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The Straits of Detroit (The Detroit River) with Belle Isle in the distance between Detroit on the left, and Windsor on the right.
Ste. Anne Basilica.
The Bloody Run where British soldiers were massacred in the Pontiac Uprising.
Mt. Elliott Cemetery.
Father Gabriel Richard.

French History Tour of Detroit A Self-Guided Audio Tour App

By French Detroit History Tours
Price is CA $28 per adult
See tickets
Features
  • 6h
  • Mobile voucher
  • Instant confirmation
Overview

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.

Activity location

  • Ste. Anne de Detroit Church
    • 1000 Sainte Anne St,
    • 48216-2027, Detroit, Michigan, United States

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • Basilica of Sainte Anne de Détroit
    • 1000 Saint Anne Street
    • 48216, Detroit, Michigan, United States

Check availability

SmartGuide AI Interpretation
  • Activity duration is 6 hours6h
    6h
  • English

AI Translation: The internationally acclaimed SmartGuide app can translate the tour into most major languages.

Language options: English
Price details
CA $27.71 x 1 AdultCA $27.71
Total
Price is CA $27.71
French History Tour of Detroit in English
  • Activity duration is 6 hours6h
    6h
  • English
Language options: English
Price details
CA $27.71 x 1 AdultCA $27.71
Total
Price is CA $27.71

What's included, what's not

  • What's includedWhat's includedYou will receive the SmartGuide App and the French History of Detroit Audio Tour.

Know before you book

  • Public transport options are available nearby
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Activity itinerary

Ste. Anne de Detroit Church
  • 15m
  • Admission ticket not included
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!
Hart Plaza
  • 15m
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.
Mt Elliott Cemetery
  • 20m
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.
Elmwood Cemetery
  • 15m
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.
Belle Isle Park
  • 30m
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.
Mariner Park
  • 10m
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.
376 Kercheval Ave
  • 10m
Stop at the Provençal House, the oldest house in Grosse Pointe, built long before "Grosse Pointe" existed. Learn the remarkable storey 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.
Detroit Historical Museum
  • 1h
  • Admission ticket not included
Visit the "Where the River Bends" exhibit to see and learn about the French Era of Detroit.
Detroit Institute of Arts
  • 2h
  • Admission ticket not included
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!
Detroit Public Library
  • 1h
Visit the Burton Collection the largest collection of books, documents, and maps of the French Era in Detroit, in the world!

Location

Activity location

  • LOB_ACTIVITIESLOB_ACTIVITIESSte. Anne de Detroit Church
    • 1000 Sainte Anne St,
    • 48216-2027, Detroit, Michigan, United States

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • PEOPLEPEOPLEBasilica of Sainte Anne de Détroit
    • 1000 Saint Anne Street
    • 48216, Detroit, Michigan, United States

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