand Reopening in 1996.