Experience the music of the south as you explore Alabama, a land rich in history, awe-inspiring scenery, sun-drenched beaches, vibrant cities and the mountains of the Appalachia. Nestled in the centre of the Deep South region with Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida as its neighbours, Alabama is within easy driving distance of Atlanta, Memphis and New Orleans but with a flavour all of its own.
No wonder that Lynyrd Skynyrd was inspired to write the hit song “Sweet Home Alabama”, one of the best examples of Southern rock, as a tribute to this wonderful state which epitomises the easy going, laid back way of life long associated with the Deep South.
Other international superstars like Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding and The Rolling Stones all came to Muscle Shoals, a small southern town on the banks of the Tennessee River to record hit songs. Native Alabamian Sam Phillips discovered Elvis and the contract between Sam Phillips and RCA is located in the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in nearby Tuscumbia. Hank Williams, the “King of Country Music” and W.C.Handy, the “Father of the Blues” were both born in Alabama and singer and songwriter Jimmy Buffett grew up here.
This musical heritage is celebrated across the state with countless live music venues in every town and a number of festivals including the Big Spring Jam in Huntsville, the W.C.Handy Festival in Muscle Shoals and the Hank Williams Festival in Montgomery.
As well as music, Alabama is also probably best known for its key role in Civil Rights. It was in Montgomery, Alabama’s capital, where the Civil Rights Movement gathered pace under the leadership of Dr Martin Luther King and the history of this movement can be followed in key museums and landmarks around the state, most notably in Montgomery, Selma and Birmingham.
President Barack Obama often refers to the voting rights marches in Alabama in speeches about how America has changed since the Civil Rights era, “What happened in Selma and Birmingham stirred the conscience of the nation”. The Alabama Civil Rights Trail has become a major international destination and the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma is an icon for the Civil Rights struggle in America. The state is also the birthplace of Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, a powerful novel dealing with racial issues in the 1930’s.
But it’s first big part in US history came in 1861 when Southern politicians gathered at the State Capitol in Montgomery and formed the Confederate States of America. The telegram starting the American Civil War was sent from here.
North Alabama is renowned for its awe-inspiring scenery of lakes, mountains, canyons and caves offering a diverse range of outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, horse-riding and fishing. The very southern tip of the State is best known for Mobile Bay and the Gulf Coast beaches. All year long the port city of Mobile features the taste of the coast with fresh, delicious seafood and a diverse array of bars, restaurants and live music venues. Just across the bay are the coastal towns of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach where 32 miles of sugary white sands await you as well as a fantastic array of bars, restaurants, nightlife and outlet shopping. Gulf Shores is also home to the Florabama, the famous roadhouse beach bar right on the Alabama/Florida State line.
Alabama is also full of the unexpected. Mobile is recognised as having America’s first Mardi Gras celebration in 1703 and the celebration is bigger than ever today. During Mardi Gras season, the streets of downtown Mobile are filled with the sights and sounds of live marching bands and colourful floats. For something completely different, visit the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro near Huntsville, where lost and unclaimed airline baggage is unpacked and sold to the public!
Your trip to the Deep South would not be complete without a visit to this unique and diverse state.
Alabama Tourism Information Overview
If you've never been to Alabama you might be surprised to find the state is home to beaches with sand resembling fine white sugar, golf courses designed by a legend and a major hub of the U.S. space program. All that to go with a rich and complex history that belies many stereotypical images first-timers might have. Don't expect to run into hillbillies running bootleg moonshine, but you will most likely experience that famous Southern hospitality and visit sites that will linger in the mind's eye long after your trip is done.
Beaches
The beaches of Alabama's Gulf Coast are one of the state's top draws. Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are spectacular beaches with emerald-green water and sugar-white sand, and they offer all sorts of recreational opportunities, from swimming and fishing to boating and kayaking. Gulf State Park is a natural reserve with unspoiled beaches, sand dunes, boardwalks and picnic areas. A bit to the west is Mobile, with its own sandy white beaches and several fishing charters into Mobile Bay and Dauphin Island.
Other Natural Attractions
Beyond the surf, Alabama has dozens of state parks and nature preserves. Oak Mountain State Park, just south of Birmingham, has hiking trails, rock climbing, paddle-boating and a farm geared toward kids. The Bankhead National Forest offers miles of hiking trails and campgrounds nestled inside dense forests. And Little River Canyon Preserve, perched atop Lookout Mountain, has nearly 20 miles of hiking trails and one of the deepest canyons in the South.
