Valentine’s Day in Grand Rapids

This Valentine’s Day, all you need is love – Grand Rapids restaurants, attractions and hotels will take care of the rest. Surprise your sweetheart with a romantic date. Celebrate with friends and family. Or pamper yourself with an independent excursion. Grand Rapids makes it easy for everyone, on and around the holiday!

Romance, Romance

Check out our recommendations for Romantic Restaurants, Romantic Getaways and Romantic Hot Spots.

Escape from your everyday life with a romance-themed hotel package, such as:

• JW Love Package at JW Marriott
• Room to Rendezvous at Residence Inn by Marriott Grand Rapids West
• Couples Getaway at The Grand River Hotel
• Date Night Extraordinaire at Country Inn & Suites East Beltline.

What could be more romantic than ice-skating under the stars in downtown’s Rosa Parks Circle? How about sharing an after-skate coffee or hot chocolate at nearby Ferris Coffee & Nut, Lantern Coffee Bar & Lounge, Local Mocha, Madcap Coffee or Mayan Buzz Café?

Snuggle with your sweetie on a horse-drawn carriage ride through downtown Grand Rapids.

Stroll hand-in-hand through Valent-ICE, a gallery of 50+ ice sculptures located all around downtown Grand Rapids. Feb. 9-11.

Feast of Love

Search our Restaurant Guide by cuisine and location to find the perfect spot for a memorable meal.

Enjoy a week’s worth of Valentine’s food and fun at The B.O.B. – all three restaurants in The Big Old Building offer dinner-for-two specials from Feb. 10-17. Finish your romantic evening with a trip to The B.O.B.’s Dr. Grins Comedy Club on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Nothing says love like a scoop (or three) of Love’s Ice Cream. It’s in the Downtown Market, where you and your sweetie can also shop for gourmet cookies, cupcakes, cheeses, popcorn and much more.

The apple is the fruit of love – so it’s only fitting to celebrate the holiday of love with some fresh-made hard or soft apple cider at a local cidery.  

Does your sweetheart have a sweet tooth? Shop Albertus Koeze & Company, Mokaya and Sweetland Candies for a delectable assortment of locally handcrafted chocolates.

Get in the Valentine’s spirit with a cocktails, chocolates and spirits tasting at Long Road Distillers. Feb. 14.

Prefer to make your own dinner for that special someone? Take a cooking class to get ideas and hone your skills:

• The Downtown Market offers individual classes.
• The Local Epicurean offers a wide range of Italian-inspired cooking classes.
• Sur La Table presents many classes tailor-made for couples.

Are you in love with a beer lover? Arrange a brewery tour to surprise him or her. These breweries offer tours on or around Valentine’s Day – and most are FREE!

• 57 Brewpub and Bistro
• B.O.B.’s Brewery
• Brewery Vivant ($10/person)
• Cedar Springs Brewing Company
• Cellar Brewing Company
• Founders Brewing Co. ($10/person)
• Grand Rapids Brewing Company ($10/person)
• Gravel Bottom Craft Brewery
• Hideout Brewing
• Mitten Brewing Company
• Pike 51 Brewery
• Railtown Brewing Co.

It’s a Date

Treat your Valentine to some of the greatest love songs ever written – see Beautiful, The Carole King Musical at DeVos Performance Hall. Feb. 13-18.

Snowshoe with your Sweetie through romantic, candlelit woods at Blandford Nature Center – and enjoy a glass of wine around the fire afterwards. Feb. 14.

Movie-loving couples can catch up on Oscar-nominated films at Celebration! Cinema – and, on Feb. 14, see a special big-screen presentation of the love-can-be-scary classic “Fatal Attraction.”

Show your love for family and friends who’ve fought cancer at the Think Pink Party to raise funds for Susan G. Komen of West Michigan. At The Bistro inside the Downtown Courtyard by Marriott, Feb. 15.

Celebrate the love story of Grand Rapids’ First Couple – explore The Remarkable Lives and Times of Gerald and Betty Ford exhibit at Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.

A bouquet of flowers is nice – but you can really dazzle your loved one with an arm-in-arm stroll through the lush blooms of the Tropical Conservatory at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.

Surprise your significant other with tickets to see country music’s favorite couple, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, on June 7. Van Andel Arena is offering a Valentine’s Day special on two tickets from Feb. 8-14.

Show your kids some love – take them to Disney On Ice presents Reach for The Stars, at Van Andel Arena from Feb. 15-18.