In January 2006, forecasting a slow fourth quarter later in the year, Rochester’s city leaders embarked on a plan to put their town on the holiday must-do list. Taking their cue from Disney World’s Streets of America Display, they strung 500,000 holiday lights on every building on two blocks of main street — both sides — producing towering, glowing blocks of red, gold, purple, teal and turquoise. The Big Bright Light Show, as it was dubbed, attracted a million spectators to the city of 10,500 in just 35 days, and proved that when it comes to luring visitors, this small town can think big.

Such marketing acumen is paying off for Rochester, drawing attention to a city that is sometimes referred to as the “best kept secret” or “hidden jewel” of Southeast Michigan. At the northern limits of metropolitan Detroit, about 10 miles from I-75, Rochester is a bit off the beaten path, but it’s colorful, diverse and pedestrian-friendly downtown offers much to explore and makes the trip well worth it.

One of the city’s biggest draws is its thriving restaurant scene, which runs the gamut from cheap and family-friendly to pricey and ultra-trendy. Of the latter, the most popular may be Red Knapp’s Dairy Bar, an old-fashioned burger and milkshake shop that’s been family-owned and run for three generations. Aside from occasional resurfacing, the interior hasn’t changed since the day restaurateur Lyle “Red” Knapp opened its doors in 1950. Children still swivel on red-cushioned metal stools surrounding two deep horseshoe-shaped countertops with iconic red and yellow ketchup and mustard squeezers and silver napkin dispensers. Reproductions of 1950s advertisements line the walls, advertising five-cent Pepsi Colas, Woodward’s Pure Sugar Stick Candy, and chrome-laden, tail-finned Mustangs and Pontiacs. The place is so authentic looking that its patrons, with their modern-day apparel and cell phones, appear anachronistic.

A few doors down, the Rochester Chop House is a popular early evening haunt for nine-to-fivers, who come for happy hour in what manager Tim Kelly calls the “laid-back New Orleans atmosphere” of the restaurant’s bar. Hanging metal baskets of bivalve mollusk shells and large chalkboards announcing surf-and-turf fare give the bar the feel of a small seaside restaurant, inviting the work-weary to kick back with a dozen East or West coast oysters from the Chop House’s raw bar, peel-and-eat shrimp, fish tacos, or one of the spot’s popular fruit-based martinis. Those seeking a more formal setting can head to the back dining room, which offers formal décor and an expanded menu.

Two other unique dining options are on E. University off main street at the four-star, boutique Royal Park Hotel, which hosts scores of celebrities (staff aren’t naming names) as well as corporate big shots and dignitaries (President Bush slept there during an October 2004 campaign stop). A visitor to Rochester who that can’t spend $300-$1100 per night on a luxury suite can still rub elbows with the elite at the hotel’s Brookshire restaurant, where traditional-with-a-twist entrées, such as lamb chops with raspberry-mint reduction, run $20-$50. A less expensive experience at the hotel is available at The Commons Lounge, which in the summer hosts affordable and refreshingly un-posh evening events on its outdoor patio. Revelers can get a jump start on the weekend at Thursday’s Caribbean-themed “island night,” roll up their sleeves at a Friday night fish fry, hear live music on Saturday night or slip into a lazy Sunday at a NOLA-style jazz brunch.

Rochester’s shopping scene is as diverse as its restaurants, and particularly impressive for its deft combination of fun and practical stores. Locals can head downtown to find a flirty pair of wedges or a golf shirt and while there pick up a new drill bit, modify their wireless service, get their oil changed, and even buy roundworm treatment for their horse. There’s even the option of one-stop health care at a cluster of medical facilities on main street that houses ENTs, chiropractors, dentists, orthodontists, cancer and blood specialists and other clinicians, as well as a diagnostic center.

One hip new store on the main strip is Sole Sisters, a boutique shoe store with designs that aren’t offered anywhere else locally. Up-to-the-minute styles from Biviel, Tsubo, Penny Loves Kenny, Big Buddha and Fly London are displayed in tantalizing arrangements next to the apparel, bags and jewelry the store has just recently branched into. The store’s flocked “Detroit” zip-up tracksuit tops, which are available in gray, navy, brown, cranberry, and black, are cool in their simplicity and a fly addition to currently available city-touting threads that tend to be too busy. For women seeking a downtown outing, Sole Sisters owner Dianne Elnicky opens her store by appointment for evening shoe parties, providing refreshments and special discounts to the host and her guests.

Another fun stop is Beadz ‘N Bagz, which offers inexpensive, trendy handbags and is one of the few stores open on Sundays. It’s a mandatory stop for beaders who’ve caught the Pandora and Troll bead bug, boasting a huge selection of the pricey silver, gold and Murano glass baubles that comprise the popular charm bracelets. Friendly, patient staff will explain the craze to neophytes and help them start a collection.

Meanwhile, parents can bring their kids to the Halfway Down the Stairs children’s bookshop, which in 2003 was named the best children’s book store in America by the Women’s National Book Association. Cammie Mannino, who’s owned Halfway Down for 20 years, says the store’s strengths are its cadre of well-read sales associates, its scrupulously researched selection and its packed calendar of book signings, lectures and children’s events. On the day the seventh and final Harry Potter book was released, for example, the store hosted a North American Hogwarts Graduation in the great hall of Meadow Brook mansion, treating kids to games and magical exams.

Mannino says Rochester’s residents are “very child-oriented. There are many two-working-parent families that have money, but they’re not a furs-and-jewelry clientele. They are loyal and supportive, and they’re destination shoppers — they’re looking for something different. They want the sense of community that comes from having a downtown.”

Darlene Kujanek, a Realtor with Rochester-based Century21 Sakmar & Associates, says the appeal of Rochester lies in its great schools, friendly folks and a “down-home feel.” Young first-time homebuyers are seizing on the combination of low home prices and relatively low interest rates to move into the area, said Kujanek, and loft condominiums are going up close to downtown for the growing number of folks who want to be walking distance to the restaurants and shops. For Kujanek, who has moved away from the area three times only to be enticed back, the city “just makes you smile.”

There will only be more to make residents happy. The city is developing plans for a large cultural arts and entertainment center downtown and for guidelines that will encourage and preserve the architectural harmony of storefront facades, which are a lovely mix of brick, Richardsonian stone and Tudor-inspired beam-and-plaster. The city also has plans to make a good thing better this year when main street is again set ablaze for the holidays. The light show will be extended by two blocks on both sides of the street with an additional 500,000 lights, and visitors will be regaled by 12 10-foot moving toy displays; dancing, flashing snowflakes between three- and eight-feet tall; and a huge tree wrapped every inch in colored, dancing lights.

Rochester is a jewel for sure, but with attractions like this, it’s not one that’s likely to stay hidden.