Birmingham
The Sloss Furnaces constitutes one of Birmingham's can't-miss sites. From 1882 to 1971, this was a pig iron–producing blast furnace and a cornerstone of…
Must-see attractions in Alabama
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
Birmingham
A maze of moving audio, video and photography exhibits tell the story of racial segregation and the Civil Rights movement, with a focus on activities in…
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National Memorial for Peace & Justice
Alabama
Stark and harrowing in its simplicity, this memorial stands in honor of 4400 African American victims of lynching. Great rectangular steel slabs, each the…
Alabama
Blankets of white-topped pitcher plants can be found here, a 2100 acre plot of land owned and protected by the non-profit Nature Conservancy. Walk into…
Alabama
If you ever entertained dreams of playing Major Tom to someone's ground control, head here. This Smithsonian-affiliated museum boasts one of the world's…
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Alabama
In many other states, Dismals would be a headlining tourist attraction. In North Alabama, it quietly persists as just an amazing place to visit. This…
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Alabama
The home of Martin Luther King Jr and Coretta Scott King has been frozen in time, a snapshot of a mid-century home complete with Mad Men–era furniture,…
Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge
Alabama
Centuries ago, salt-lashed oak forest, inundated coastal prairie and great quilts of sawgrass covered the Gulf Coast. Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge…
Alabama
Few sites are as iconic to the American Civil Rights movement as the Pettus Bridge. On March 7, 1965, a crowd prepared to march to Montgomery to…
Moundville Archaeological Park
Alabama
One of the largest and best-preserved sites of the pre-Columbian Mississippian civilization sits outside of modern Moundville, about 17 miles south of…
Alabama
Occupying an exceptionally beautiful stretch of the Southern Appalachians, the Little River flows much of its course over Lookout Mountain, which marks…
Audubon Bird Sanctuary – Dauphin Island
Alabama
A 3-mile trail wends through 137 acres of maritime forest, sand dunes and wetlands, marking a small space that's a big deal to the world's bird population…
Alabama
This museum, a companion to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, artfully explains the roots of institutionalized racism in the USA, and…
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Alabama
The African American quilt makers of Gee's Bend – officially, Boykin, AL – are the inheritors of a tradition that has been recognized as one of the nation…
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Alabama
With its circular design crafted by Maya Lin, this haunting memorial focuses on 40 martyrs of the Civil Rights movement. Some cases remain unsolved…
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Alabama
Almost every building buff has heard of Taliesin, and even those with no interest in architecture have seen pictures of Fallingwater. But you have to be…
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Birmingham
Imagine Christ the Redeemer in Rio, but made of iron and depicting a beefcake Roman god of metalworking. Vulcan is visible from all over the city – this…
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Birmingham
This fine museum boasts an impressive collection, especially given Birmingham's status as a mid-sized city. Inside, you'll find works from Asia, Africa,…
Birmingham
When Bull Conner was the sheriff, civil rights activists, led by Dr King, embarked on a desegregation campaign downtown. Their strategy was to flood the…
Dexter Avenue King Memorial Church
Alabama
Martin Luther King Jr had only recently presided over the congregation at this church when he was chosen to lead the Montgomery bus boycott – precisely…
Alabama
Spanish for 'Mountains of Health,' Monte Sano is a forested upland breath of fresh air located just east of Huntsville. There are some 20 miles of hiking…
Alabama
Where much of North Alabama feels a step removed from pure wilderness, Lake Guntersville State Park provides an interesting counterpoint. This park has…
Alabama
Rising over Huntsville like the proverbial house on the hill (because that's exactly what this is), Burritt is a historical mansion turned museum, events…
Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
Alabama
This reserve seeks to protect the wetlands that spread between Mobile and Weeks Bay, an ecological smorgasboard ranging from salt marsh to flooded swamp…
Birmingham
This church became a gathering place for organizational meetings and a launchpad for protests in Birmingham in the 1950s and ’60s. During a massive…
Birmingham
Credit where it's due: Birmingham's Railroad Park, which constitutes some 19 acres of downtown real estate, is a stroke of planning brilliance. As urban…
Cane Creek Canyon Nature Preserve
Alabama
This nature preserve consists of several hundred acres of land carefully and lovingly managed for the public. On site, you'll find leaf-strewn ravines,…
Alabama
Huntsville residents take great pride in these gardens, which sprawl across 112 acres at the edge of town. On site you'll find a birding trail, aquatic…
Alabama
Founded in 1831, the University of Alabama is the most famous institution of higher education and largest public research university in the state it is…
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Alabama
This National Forest encompasses some 612 sq miles of protected land that sits at the very southern edge of the Appalachian Mountains. Talladega covers a…
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Old Cahawba Archaeological Park
Alabama
This eerie ghost town, faded by time and jungly overgrowth, was once the capital of Alabama. By the 20th century, Cahawba was abandoned, and today its…
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Alabama
The un-hyperbolic nature of the name 'Cathedral Caverns' is made evident when you first approach the cavern entrance, a whopping 126ft wide and 25ft high…
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Alabama
In Muskogee, Cheaha means 'high place,' which is an admirably succinct descriptor of this, the highest mountain in Alabama. The park, and the mountain it…
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Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum
Alabama
If you love motorcycles, this museum is an absolute must. The collection includes 1200 motorcycles dating from today all the way back to 1902, and at…
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Alabama
In 1955, activist Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in the whites only section of a public bus. This museum, set in front of the bus stop where Mrs…
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Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald Museum
Alabama
The writers' home from 1931 to 1932 now houses first editions, translations and original artwork by Zelda from her sad last days when she was committed to…
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Russell Cave National Monument
Alabama
While it is utterly off the beaten track (and most people's radars), Russell Cave was an important population site of North Alabama for many millennia…
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Alabama
The Estuarium acts as the public education space for the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Alabama's primary marine research facility. There are over 100 species on…
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Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center
Alabama
The Alabama Black Belt is known for its many indigenous folk arts, including, most famously, the handmade quilts produced by African American women in Gee…
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Alabama
Helen Keller – to this day perhaps the most beloved native of Alabama – was blind and deaf from the age of 19 months. With the aid of companion Anne…
