Ann Arbor, Michigan, Is a Charming College Town That Delivers Big-City Culture

By Brooke Sabin

Published September 24, 2026

When the playwright Arthur Miller first set foot in Ann Arbor in 1934 as an eager university student, he recalled later in an appreciative piece for Holiday magazine, “I fell in love with the place, groggy as I was from the bus ride.” Many visitors to this compact Midwestern town do, finding themselves drawn to its outsize intellectual vigor and varied cultural, culinary, and outdoor experiences.

Founded in 1824, Ann Arbor—or A2, as it’s sometimes called—sits along the Huron River in southeast Michigan, with a lively downtown of 19th and early 20th century brick facades that house restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques—and more than a few surprises. (Look out for the whimsical fairy doors hidden among the buildings.) Another of the city’s nicknames, Tree Town, testifies to its abundant greenery.

But Ann Arbor is better known for another color. When the University of Michigan Wolverines take on their rivals, cries of “Go Blue!” echo across town. Indeed, U of M, considered one of America’s “Public Ivies,” shapes much of Ann Arbor’s culture and daily life, especially when students arrive in late summer and the year-round population of 123,000 swells by 50,000. The university’s students have included such illustrious names as President Gerald Ford, Google co-founder Larry Page, and, for two years, Madonna.

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