Henry Ford, son of a farmer, built his first car in Detroit in 1896. There was nothing too amazing about this feat, because cars had been around for some time. What was unique to Ford's invention was the moving assembly line, which enabled him to literally put the world on wheels. Henry Ford's legacy is found at every turn in his hometown, Detroit, which is why the city's most popular and prominent tourist attraction was founded by him in 1929. The Henry Ford is spread over more than 36 hectares (90 acres) in Dearborn just outside of metro-Detroit and encompasses five different venues. Together they bring the whole American experience to life, using exhibits, demonstrations, programmes and re-enactments to showcase American life and its people. Ford amassed most of the exhibit collection, including tens of thousands of ordinary objects, items associated with illustrious Americans, and numerous inventions documenting technological advances. Among the exhibits is the limousine in which John F. Kennedy was assassinated, Edgar Allan Poe's writing desk, and George Washington's camp bed. It is located in Dearborn, Michigan just west of the Southfield Freeway (M-39) and south of Michigan Avenue (US-12).

Car buffs from the world over are drawn to Detroit's Automotive Hall of Fame, close to the Henry Ford Museum in Oakwood Boulevard, Dearborn, which is the public program and exhibition centre for the worldwide motor vehicle industry. The venue features entertaining and enlightening exhibits about the people who drive the industry. Visitors can indulge in interactive events like designing their own car and taking part in safety demonstrations.

Visitors to Detroit can tour the family home of renowned automotive pioneer Henry Ford and his wife, Clara, in Dearborn. The estate is a National Historic Landmark that is now part of the campus of the University of Michigan. The Fords lived on the estate, designed by Jens Jensen, from 1915 until they died in 1947 and 1950 respectively. The 56-room stone mansion features elaborately carved woodwork and contains many personal artefacts. Also on site is Ford's personal garage and car collection and magnificent gardens featuring waterscapes.

The Detroit Historical Museum in Downtown allows visitors the chance to tour the scope of the city's history, from Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac's landing on the banks of the Detroit River through the city's emergence as an industrial capital. In the museum it is possible to walk through the streets of Old Detroit and explore 19th-century shops. Visitors can also find out about Detroit's role in the 'underground railroad' that helped slaves escape from the South. The interactive Glancy Trains toy train exhibit delights young and old.

America's fifth-largest fine arts museum boasts more than 100 galleries displaying a collection of 65,000 works, ranging from mummies to Matisse, and Asian antiquities to American Impressionists. The Museum is situated in Downtown Detroit. The highlights include the masterpieces of Rembrandt, Rubens, Bureghel the Elder, Botticelli, Van Gogh, Cézanne, Picasso and Caravaggio. From January till May the Film Theatre screens an impressive selection of international films and shorts.

Detroit's Motown sound originated in two simple buildings on West Grand Boulevard, Downtown, at Hitsville U.S.A. Visitors can see the original control room and recording studio where stars like the Jackson Five, Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder made hit records between 1959 and 1972. The Museum also contains some costumes worn by the stars and Motown founder Berry Gordy's apartment, still as it was in the 1960s.

Michigan boasts some wonderful sandy beaches along its western coastline washed by Lake Michigan. Some of the best of these, with miles of sand and wild dunes, are near the ferry port town of Ludington. The Ludington State Park offers 14 miles (23km) of hiking and biking trails in beautiful virgin forests and dunes, miles of sandy beach and three campgrounds. There are several other popular beach resort towns along Michigan's west coast, within easy reach of Detroit, which are known as 'The Riviera of the Midwest'. Silver Lake resort boasts its world-renowned living sand-dunes and the world's smallest newspaper; Grand Haven has a magnificent boardwalk along its spectacular beaches lined with restaurants, marina facilities and shops; Holland, has a Dutch flavour inherited from its founder, a Dutch clergyman; St Joseph in the south has a famous lighthouse and a French fort.

