The birthplace of the Oldsmobile and Michigan's automotive center, Lansing offers visitors a number of car-related sites like plant tours and automobile museums, but there are other forces driving this capital city.

There's the award-winning Capitol building, completely restored in 1992, where tourists are wowed by the glass-floor rotunda and acres of decorative handpainted surfaces. The Michigan Historical Museum, which boasts a great collection of items from Michigan's past, including a re-created copper mine, will please history buffs. Children and families will enjoy taking a camel ride at the Potter Park Zoo or exploring Impression 5 Science Center. The River Trail, which runs through downtown Lansing along the Grand River, is excellent for walkers, cyclists and joggers.

On the cultural side, the nearby campus of Michigan State University, in East Lansing, is a must-see for the Kresge Art Museum, the Wharton Center (with numerous concerts, plays and musicals) and the beautiful campus itself. (Make time to visit the Children's Garden and the Horticultural Gardens on the campus' south side in particular.) The school is the nation's oldest land-grant university and has one of the largest campuses.

Sports fans can take in a minor-league baseball game at downtown Oldsmobile Park or watch college sports in East Lansing, with MSU football at Spartan Stadium, basketball at the Breslin Center and hockey at Munn Ice Arena.

Good shopping can be found in downtown East Lansing, the Meridian Mall in nearby Okemos, the Lansing Mall on the city's west side, and the newer Eastwood Towne Center on the city's north side. Eastwood offers a selection of higher-end chain restaurants, though Okemos boasts two excellent local restaurants -- Restaurant Villegas and Dusty's Cellar, both on Grand River Avenue.