Historic Attractions
Alabama is fairly brimming with historic reminders of its Confederate past. Alabama Welcome Centers have "Alabama Civil War Trail" brochures that list dozens of museums, cemeteries and battlefield sites. dozens of museums, cemeteries and battlefield sites. The first White House of the Confederacy is located in Montgomery, right across the street from the state capitol. Midway between Birmingham and Montgomery is the Confederate Memorial Park, the state's only home for Confederate veterans and now the site of two cemeteries with 313 graves and museum exhibiting Civil War uniforms, weapons and other relics. A more recent chapter in Alabama history, the birth of the Civil Rights movement, can be explored in such places as the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham and, in Montgomery, the Civil Rights Memorial Center and the Rosa Parks Museum. Down in Selma, visitors can march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where Civil Rights activists were attacked in 1965, and tour the nearby National Voting Rights Museum
Fun Attractions
Alabama also has plenty of fun activities for families. The state has several amusement and water parks, including Adventure Island in Orange Beach, Waterville USA in Gulf Shores and Alabama Adventure just outside Birmingham. Alabama Adventure consists of both an amusement park (Magic City USA) and a water park (Splash Beach) and offers 50 acres of rides, shows and attractions. Birmingham also is home to the Birmingham Zoo, one of the few zoos in the country where visitors can ride a railroad around the zoo grounds. But perhaps the state's single most famous attraction is the U.S. Space and Rocket Center near Huntsville, the biggest manned space flight museum in the country with hundreds of rare artifacts on display, including the original Saturn V. Visitors can learn all about the space race, the Apollo missions, the Space Shuttle program and the International Space Station.
Lodging
There's no Ritz-Carlton or Four Seasons, but most of the country's other upscale hotel chains are well represented in Alabama, with luxury high-rises operated by Hilton, Hyatt, Sheraton, Marriott and other top brands located in major metropolitan areas like Birmingham and Montgomery. Chain motels are as ubiquitous along the freeways in Alabama as they are in other states, with names like Days Inn, Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express quite common along the state's major thoroughfares. Campgrounds and RV parks tend to be concentrated in state parks and near the beach. For visitors who want a sense of history, try the St. James Hotel in Selma, built in 1837 on the banks of the Alabama River and reportedly a former hideout for outlaw Jesse James, and The Battle House, Renaissance in Mobile, which was built in 1852 and served as Confederate hospital during the Civil War.
LOCATION
Alabama, the nerve center of the US's historic Civil Rights Movement, is the 30th largest state in the United States with 135,775 sq km of total area. Alabama ranges in elevation from sea level at Mobile Bay, to a little more than 1,800 feet or 550 meters in the Appalachian mountain in the northeast. The highest point is Mount Cheaha. About three-fifths of the land area is a gentle plain with a general incline towards the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The capital is Montgomery while the main cities are Anniston, Auburn, Decatur, Dothan, Florence, Gadsden, Hoover and Tuscaloosa.
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN ALABAMAAnniston Museum of Natural History: Here you can explore the African jungles, North American wilderness, and the mysteries of 2,000-year-old mummies.
Old Alabama Town: Remember all those colonnaded structures in Hollywood flicks set in the 19th and early 20th centuries? Re-visit the architectural masterpieces during a trip to over forty restored Alabama structures stretching along six blocks depicting life in the bygone era. See the South the way it really was!
HANK WILLIAMS MUSEUM: This museum is the one-stop shop for all you wanted to know about the legendary musician Hank Williams, who gave "country music much of its standard repertoire, a new definition of stardom and a legend so enduring that he is still the model for countless singers and songwriters." The centerpiece of the museum is of course Hank's 1952 Cadillac, which he was traveling in on the night he died.
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts: The museum has on display more than 3,000 works of American paintings and sculpture; Southern regional and folk art, Old Master and contemporary works on paper, and decorative art objects.
The Montgomery Ballet: The city's only professional dance company puts up the Nutcracker every Christmas for the past 25 years. There are also two free performances each season ??? Performance on the Green in August and ballet and The Beasts in September.
Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park: The cultural park, designed by late Russell Page, has English-style grounds and lake. It also contains the new Shakespeare Gardens, which opened in 1999 and features herbs and flora featured in Shakespearean plays.
Shakespeare Festival Backstage Tour: For theatre-lovers, a visit to the backstage is a dream come true. You can do so now with the backstage festival tour.
THINGS TO DO IN ALABAMA: There is plenty to do in this beautiful state and at the outset let us suggest that you must come here with lots of time in hand.
The state can be divided into four regions and each of them has something different to offer: While the Gulf coast region is a hit with families because of its greenery and pristine waters, the river heritage region is the center of large cotton plantations. The must-see in this region is the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute at Selma. To the east of Selma are the Rosa Parks Library and Museum in downtown Montgomery and the Troy State University-Montgomery Library. For culture aficionados, Montgomery's Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park's, Carolyn Blount Theatre hosts the fifth largest Shakespeare festival in the world and offers productions on two stages year-round.The mountains region is dotted with waterfalls, caverns and tree-crested mountaintops. For those looking for a peep into the state's glorious history, take a walk through the Huntsville's Burritt on the Mountain then stroll through Twickenham Historic District. Later, zoom into the future at the US Space and Rocket Center.
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