Add Detroit to the Roster of U.S. Cities Where Free-of-Charge Walking Tours are Offered to Visitors

To that small but important list of U.S. cities where tourists can easily obtain free-of-charge walking tours led by a volunteer resident of those cities -- New York, San Francisco and Chicago are most prominent among them -- you can now add Detroit. The brand-new, inexpensive ($25 a night) Hostel Detroit (tel. 313/451-0333; www.hosteldetroit.com ) in the centrally-located Corktown area of the city, within easy walking distance of the famous Slows Bar-B-Que Restaurant (honored by barbecue aficionados all over the nation), has enlisted a substantial number of "Ambassador" volunteers (well-informed citizens of Detroit) to offer such walking tours to visitors who may or may not be staying at the hostel.

[image error] Photo Caption: Detroit as seen from Canada. slim57/Frommers.com Community

Though many outlying residential districts have been abandoned in part by residents because of the city's declining economy, the downtown area (including Corktown) is regarded by many as a vital and interesting place with numerous museums and other attractions, good restaurants, bars and shops, a place that may now enjoy an upswing in prosperity because of the apparent recovery of the auto industry.