Birmingham
Explore a city forged in steel and bustling with fun
This lively and gracious city, founded in 1871 as an iron mining settlement, has grown into a vibrant metro area with a full menu of sports, museums and restaurants. Nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, the city’s creative energy is fed by longstanding traditions blended with a youthful student population from several local universities.
Located in the heart of the state between Huntsville and Montgomery, Birmingham sits at a intersections of major interstates. Here are a few of the reasons to visit Alabama’s largest city:
Golf: Birmingham has no shortage of challenging public golf courses. With the development of the state’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Alabama earned the nickname, “Godfather of Great Golf.” Birmingham has two courses on the trail.
Railroad Park: This 19-acre green space in downtown Birmingham celebrates the city’s industrial and artistic heritage. Situated along 1st Avenue South, between 14th and 18th Streets, the park is hailed as “Birmingham’s Living Room.”
Birmingham Zoo: The Birmingham Zoo is an ever-evolving adventure. Visitors come to see the Rhino Encounter, the Giraffe Feedings, the Lorikeet Aviary, the Predator Zone and the Sea Lion Splash Show. The zoo is blazing new trails in elephant conservation with Trails of Africa.
Barber Motorsports Museum: Home to the world’s best motorcycle collection, this museum has more than 1,200 vintage and modern motorcycles and racecars and the largest collection of Lotus cars.
Finley Center: Get active in a brand-new facility located next to the Hoover Met Stadium. The Finley Center’s 155,000 square feet of event space includes a four-lane walking track, food court, convenience store, performance center and several other facilities, including volleyball and basketball courts. See a game at the stadium and then work off the calories.
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute: Richly detailed exhibits in the Civil Rights Institute reveal slices of black and white life in Alabama from the late 1800s to the present. Galleries tell the stories of daily life for African-Americans in the state and the nation and how dramatically different it was from the lives white people of that era took for granted. The powerful Movement Gallery presents the Civil Rights Movement for 1955 to 1963.
Birmingham Museum of Art: Not only is this stunning museum free, but it is also home to a world-class collection of more than 27,000 works of art, including sculptures, prints, drawings, video and decorative arts with a chronological sweep of some 5,000 years. The museum’s Asian art exhibit, which includes a stunning collection of Vietnamese ceramics, is frequently hailed as one of the most revered collections in the nation.
For More Information
Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau
800-458-8085
Alabama Tourism Department
800-252-2262