When I visited there, I felt the feeling of TIMELESS at the moment…read more Those wonderful woody galleries must be kept to protected forever more. So adorable and beautiful, astonish, amazing gallery to visit at least once.

We absolutely love this gallery and have purchased several pieces! Amazing art by some amazing…read morelocal artists. They have a variety of different fine art with scenery from Mackinac Island that you can take home with you. Looking forward to coming back during our next trip to see the new paintings by the artists represented at this gallery. The staff is very nice. Place is very warm and inviting. Highly recommend a visit.

Little Luxuries has two different stores - the first is the Artists Market which is small but…read moremighty and the other store is Little Luxuries and is huge! So this review is strictly for the Artists Market. Tons of handcrafted goodies and so much to look at. Love seeing all the different items from artists. A truly unique gift will be found at the Artists Market! Some of the items included earnings, greeting cards, baby gifts, candles, soaps, and the list goes on and on. I myself found a beautiful pair of handmade earrings that I could not pass up. Staff was helpful and complimented my purchase with a comment of herself having to go check out the earrings, since they were just showcased. My purchase was wrapped up in pretty tissue paper. A must stop when visiting downtown Mackinac Island!

So apparently these two shops are sister stores! I visited both and bought items from both…read more The Artists Market had greeting cards, postcards, candles, lotions and lots of other great gifts and souvenirs. Great end-of-the-season sales. I bought 2 lotions made by "Twisted Tomboy". The lavender and vanilla scent smelled clean and fresh and not over powering. I also bought a birthday card. Would recommend. Little Luxuries was the larger of the two stores. They sold a lot of great smelling soaps, lotions, and other body products. There were sweat shirts, a few Christmas ornaments, tote bags and a slew of other interesting souvenirs and gifts. I came out with 2 very small hand lotions made by Lollia. They were the "At Last" fragrance which is unfortunately being discontinued.  Would definitely come again.

If you stay at the Grand Hotel, there is a good chance that you might have an original painting by…read moreMarlee decorating the walls. She has her own store on the ground level of the Grand and you can purchase one of her posters of the said hotel, too. Apparently, she is the daughter-in-law of the recently deceased patriarch of the owner's family. Personally, some of the art is a little too bright and borders on garish colors, but others are quite nice. She has had much artistic training as well as varied exhibits. My favorite piece in her store was a sofa that you see as soon as you enter which she has loving painted on with cheery flowers on the part where your back would be touching while sitting. It is very unique and would be a jewel in any room. It is worth a look see if you are already in the Grand Hotel.

Tons of beautiful artwork. Everything is inspired by the island…read more Most of the items in the shop are pictures. You can buy them as the prints, get them in a frame, or they even have a few of the original drawings available. Some of these pictures are photographs and some are drawn/painted. They have a variety of different artists displayed here.

This super cute art gallery features Michigan artists that seem to specialize in landscape. There…read morewere a lot of gorgeous floral pieces, and many northern Michigan lighthouses and landmarks. They had some stones and jewelry in cases as well. Worth a stop, especially if you are in the market to furnish a lake house or cottage.

Why not have a butterfly greenhouse on an island that's only accessible to visitors for half of the…read moreyear? You might as well. I'm kind of jealous of these butterflies and insects that live at The Original Butterfly House. They get to flit and walk about, undisturbed, from November through April. But come May, they have to dust themselves off and fluff their hair, because visitors are coming. Mackinac Island's busy times are late spring through fall (late October), and I imagine that's when the butterfly house is also busy. We visited in fall, the week before the island started closing up. We got to see lots of butterflies in the greenhouse (apparently, there are hundreds!), plus the resident insects and even a hedgehog. At certain times of the day, some of the animals and insects will be taken out of their containers, and a docent will display them and talk about them. The hedgehog was super cute, but we didn't get to touch him -- just look at him. You experience lots of live butterflies flying and landing on you in the greenhouse. Some people (me) think that it's cool to have a butterfly land on you. Other people (my youngest child) do not think it's cool, and they are grossed out and it makes them scream. Your mileage may vary! Fortunately, if you ain't about those winged insects, you can keep it moving and just visit the other exhibits, which feature insects that live safely behind glass. But if you ask me, the greenhouse is a nice, peaceful place to sit and enjoy looking at butterflies and tropical plants. This is a small attraction, but your admission price grants you access all day. So, come and go as you please!

Oh my goodness--all the butterflies!…read more We absolutely adored our visit to The Original Butterfly House. We came here after finding them on Yelp and really on a bit of a whim and then ended up spending more time than we had intended as we got so completely lost in the butterfly magic. After purchasing your tickets, when you first walk in, you can stop first and see a collection of live chrysalis, some with butterflies beginning to emerge and some butterflies having just emerged. It was magical and we were completely mesmerized. Then you enter the butterfly sanctuary that's rich, green, and teeming with butterfly life, It's relatively small but we so enjoyed wandering through and then eventually found a seat (careful not to disturb any butterflies, of course!) on one of their benches and just sat and enjoyed the fluttering scenery. Amazing! Get to it!

I was made aware of Fort Mackinac when I heard a loud boom coming from the direction of a hill. I…read morethought something had exploded on the island, but no: it was just Fort Mackinac doing their thang. Apparently, they have rifle and cannon firing demonstrations here, which are scheduled, so if you want to see one while you're visiting the fort, make sure to meet at the allotted time. This is a living history museum, and you'll learn a lot about American and British military history. I mean, you probably will, because you'll read the signs and information that's posted. I mostly looked around and admired the architecture and the view, and took photos of pretty or interesting things that I saw. So from my perspective, Fort Mackinac is a cool and visually interesting place to spend an hour or two. You are basically walking into and out of different houses and structures on what used to be a military outpost. Each building has something new to learn about military life, with exhibits that appeal to all ages. I was surprised by how many interactive and hands-on exhibits there were for kids. Keep in mind that some of the buildings are very airy, so if you visit on a cold day, it might be a little chilly. Plus, you're walking in and out a lot, so if you visit during the fall like I did, you might need a jacket. The gift shop is pretty big, with lots of souvenirs to remember your visit not just of Fort Mackinac, but Mackinac Island, as well.

Went to Fort Mackinac during our trip to Mackinac Island. Sadly not impressed…read more It was raining and cold, which made it more miserable - but that is not the fort's fault of course. It seemed pretty run down, not a lot of exhibits, minimal information on the exhibits, a lot of meh rooms. Sadly not impressed. Because of the rain there was no riffle/cannon demonstration. Got through it rather quickly. The staff was pleasant. Pricing is ok, around $17.50 I believe. The climb to get to the fort is rough.