Vittoria, I think your room will be fine - you can't beat a view of the bay.

As for the wineries, most of them allow you to just walk in and taste without being on a tour. (Some charge a nominal fee, but most are free.)

There are winery maps at the visitor's center in TC and elsewhere. Here's a few web sites to get you started as well:

http://www.lpwines.com/ (Leelanau Peninsula wineries)

http://www.wineriesofoldmission.com/

Old Mission Peninsula is nice, but be sure to head up the Leelanau Peninsula while you're there too. Two of my favorite wineries are Chateau Fontaine (near Lake Leelanau) and Leelanau Cellars (near Omena).

Another place to visit if you have time is the Grand Traverse Lighthouse. It's at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula and well worth the drive. Their web site is www.grandtraverselighthouse.com.

Have a great time and drink some northern Michigan wine for me! :)

Heidi

How far from Traverse City is Leelanau Peninsula? I know my husband would love to see the Lighthouse. Have you heard about Sleeping Dunes? What exactly is this place?

Ahhh, Sleeping Bear Dunes. It is an incredible wall of sand that needs to be seen to be believed. I was there once and some New Yorkers kept insisting they trucked the sand in. Definitly put it on your list if you can fit it in. But don't walk down! It will take you hours to get back up.

I love Chateau Grand Traverse Winery about half way up the Old Mission Pennisula.

Sleeping Bear Dunes are a must see in the area. A favorite spot at the Dunes is the scenic drive.Another great spot is the dune climb near Glen Lake.

Vittoria, your first stop in TC should be the visitor's center (on Front Street, I believe). :) Get yourself a map and some info on the area. Or better yet, visit www.mytraversecity.com.

Traverse City is situated at the base of two peninsulas, and one large land mass (on the east) that goes all the way to the Mackinac Bridge and the Upper Peninsula.

Right in the middle of TC is the Old Mission Peninsula. This is the shortest peninsula and it also has a lighthouse at the end, but as far as I know, it's not open to the public. You can tour this entire peninsula in 1-2 hours depending on how many places you stop.

To the west of Traverse City is the Leelanau Peninsula. To get to the end of it will take about 45 minutes, driving straight through.

At the very end is the Leelanau State Park and the Grand Traverse Lighthouse. You have to pay to enter the park ($6) if you don't have a state park sticker, and then $4 to enter the lighthouse museum. Once inside the museum, you can climb to the 3rd floor tower and if it's a clear day, you can see several of the islands around there such as the Manitous and Fox Islands. The lighthouse has a gift shop, a fog signal building, and beautiful grounds. There's also hiking areas in the state park.

On your way up the Leelanau Peninsula (on the east side of it), you'll go through towns like Suttons Bay which offers lots of shops and good restaurants. Next is Omena where the Leelanau Cellars Winery is, and then the small village of Northport where there are more shops and a few restaurants. The lighthouse is about 15 minutes north of Northport.

When you leave the lighthouse, head down the west side of the Peninsula and you'll go through the town of Leland. Leland is on a river and is where you take the ferries to the Manitou Islands. Fish Town is an old fishing village right on the river with shops and restaurants. Quite the unique place.

Heading south from there, you'll go by Lake Leelanau, and then farther south will be the towns of Glen Arbor and the Sleeping Bear Dunes. Take 72 back to TC from there - it'll probably take a half an hour.

Sorry if that's too much information! It's one my favorite areas to visit and I go there often. There's really so much to do around there - I'm sure once you've visited for a few days, you'll be back. :)

BTW, the scenic drive near Sleeping Bear Dunes that SuzieTrue is talking about is called the Pierce Stocking Drive and it should be on most maps.

$140.00 in the summer for something with a water view is a really great rate, and trust me, I know the hotel rates better than anyone. :-) The Leelanau Peninsula is close, I can see it actually from my desk here in DT TC.

Have you gotten the area guide and map that the Convention and Visitors Bureau mails out?

I'm jealous, Rapunzil. :) Lucky for me though, I had a friend move to Omena this past spring so now I can visit more often. It's only 2.5 hours from Grand Rapids. :)

Thanks again everyone for all the travel sites information, I haven't ask for area guide and map from the
Convention and Visitors Bureau, I will pick one up. Leaving on the 15th from Windsor so probably too late to mail one out.

Travel addict your information is not too much I needed it, looking forward to TC visit.

Any good shopping places, love artwork and new things for the home. y husband is into golf but this is not a golf vacation this time.

Vittoria, the Cherry Tree Inn should have the area guide in each of their rooms, feel free to take it, they can always get more. Also ask for the area map that the CVB puts out. They ought to have that at the front desk. It's a fantastic map. If you want to stop in at the CVB, it's on the SW corner of Union and Grandview Parkway, with parking on the south as well as west sides. http://visittraversecity.com/

Oh, shopping.............. Downtown has some nice shopping, avoid the mall. There are a lot of nice shops in places like Leland, Glen Arbor, Suttons Bay and Elk Rapids too. As the Cherry Tree if they have the Arts and Crafts trail brochure. If not, you can pick one up at the CVB.

Thanks rapunzll, since you seem to know Traverse so well :) can you recommend a good italian restaurant and a good local place for breakfast, if we want something different in the morning.
Any other suggestions we really would appreciate.

For breakfast, I like the Omelette Shoppe. Alot of people like Mabel's, but to be honest, to me, it's just a more expensive Flap Jack Shack.

For Italian, I like Auntie Pastas at Logans Landing, but I haven't had a chance to check out a lot of the other ones in the area. Roma's is good and supposed to be pretty authentic, nothing fancy, so don't go there expecting fancy schmancy decor :-) They are across the street from the Bayshore. I've heard really great things about Ciao Bella which is downtown on front street near Coldstone and Cali's. Same block as Horizon Books which is the largest and I think the best bookstore in town.

Oh, I forgot another one that's supposed to be good. Trattoria Stella, which is over at the Grand Traverse Commons. http://www.stellatc.com/

If it were me, I think I'd give Ciao Bella a try.

Thank you, we are not into a fancy place, just want good italian food, love veal and a great pasta. I'm italian my husband isn't so I do not like chain italian restaurants.

The Omelette place is on my list. Last question I promise how about a good steak place.

Since you're Italian, you might prefer Roma's. An Italian woman who used to work here said it was the best.

For steak, my first thought is Modes Bum Steer on State St downtown. Boones Long Lake on Secor Rd. is also very popular.

We like Mabel's. It is very popular in Traverse City.

I am looking forward to my trip next Wed. and I am stopping in at the CVB for pamplets. Any other specfics on stores/dining or site visits feel free to let me know. Thanks again for everyones advise :)

Vittoria, you only have couple of days, and you'll probably be too busy to worry about more stuff to try.

If you like jazz, you might want to check out Jazz at Sunset at Chateau Chantal http://tinyurl.com/yq8ufm
The Jeff Haas Trio plays and Jeff is a really great guy, and talented.

I have a Dr's appt. on Wed., or I'd say stop in and say Hi!

Thanks again I am looking at the Chateau for wine tasting. My visitors and map package came today. So I am pouring thru it. Just have to decide which winery to go to.

You can visit more than ONE winery, Vittoria. :) In fact, some people make a day out of visting the wineries.