About Ann Arbor

Charm That Turns Students into Lifelong Residents

Ann Arbor’s population of 110,000 is about half university students, faculty, and staff members. Housing ranges from university dormitories and townhouses to elaborate apartment complexes and studios in renovated Victorian houses. The landscape is a delightful blend of:

tree-shaded clapboard houses
open-air farmers' markets
arboretums and business parks
intimate boutiques and expansive shopping malls
bike paths and expressways
19th-century theaters and glass-walled office buildings

Never a Shortage of Things to Do

Ann Arbor has a lively year-round arts calendar, with cinema from first-run movies to underground classics, experimental and international theater (including the Royal Shakespeare Company), and music to suit every taste. Regular visitors to Ann Arbor include orchestras such as the Philadelphia and Berlin Philharmonics, and the Cleveland and Leipzig Orchestras; performers like Wynton Marsalis, Jessye Norman, Yo Yo Ma, kd lang, and BB King; and the renowned dance companies of the Joffrey Ballet and Alvin Ailey.

Ann Arbor Art Fair Book and music stores abound, catering to every interest. Sports enthusiasts find an array of activities, from canoeing to cross-country skiing. Restaurants run the gamut, from four-star to coffee houses, most with outdoor seating to take advantage of Michigan's beautiful summer evenings. Ann Arbor has ethnic celebrations, a Summer Festival, and nationally recognized juried art fairs (pictured) that transform downtown streets into art galleries in July.

Photo courtesy of Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Original: Dan Kier, photographer.

More information about Ann Arbor and the Local Scene