IT is not just the throngs of University of Michigan students dressed in maize and blue singing “Hail to the Victors” that makes Ann Arbor the ultimate college town each fall. Nor is it Michigan Stadium, with the largest attendance in the country (114,804 at one recent game), and recently renovated to the tune of $226 million. Rather it is the urban sophistication of this town — with its mix of restaurants, bars, boutiques, art-house movie theaters and world-class art museums — that keeps many University of Michigan alumni from leaving long after they have graduated. For travelers, the sheer energy and the abundance of cultural opportunities, from classical dance performances to bluegrass concerts, makes a fall visit here a good time to get into the college spirit, even if you’re not a student.

Friday

2 p.m.

1) OLD-TIME SHOPPING

Start your weekend in Nickels Arcade, an elegant glass-covered atrium that opened in 1918 and still houses businesses dating back more than 80 years. Van Boven Clothing (326 South State Street; 734-665-7228), for instance, is a men’s clothier that has long catered to well-dressed fraternity boys. The intimate Comet Coffee (16 Nickels Arcade; 734-222-0579) brews coffee from Ethiopia to El Salvador one cup at a time. Then cross State Street to Moe’s Sport Shop (711 North University Avenue; 734- 668-6915; moesportshops.com) to suit up for tomorrow’s game. “U of M” apparel has been sold here since 1915, and you’ll find such items as T-shirts and temporary “M” face tattoos.

3 p.m.

2) STUDENT SCENE

The Diag, as the open space on the central campus is called, is a leafy oasis intersected by sidewalks connecting academic buildings. Relax on a bench and take in the student scene, featuring everything from charity bucket drives to Ultimate Frisbee games. Just don’t step on the brass inlaid “M” in front of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library — lore has it that freshmen who step on it will earn an F on their first exam. Then visit the architecturally stunning Michigan Law School quadrangle (625 South State Street), which could easily stand in for Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, as could the library’s Reading Room with its vaulted ceilings, oak wainscoting and stained glass windows.

5 p.m.

3) NEW NOSTALGIA

Between the Law School and the Ross School of Business you’ll find Dominick’s (812 Monroe Street; 734-662-5414), which has been serving students and the area’s aging hippie population ever since the ’60s, when the town was at the forefront of the Vietnam War protest movement. Though its picnic tables and booths are increasingly filled with entrepreneurs and M.B.A. candidates, everyone seems to enjoy the sangria served in jam jars on the patio. But avoid the temptation to eat here; instead head to Mark’s Carts (markscartsannarbor.com) — a jumble of ethnic food carts in a cozy courtyard on Washington Street between First and Ashley Streets, where, on Friday evenings throughout the fall, you can eat paella ($8) or tangy Thai slaw ($3) while listening to jazz, folk and rock performers.