Slideshow

Best Cheap Cities to Visit

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Detroit

While it’s not the first place that comes to mind as an American tourist destination, the Motor City is earning a reputation for its creative postindustrial renaissance, with boutiques (don’t miss City Bird), bars and restaurants popping up in the Corktown and Midtown neighborhoods. Wednesday and Saturday tours of the edgy Museum of Contemporary Art are free, and Eastern Market is the spot to shop for budget produce. At night, catch live jazz at Bert’s, a legendary Eastern Market barbecue joint known for its ribs and jam sessions since the 1980s.

Eat: Supino’s rivals NYC pizzerias, and 12-inch pies like the Red, White, & Green with spinach, capers, roasted red peppers, mozzarella and ricotta are only $10. Michael Symon’s Roast runs a happy hour from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. featuring $4 snacks like chicken livers with polenta.

Stay: The Inn on Ferry Street is a bed-and-breakfast in Corktown, with 40 rooms in four meticulously restored Victorian homes and two carriage houses for $159 a night. A one-bedroom at the tiny but superhip inn Honor & Folly is decorated with Detroit-made goods and costs $165 per night.