alabama 1Alabama Tourism Department

What’s New

  • ROCK 'N' ROLL HEAVEN: With the release of Stephen Badger’s Muscle Shoals documentary, tourists are heading to the small town of the same name to visit the iconic places in the movie.
  • CIVIL RIGHTS ANNIVERSARY: The 50th anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery March takes place in 2015. Dexter Avenue is undergoing a $6.6 million dollar streetscape project. Montgomery will install signs and paint footsteps along the route by March 2015 with the slogan: “The Dream Marches On.”
  • BUS BOYCOTT ANNIVERSARY: On December 1, 1955, the arrest of Rosa Parks sparked a city-wide bus boycott. The 60th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott will take place in 2015.

alabama 2Alabama Tourism Department

Attractions

  • Carnival Museum: Traces the history of Mardi Gras in the home of America’s oldest annual carnival. Mobile.
  • Birmingham Civil Rights Institute: State of the art museum chronicling the history of the Civil Rights movement. Birmingham.
  • U.S. Space & Rocket Center: Exhibits about the past, present and future of space exploration, an IMAX Theatre and one of only three existing Saturn V rockets. Huntsville.

Events

  • Alabama Shakespeare Festival (year-round), Montgomery.
  • Mardi Gras (mid-January to early February), Mobile.
  • To Kill A Mockingbird Play (May), Monroeville.
  • Helen Keller Festival & Miracle Worker Play (June), Tuscumbia.
  • National Shrimp Festival (October), Gulf Shores.

Places

  • Birmingham: Explore the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, 16th Street Baptist Church, McWane Science Center, the Jazz Hall of Fame and Railroad Park.
  • Mobile: Visit the Exploreum science museum and the USS Alabama battleship, and sample some fresh seafood in the U.S. birthplace of Mardi Gras.
  • Montgomery: Downtown museums include the Rosa Parks Museum, Dexter King Memorial Baptist Church and the Civil Rights Memorial. You can also visit the Hank Williams Museum and the ‘Mooseum’.
  • Civil Rights Trail: Stops include the Civil Rights Institute, 16th Street Baptist Church, Kelly Ingram Park and 4th Avenue North in Birmingham and the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, the Rosa Parks Museum, the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery.

Hidden Gems

  • Mentone: Ideal base for exploring De Soto State Park and Little River Canyon National Preserve. North East Alabama.
  • Fairhope: A small, quaint artist community where the author Winston Groom (Forrest Gump) and the artist Nall reside. Mobile Bay.

Did You Know?

  • State Motto: We Dare Defend Our Rights
  • State Flower: Camellia
  • State Bird: Yellowhammer

Fast Facts

  • Region: THE SOUTH
  • America’s Byways: Natchez Trace Parkway, Selma to Montgomery March Byway, Talladega Scenic Drive.
  • Connecting Flights Via: Atlanta, Memphis.
  • Shopping: The Outlet Shops of Grand River, Birmingham; Tanger Outlet Center, Foley.
  • Sales Tools: Vacation planner, online vacation guide and group travel itineraries.
  • Info: Alabama Tourism Department

(800) ALABAMA

www.Alabama.travel