TRAVEL TO BIRMINGHAM

Since its beginnings as an industrial and railroad town in the late 1800s, Birmingham has been home to a diverse population of immigrants who came to build the city and contributed to its rich cultural history. The story of Birmingham is closely connected to the story of its people and the diversity of the population. Over time, the city has grown and prospered, and despite an uneven history in the area of race relations, has overcome the great civil unrest that made it famous in the mid-1960s as the “cradle of the American civil rights movement.” Today, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a world-renowned academic medical and research center, brings a new and international population and its many cultures to the city. The largest city in the state with a population currently estimated at 242,820, and a metro population of 1,079,089, Birmingham is in a naturally beautiful setting and full of surprises for visitors.

CULTURE

With a world-class permanent collection, landmark traveling exhibitions, and trendy summer evening series Art on the Rocks, the Birmingham Museum of Art is a must for the culturally minded. The City also is home to the renowned Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Alabama Ballet, diverse art galleries and antique shops, theatres, music venues, and the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival, called a “Film Festival for the Rest of Us” by Time Magazine.

CUISINE

Beyond grits (no sugar, thank you) and barbeque (red or white sauce?), foodies will delight in the haute southern cuisine of current James Beard Outstanding Chef Award nominee, Frank Stitt (Highlands Bar & Grill, among his four celebrated Birmingham restaurants) and current South Award nominee Chris Hastings (Hot & Hot Fish Club). And that’s just for starters, because the food scene in Birmingham is unbelievably good.

HISTORY

The images that emerged from Birmingham during the 1950s and 60s catalyzed change far beyond the City’s iron ore-rich hills. Heritage travelers come to walk in Kelly Ingram Park, where the Children’s Crusade began and police dogs and fire hoses were turned on marchers; to attend Sunday service at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, the site of the infamous 1963 bombing which spurred national outrage; to visit the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute; and to walk the historically black-owned Fourth Avenue Business District. Travelers explore the City’s industrial past at Sloss Furnaces National Monument and Vulcan Park & Museum, where the god of fire and forge is a constant reminder of the City’s industrial past.

SPORTS

With more than 900 vintage and modern motorcycles and racecars and a Porsche Driving School, the Barber Vintage Motorsports Park and Museum draws racing enthusiasts from around the world. For golfers who want to be humbled and challenged, Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail offers 26 courses, including the longest in the U.S. For football fanatics, University of Alabama and Auburn NCAA games are within an hour’s drive. And Rickwood Field, America’s oldest baseball park, transports visitors to a bygone era.

UNUSUAL

Shop for vintage threads at Zoe’s. Step across the street to Naked Art Gallery, a funky artist co-op in the historic Forest Park area. Located nearby in Southside/Highland Ave is The Garage (among GQ’s “top ten bars worth flying to”), best known for its fabulous outdoor courtyard shrouded in wisteria vines and full of decaying antique garden furniture and ornaments (and the odd stray cat). Find rain sticks and incense along with artist hand dyed silks and organic produce at The Golden Temple.

For complete information on traveling to Birmingham, please visit the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau.