If you’re fascinated with Detroit, you’ve likely been on at least one downtown walking tour. The interesting stories from the tour guides never get old, but The D offers a variety of other tours for those looking to delve deeper into specific aspects of the region’s culture. Feeling adventurous? Fill your day with any of these specialty tours.

Summer in Michigan is always a great time to find your favorite local watering hole and relax on the patio with a nice, cold beer. In Detroit, it’s no different. But these days, Detroiters aren’t limited to just cans of Black Label or bottles of Miller High Life.

The burgeoning craft beer industry has found quite a niche in the Motor City, with more than a dozen breweries operating in and around the metro area. With the days getting longer and warmer, there is no shortage of folks looking for a refreshing summer brew. And the local Detroit-area breweries are happy to oblige.

Instagram is one of our favorite social media platforms, and based on the action we’ve been seeing on this hip, happening app that’s all the rage these days, it’s clear that you love it, too. So we went ahead and put together a photo collage of some of our favorite Depict The D Instagram entries, along with others from Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and email, as a way to say thank you for expressing your love for The D via lens. Keep ’em coming using #DepictTheD.

Did your entry make the cut?

Which one’s your favorite?

Photo credit (from left to right):

Row One: Ambassador Bridge, Amy Senese; America’s Thanksgiving Parade, user khrystyna_ig; Campus Martius Park Skating Rink, Kristina Green; Detroit skyline, Darci Gurney; Belle Isle Conservancy, Tina Logan; Comerica Park, Iris Tuma

Row Two: Guardian Building, user whalemap; Detroit Jazz Festival view, user mrrambo; Detroit RiverWalk, John McGraw; Comerica Park, Mike Boening

Row Three: Detroit RiverWalk, Tina Logan; Detroit Shoppe shopping bag, Calais Clark; Detroit People Mover and skyline, user mrrambo; Detroit Zoo, Kari Shepley; Dog, Jay Turner

Row Four: Fisher Building, Darci Gurney; Fox Theatre, Christine Lyons; Fox Theatre, Richard T. James, Jr.; Belle Isle Aquarium, Lynn Powell; Belle Isle Bridge, Richard T. James, Jr.; Detroit Shoppe "Nothing Stops Detroit", Darci Gurney; Gateway to Freedom Statue, Lynn Powell

Row Five: Paczki, Darci Gurney; John King Books, Christine Lyons; Belle Isle Conservancy, Tina Logan; GM Renaissance Center, Ron Gage; Dlectricity, Ed Morykwas; Greektown, Katie Tokarczyk

Row Six: carolers at Holiday DLight, Mike Boening; Detroit People Mover, user lifegoeson008; Dlectricity, Ed Morykwas; bikes on Detroit RiverWalk, Lynn Powell; Detroit night skyline, Tina Logan

Row Seven: Soldiers and Sailors Monument at Campus Martius Park, Sarah Kay; fountain inside Compuware Building, user LaKeesha; Fisher Building, Ruth Torrence Lindsay; Westin Book Cadillac, user whalemap; Midtown, Ron Gage; Detroit Dog Party at Tiger Stadium, Ed Morykwas; fireworks at Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village, Mike Boening

Detroit's Center: Campus Martius

When I told my husband I was going to Detroit in January to the Detroit auto show and to see the city’s sights, he thought I was nuts.

That’s because he grew up there. Through the 1960’s and ’70’s he witnessed the city’s demise and it saddened him. His parents moved the family to the suburbs, and like so many Detroiters, they didn’t go downtown any more.  But also like so many Detroiters, he proudly remembers the impressively grand hotels and Gilded Era sky scrapers that stand tall along the Detroit River; he extols the city’s design heritage and its role in not only some of the most important innovations in modern history, but art, music and entertainment that are the fabric of American culture.

Modern Detroit is a tale of two cities: a public municipality that struggles to iron out its finances and support its infrastructure, and a city with an entrepreneurial spirit that continues to bring new investment, building and attractions to its city center. The recent news that Whole Foods is bringing its first urban location to Detroit is like the season’s first daffodil sprout: Proof that the season is about to turn a corner and Spring’s warm breezes are near.

Photo: Greektown Casino's Master Suite.

Detroit’s “big three” casinos rank high on both visitors’ and locals’ list of favorite places to frequent downtown. With the options to eat, relax, play and stay, these classy hot spots are always adding something new to the mix. Next time you're feeling the lucky streak, you can visit one of these three places and hopefully come home a big winner!