You can find lots of great tourist information on the official Midwest MLA/MHSLA 2008 Conference website! Click on the Detroit Area Attractions for a list of everything there is to see around our conference location.
I'm interested in things to do close to our conference hotel. Well, the biggest attraction is the Somerset Collection mall which bills itself as "the epicenter for luxury retail in the State of Michigan." It is just a little ways west of the hotel on Big Beaver Rd. Check out the mall's website where you can even take a virtual tour. This place is amazing! The mall is actually two malls connected by a 700 ft. glass enclosed moving walkway!
Another interesting looking attraction is the Cranbrook educational complex about 5 miles northwest in Bloomfield Hills. Your can check out the contemporary art at the Cranbrook Art Museum. The Andy Worhol exhibit opens during our conference on October 19. The Cranbrook Institute of Science has a small planetarium and is featuring the Bats: Myths and Mysteries exhibit. The Cranbrook House & Gardens look fabulous. You can take a self-guided garden tour.
The Troy Museum & Historic Village is just a couple of miles north of the conference hotel. Admission is free!
Phillip J. Huber Park is right by the hotel. For those of you who would enjoy a nice fall walk, the park has a 1.3-mile walking/fitness trail through a wooded section of the site.
If you would like to visit any of these attractions, you'll be glad to hear that our conference hotel, the Detroit Marriott Troy, offers a complimentary shuttle service to locations within five miles of the hotel, available upon request.