Art & Culture
MI · Metro pop. 1.1M
Grand Rapids
Beer City, Art City — and a Pere Marquette ride from Chicago to Lake Michigan's eastern shore.
A postcard from the city
Downtown from a Grand River bridge, the Blue Bridge lit up at night, sunset over Oval Beach in Saugatuck, the Lake Michigan shore at Holland, and the De Zwaan windmill on Windmill Island — the Pere Marquette corridor in five frames.
Rails Midwest · City Guide
Grand Rapids rewrote itself. The city that once depended entirely on furniture manufacturing has become a genuine craft-beer capital (80+ breweries in the metro), a surprisingly serious art city — ArtPrize, the world's largest publicly voted art competition, turns the entire downtown into a gallery every fall — and a base for the beaches and dunes of Lake Michigan, 25 miles to the west. The Pere Marquette arrives daily from Chicago into the downtown Amtrak station on Michigan Street, a short walk from the Grand River and the restaurant-packed East Fulton corridor. The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum sits on the riverbank; Frederik Meijer Gardens is one of the finest sculpture parks in the country. Holland and Saugatuck — tulip fields, a working Dutch windmill, and some of the best freshwater beaches in the Midwest — are a 30-minute drive south. Grand Rapids doesn't ask you to lower your expectations.
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Orient yourself
Grand Rapids at a glance
The station, airport, and places worth walking to — tap a pin.
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Where to stay · near Grand Rapids Amtrak Station
Hotels
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What to do · book ahead, skip the line
Experiences
Art & Culture
Food & Drink
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Getting here & around
Getting to & around Grand Rapids
Flying in from abroad, connecting from elsewhere in the US, arriving by Amtrak — and then getting around once you’re here, without renting anything.
By Air
Fly into Chicago O'Hare (ORD) — a major US hub with non-stops from most US cities and European capitals — then take Amtrak from Union Station to Grand Rapids.
GRR → downtown
Rideshare from GRR to downtown Grand Rapids takes about 20 minutes and costs around $20. The Rapid Route 13 connects the airport to downtown via a transfer, but rideshare is the practical option for most travelers.
By Train — Amtrak
The Pere Marquette runs once daily from Chicago Union Station to Grand Rapids Amtrak station (431 Michigan St NW, downtown) in about 3h 45m. From GRR Gerald R. Ford International Airport, a rideshare or The Rapid bus Route 13 reaches downtown in about 20 minutes.
Connecting on Amtrak: The Pere Marquette runs once daily each direction between Chicago Union Station and Grand Rapids — arriving mid-afternoon from Chicago, departing early morning for the return. No same-day connection is possible; an overnight in Grand Rapids is built into the trip.
Pere Marquette
From Chicago
3h 45m · 1 daily departure each direction
Public Transportation
The Amtrak platform at Vernon J. Ehlers Station sits immediately south of The Rapid's Central Station, so the local network starts where your train stops — an unusually tidy arrangement for a city this size. The Silver Line and Laker Line are bus rapid transit along Division Avenue and out to Lake Michigan Drive; regular Rapid routes cover downtown and the museum district, all of which is walkable anyway.
Silver Line BRTLaker Line BRTRapid buses
Rail stop · 45 min southwest by Pere Marquette
Holland & Saugatuck
The Pere Marquette stops at Holland on every run between Chicago and Grand Rapids. At Tulip Time in May, the city plants five million tulips and the population of 30,000 temporarily triples. De Zwaan — one of the few working Dutch windmills in the US — grinds flour year-round in Windmill Island Gardens.
Saugatuck is 15 minutes south of Holland: a small arts colony on the Kalamazoo River with galleries, a historic chain ferry across to the dune country, and one of the best concentrations of independent restaurants on the Michigan lakeshore.
Both are easy adds. Stay a night in Holland, take a rideshare or bike to Saugatuck, and board the Pere Marquette the next morning for the 45-minute run into Grand Rapids. Or stop here on the way from Chicago before continuing east.
Good to know
Questions travelers ask
How do I get to Grand Rapids by train?
Fly into Chicago O'Hare (ORD) — a major US hub with non-stop service from most US cities and most European capitals — then take Amtrak from Chicago Union Station to Grand Rapids. See the Getting there section above for the specific trains and typical journey times.
How many days do I need in Grand Rapids?
Two to three days suits most travelers — enough to explore art & culture, food & drink, outdoors, and to hit the main neighborhoods without feeling rushed. Add a day if you want to take a day trip out (Chicago are close by rail).
Can I visit Grand Rapids without a car?
Yes — every destination we cover is walkable from its Amtrak station or well-served by local transit. Grand Rapids's downtown is large and transit-connected, and ride-share fills the gaps.