Jazz, Civil Rights & Sports
For visitors who have a little time to spend in Birmingham, there are many interesting and fun tours to take. For the most part, an automobile is the best means of transportation, as parking is not the problem that it can be in other cities. Still, visitors should take the opportunity to get out and walk around in some of Birmingham’s charming areas.

A good place to start would be downtown. Around the area of Lynn Park, you might start with a nice breakfast or brunch at the Tutwiler Hotel. From there, you could walk a short distance to the Birmingham Museum of Art or the Lynn Library of Southern History. After that, you might want to make your way southwest to Kelly Ingram Park and the Historical Fourth Avenue Visitors and Information Center, the latter of which offers guided tours of the area by appointment ((205) 328 1850). This is the historic African American district, where you can find the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and Carver Theatre, the location of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.

Also within easy walking distance of Lynn Park are the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and Museum and one of the most interesting museums in Birmingham, the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. Just a couple blocks away are the McWane Science Center, with its 360-degree IMAX theatre, and the beautifully restored Alabama Theatre.

Where the Locals Go
Another nice walking tour begins in the area known as Five Points South, about 15 blocks south of Lynn Park at the corner of 20th Street, 11th Avenue South, Magnolia Avenue and Highland Avenue. Here you will find numerous interesting and friendly boutiques as well as some of Birmingham’s finest restaurants and liveliest bars. Five Points South is where the locals come on weekends to shop, relax and watch the people go by. For those interested in architecture, the neighborhoods that surround Five Points South, especially tree-lined Highland Avenue, contain some of Birmingham’s oldest and most stately homes.

If you get back in your car and go south on 20th Street from Five Points South—over Red Mountain and past Vulcan Park—you will find yourself in Homewood. Although this is primarily a residential community, downtown Homewood is a nice place to get out, walk around, and enjoy the weather and the nice shops that line 18th Street. This is a very lively place on Saturdays in particular.

Exploring the Region
If you have the time and inclination to take a short day trip out of town, the area around Birmingham offers beautiful scenery and many interesting destinations. Birmingham is conveniently bisected by Interstates 65 and 20/59, making it easy to head in any direction from town. Driving north on I-65 through about two hours’ worth of breathtaking mountain scenery will lead you to Huntsville, with its amazing U.S. Space and Rocket Center. This museum, built by NASA and staffed by former astronauts, is one of the most extraordinary and popular destinations in the region, offering excellent displays on the nature, history and future of space flight. Admission includes a tour of the Marshall Space Flight Center, one of the nerve centers of the U.S. space program.

Heading south on I-65, about 10 miles south of downtown Birmingham, is Oak Mountain State Park, which offers hiking and biking trails, campsites and swimming; the Oak Mountain Amphitheatre is also located here. Another two-hour drive south is the historic city of Montgomery, the state capital and the site (during summer months) of a world renowned Shakespeare festival.

The city of Talladega is located about an hour from Birmingham and can be reached by heading east on I-20. NASCAR enthusiasts will know this city as the home of the Talladega Super Speedway, one of the most important and celebrated stops on the NASCAR tour. On the racetrack grounds, you will find the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. This museum traces the history of automobile racing from its earliest days to the present.

Interstates 20 and 59 split just east of downtown; if you take I-59 northeast toward Chattanooga, you will arrive in the city of Anniston (home of the Anniston Museum of Natural History) in about an hour. This museum has excellent modern exhibits on various natural phenomena, including large reconstructions of dinosaur skeletons.

Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park, the site of a great Civil War-era blast furnace, is about 20 minutes west of downtown Birmingham on I-20/59. Though largely destroyed during the war, the site has been completely reconstructed and offers tours daily.

A Storied Campus
Another 30-minute drive further west brings you to the charming city of Tuscaloosa, home of the University of Alabama. From 1825 until 1850, Tuscaloosa was the capitol of Alabama, and those interested in Southern history and architecture will find a plethora of interesting sites and buildings here. The University of Alabama campus, along with its nearby shops and restaurants, is a popular destination. The university’s Paul W. Bryant Museum uses multimedia displays and memorabilia to portray the history of college football and other sports.

Historical Mounds
Those interested in history that goes a little further back in time might want to check out Moundville Archaeological Park, which is situated about 11 miles south of Tuscaloosa on Highway 69. This complex of 26 earthen mounds (inhabited from approximately 700-1400 AD) was once a city of more than 5,000 people, and the Native American artifacts uncovered here during the 1930s are among the most important of their kind in the world. Home to the impressive Jones Archaeological Museum, the park is open to the public every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. The museum built in 1939 and operated by the University of Alabama, houses the definitive collection of artifacts uncovered at this fascinating site.

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