Detroit French History Private Auto Tour

Tour the vestiges of French Detroit, an American City, that began as a French colonial outpost. It was founded as Fort Pontchartrain and as a trading post in 1701. It remained an outpost of the French Empire through 1760, when it became a part of the British Empire. It remained British until 1795, when it became American. Throughout those changes, Detroit retained its French identity and remained a French speaking city into the 1840's. Most of that French history is lost, forgotten, and seldom taught in history books. On this tour you will learn of the preservation efforts of what remains of the cultural heritage of French Detroit. This tour brings that history to life.
After you download this tour, you can listen to the narration in the comfort of your home or hotel room. You can then decide if you want to visit all of the places in one day, or to focus on a few. Once you are close to each of the points of interest, the SmartGuide app will alert you and begin to play the narrative.

Meeting Point

Basilica of Sainte Anne de Détroit

1000 St Anne St, Detroit, MI 48216, USA

This is the tour starting point. Transportation is NOT included in this tour, it is a self-guided audio tour.
A tour of the Ste Anne Basilica is not included in this tour but you can arrange a tour of Ste Anne.

What's included:

• You will receive the SmartGuide App and the French History of Detroit Audio Tour.

What to expect:

Duration: 6 hours

Ste. Anne de Detroit Church

1000 Sainte Anne St, , Detroit, 48216-2027, Michigan

Take a private auto tour through the forgotten history of French Detroit. Discover what remains of Detroit when it was a distant outpost on the fringe of Louis XIV’s French Empire. Learn what makes the history of Detroit unlike that of any other.
See where more than a thousand Fox Indians were slaughtered (and why) in an epic battle for control of the straits. See the river whose water turned red with the blood of more than a hundred British Redcoats, ambushed crossing the bridge over it!

See the second oldest continuously operating Catholic parish in the US, founded by Antoine Cadillac and Father Constantin De L’Halle. See the resting place of Father Gabriel Richard.

Find out why the history of French Detroit is a history of the French and of Native American Indians.

A fun and informative tour!

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Hart Plaza

1 Hart Plz, , Detroit, 48226-4344, Michigan

After leaving Ste Anne's, we stop at nearby Riverside Park, before driving on to Hart Plaza. Learn about the Wendat, who lived at this location, and other Native American Indians who lived in relative peace and harmony with the French. At Hart Plaza, see about Fort Pontchartrain and why it was built there. After leaving Hart Plaza, we stop briefly at two of the oldest houses built in Detroit, dating to 1826 and 1840. Learn about ribbon farms and some of the streets named for the farms they ran alongside.

15 minutes

Mt Elliott Cemetery

1701 Mt Elliott St, Detroit, MI 48207, USA

Visit the remains of the 1,800 original settlers originally buried in Ste Anne’s cemetery and re-interred here. Learn the tragedy of the lost markers. Stop at the tombs, and family plots of other notable French settlers and notable Detroiters.

20 minutes

Elmwood Cemetery

1200 Elmwood St, Detroit, MI 48207, USA

See Bloody Run where the water in Parent's Creek turned red with the blood of more than one hundred British redcoats ambushed and slaughtered in the Indian uprising led by Chief Pontiac. Stop at the tombs, and family plots, of other notable French settlers.

15 minutes

Belle Isle Park

99 Pleasure Dr, , Detroit, 48207-4373, Michigan

Visit the location of the first victims of the 1763 Indian Uprising led by Chief Pontiac. Learn the french history of the island once called Swan Island, then Hog Island, and now called, Belle Isle. The island will be circumnavigated and notable sites pointed out along the way. There may be time to stop and enjoy the beautiful island on the border of two great nations.

30 minutes

Mariner Park

Riverside Boulevard, Detroit, 48215, Michigan

Stop alongside Windmill Pointe Lighthouse, one of Michgan's oldest lighthouses. Running alongside Altar Road is Fox Creek. Named for the Fox Indian tribe, learn the stories of the Grand Marais and Fox Run. After leaving the park, we drive through the Grand Marais area on our way to the final stop, the Provensal House.

10 minutes

376 Kercheval Ave

376 Kercheval Ave, Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236, USA

Stop at the Provençal House, the oldest house in Grosse Pointe, built long before "Grosse Pointe" existed. Learn the remarkable story of Pierre Provençal and his wife Euphemia St Aubin and their loving, generous, and charitable, work with the many orphans of the 1832 and 1834 cholera epidemics. Admission is not included and likely not available.

10 minutes

Detroit Historical Museum

5401 Woodward Ave, Wayne State University, Detroit, 48202-4009, Michigan

Visit the "Where the River Bends" exhibit to see and learn about the French Era of Detroit.

1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included

Detroit Institute of Arts

5200 Woodward Ave, , Detroit, 48202-4094, Michigan

Visit the "Fashionable Living" exhibit to see the furniture and furnishings of French citizens in the 1700s. Be sure to enjoy this museum rated as #1 in the United States by USA Today!

2 hours • Admission Ticket Not Included

Detroit Public Library

5201 Woodward Ave, , Detroit, 48202-4093, Michigan

Visit the Burton Collection the largest collection of books, documents, and maps of the French Era in Detroit, in the world!

1 hour