The city of Ann Arbor in southeast Michigan, 45 miles (72km) west of Detroit just north of the Ohio border, is home to the University of Michigan, one of the country's top universities. The city and surroundings has a great deal to offer visitors in the form of historic and cultural attractions. Ann Arbor's downtown area is extremely vibrant with never a dull moment, from live music shows to a plethora of libraries, galleries and museums, restaurants offering everything from romantic dinners to café society, some of the country's best bookstores and often a street party. Among the many museums of interest is the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, housed in a 100-year-old firehouse, which features more than 250 interactive science and technology exhibits. There are numerous restored 19th-century houses and farms to visit for a taste of life in days of yore, and even an original old main street blacksmith shop still operating in the satellite town of Manchester. Museums in the area cover everything from geology to classic cars, early American manuscripts, dentistry and old fire-fighting equipment. On the University campus the Natural History Museum contains the state's largest collection of dinosaur fossils and a planetarium features a 360-degree domed screen offering weekend stargazing shows.

Michilimackinac, about a mile (2km) from the centre of Mackinaw City, was the first stop for new arrivals back in the outpost days, around the 1700s. Today it remains the first destination for tourists visiting the area, being the site of a reconstructed 1715 French fur-trading village and military outpost that was later occupied by the British. The working colonial village is a living history exhibit that fascinates visitors while, within the stockade, archaeological excavations continue at the site. The historic park includes a vivid audio-visual recreation of a soldiers' barracks, a unique permanent underground archaeological tunnel exhibit displaying hundreds of original artefacts, a recreated Native American summer encampment illustrating life on the shores of the Great Lakes in the 18th century, as well as musket and cannon firing demonstrations and demonstrations of pioneer skills like blacksmithing and open-hearth cooking.

Mill Creek, located on US-23 a few miles south-east of Mackinaw City, was constructed by a Scotsman, Robert Campbell, in 1780, making it one of the first industrial sites in the Great Lakes area. The mill, now reconstructed, provided sawn lumber for the Mackinac Island settlers. Today the water-powered sawmill sits in a delightful wooded setting among nature trails and forest management displays, providing an interesting attraction for numerous visitors. Demonstrations are given of logs being sawn, craftsmen in period dress show how houses were built and a nature programme to encourage visitors to discover the area's flora and fauna is offered. The site includes a picnic area, or there is a cookhouse serving lunches and snacks. The surrounding area includes four miles (6km) of nature trails that bypass an active beaver colony.

Visitors who step ashore on Mackinac Island from one of the three ferry services from Mackinaw City can be forgiven for believing they have stepped back in time into a Victorian village. The small population of 500 permanent residents have preserved the island settlement and the surrounding natural beauty to the point that no motor vehicles are allowed on the island; the only way to get around is on foot, bicycle or horse and buggy. The island, 80 percent of which is a state park, boasts 140 miles (225km) of roads and trails, ideal for hiking. The longest route is right around the island, following the scenic eight-mile (13km) Lake Shore road. Other popular walks include the Turtle's Back, Tranquil Bluff Trail and British Landing nature trail. Every year in early June the island comes alive with a Lilac Festival, featuring the world's longest horse-hitch parade, fireworks, hayrides, country line dancing, free outdoor concerts, boat cruises and garden tours.

From its position on Mackinac Island, Fort Mackinac has stood sentinel over the Straits of Mackinac for 115 years, having been built by British soldiers during the American Revolution. The original fort has been restored as a National Historic Landmark and is one of Michigan's favourite attractions. Visitors can stroll through the 1780 officer's stone quarters, play dress-up in the discovery room, enjoy an audio-visual presentation in the Post Commissary, view the exhibits and watch lively demonstrations.

About an hour's drive north of the Mackinaw Bridge, situated in one of the most scenic spots on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, lies the intriguing Shipwreck Museum alongside the historic Whitefish Point Light Station on the shore of Lake Superior. The museum is the only one of its kind, dedicated to highlighting the perils of maritime transport on the Great Lakes. The lighthouse on the site is the oldest active lighthouse on Lake Superior. The museum brings to life the dramatic shipwreck legends of the area with artefacts and exhibits telling stories of the ships and sailors who came to grief in the treacherous lake. Visitors can also take a guided tour of the restored 1861 Lightkeepers Quarters, a duplex building with period furnishings, descriptive panels and artefacts from the days when keepers and their families lived here.