Three Unique Places I Love To Visit In Michigan

What’s to see in Michigan? Plenty! Today, I am focusing on three Michigan cities you may not be familiar with: Traverse City, Charlevoix, and Frankenmuth. What’s more, they are in easy driving distance of each other and have lots of fun things to see and do.

1. Traverse City

Traverse City sits on the shores of Lake Michigan’s Grand Traverse Bay. It is the cherry capital of the United States. This is because Michigan’s western coast has the perfect climate for cultivating grapes and is considered the land of the vineyards. 

Traverse City National Cherry Festival

Each summer, thousands of visitors flock to Traverse City for the National Cherry Festival. Undoubtedly, the air show and the Cherry Royale Parade provide a week of family fun. The Festival was canceled for 2020 but is scheduled for July 3 – 10, 2021

Prince and Princess Program

In 1948, seven local elementary schools chose a Junior Royalty couple. Now over 25 schools participate in the National Cherry Festival Junior Royalty Program. As a result, Princes and Princesses become the littlest cherry ambassadors and a symbol of school pride.

National Cherry Queen

The National Cherry Queen serves as the ambassador for the National Cherry Festival, the Cherry Industry and the Traverse City Area. Most importantly, this scholarship program provides young ladies from across the State of Michigan the chance to earn up to $8,250 while making many memories. The Queens have traveled across the Nation spreading cherry love, from delivering cherry pies to sitting Presidents to speaking of the health benefits of cherries.

Parades

National Cherry Festival hosts three great parades every year:

Junior Royale Parade -Known as one of the largest children’s parades in Michigan, the Junior Royale Parade highlights kid-friendly floats, Junior Royalty, clowns and marching units.

DTE Energy Foundation Cherry Royale Parade – The Cherry Royale Parade is one of the final events of the festival each year. At this point, a new National Cherry Queen rides on one of the beautifully decorated floats accompanied by the marching bands.

Junior Royale Parade – Known as one of the largest children’s parades in Michigan, the Junior Royale Parade highlights kid-friendly floats, Junior Royalty, clowns and marching units.

Chateau Chantel Winery and Inn

The Chateau Chantel Winery and Inn is located in Traverse City on a 65-acre estate on Old Mission Peninsula. In a word, it was one of the most scenic areas of the Great Lakes. This was a stop on the way from Chicago to Traverse City that included a tour.

Robert and Nadine Begin were the founders. Robert was a Catholic diocesan priest. In time, he decided in1972 to begin again as a businessman heading a construction business. In like manner, Nadine was a Felician sister who taught home economics for 22 years. They married in 1974 and followed Robert’s dream of building a European-style winery chateau by purchasing 60 acres of cherry orchards on the estate property in 1983.

July of 2003 saw the completion of the expansion which added eight B&B units to the original three. In like manner, they equipped a 2,000 sq. ft. Hospitality Room for executive retreats and events.

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2. Charlevoix, Michigan

The first thing to remember is that the city does not pronounce its name in the expected French way but their own unique way – SHÄR-lə-VOI.

Four bodies of water including Lake Michigan surround the historic city of Charlevoix.  The city has a population of 2,513. This climatic region has large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. 

We visited the downtown area and strolled along the harbour. Lunch included cherry pie, of course. Following that, we visited the famous Mushroom Houses.

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The Mushroom Houses of Charlevoix, Michigan

Here we viewed the fairy tale mushroom houses built by the famous, self-taught architect Earl Young. Starting in 1919, and continuing into the seventies, Young fashioned over two dozen creations using indigenous materials.

Each of these houses is different and designed to blend in with its surrounding landscape.

3. Frankenmuth, Michigan

The village of Frankenmuth began as a German community in 1845. Its first settlers left their homeland because of poor farming conditions and political unrest. Thus, it is known for its Bavarian-style architecture. 

Many buildings feature timber-framed buildings. This style is marked by the use of timbers in “square” and “X” patterns on the outside of buildings, as well as the use of “X” patterns on windows, doors, and other building features.

Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn

We stayed at the Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn, a Michigan Registered Historic Site.

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Frankenmuth is known for its world-famous chicken dinners. Subsequently, two of the largest independently owned restaurants, the Bavarian Inn Restaurant and Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth, serve nearly two million chicken dinners annually. We choose the Bavarian Inn Restaurant and, as advertised, the chicken was delicious!

Lastly, we visited Bronner’s, Christmas Wonderland.

BRONNER’S CHRISTMAS WONDERLAND

Frankenmuth is famous for Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland. Bronner’s was started from humble beginnings by Wally Bronner in 1945. It quickly grew through several expansions to become the World’s Largest Christmas Store. The beautifully landscaped grounds cover 27 acres.

There are over 50,000 trims and gifts found in the store including ornaments, trees, Christmas lights, nativities, and collectibles. Christmas cards, garlands, stockings, Advent calendars, and wreaths are also among the many items available. In addition, of the more than 6,000 styles of ornaments that Bronner’s carries, half of the glass ornaments are Bronner’s exclusive designs. It is open 361 days a year.

Summary

I have visited better-known Michigan and Illinois locations and described them in separate posts: Chicago and Mackinac Island. The three cities described in this post are equally interesting and enjoyable. They were included on our 8 day Mackinac Island escorted tour. The entire tour was wonderful and educational. I highly recommend it.