Welcome to my first post in the Travel the United States series. Â This series will explore family friendly vacation options in each of the 50 states (and as a bonus, I will include our Nation’s capital, The District of Columbia). Â An index to all the 50 States posts can be found here.
Alabama Travel
The first thought that comes to mind when I think of Alabama is the song Sweet Home Alabama by Lynard Skynard – a great song! One of the items on my bucket list is to visit every state in the United States, and I have yet to visit Alabama. What I didn’t realize was that Alabama is rich in culture, history and beauty. You can explore Civil War sites, learn about the struggle for Civil Rights and visit the white beaches of the gulf coast.
Your first stop in planning an Alabama vacation is to visit the state’s tourism site. This site is chock-full of information about activities, attractions, road-trips, food, culture, history and more!
Orange Beach, Alabama
The best beach in Alabama has to be Orange Beach, a popular vacation spot. This beach is located on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and offers miles of white sand beaches. There is plenty to see and do including deep-sea fishing, golf, the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo, Waterville USA and The Wharf. Plus, you will find plenty of delicious sea food to sample!
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. Founded as a steel-making center in 1871, it’s nickname is The Magic City. Birmingham offers a variety of activities including a world-class zoo, Oak Mountain State Park where you can bike, hike and ride and the McWane Science Center with tons of hands on activities for the kids. My go-to activity in Birmingham is the Civil Rights Institute, a state-of-the-art, multi-media facility that explores racial events throughout history. What a great way to teach children about the Civil Rights movement and tolerance.
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is known as the birthplace of America’s space program and is Alabama’s fourth largest city. The top destination is the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. This museum is dedicated to space and includes an IMAX and 3D theaters. Not only will you be able to see the history of our space program including rockets, trainers and capsules, but you can experience what Astronauts did in the simulators such as G-Force Accelerator and Space Shot!
Montgomery, Alabama
This city is rich with history from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement. Montgomery is the capital of Alabama and is where Jefferson Davis took the oath of office as President of the Confederate States. Nearly 100 years later, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery in protest of unfair and cruel treatment based only on skin color. Visit the church where Dr. King was pastor and then head over to the Rosa Parks Library and Museum and learn about the events that started with the bus boycott.
Mobile, Alabama
Before the Louisiana Territory was split into different states, Mobile, was it’s original capital. Located near te Gulf of Mexico, this city, founded in 1702, is the birthplace of Mardi Gras. There are many museums to explore, but the top activity on my list is the Bellingrath Gardens and Home. This is a 65-acre estate which includes a 15 room museum home and a bayou boardwalk. Plus, you can catch the Southern Belle sightseeing river cruise.
Priyanka Dey says
Sweet Home Alabama! 😀
Wonderful!
I look forward to your posts, Cecile!
Cheers!
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Janice says
Really informative post. I always have a smile when I read about Birmingham Alabama as our UK Birmingham once produced a brochure with a picture of your Birmingham instead of our own. Fail 🙂
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Cecile says
That is too funny! I would love to visit Birmingham UK too!
Wendy Bottrell says
Thanks for the journey through Alabama! I understand that Alabama is a beautiful state and you have clearly shared that ii is. Photos are great, and will be keeping this link as a resource for the future. Thanks, Wendy UBC
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Laura says
I love this!! It’s so nice to see highlights of somewhere to go in one place, and written by a real person. I’ve been to Huntsville (Space museum) many years ago. I’d love to go back and take my kids. That beach looks great!
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Kristyn says
this looks like a wonderful place to travel to! Very beautiful!
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Kasandria Reasoner says
I live in TN so I def. am bookmarking this as a reminder for fun, easy, travel!
Kas
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Michelle says
Love the historical sites in Alabama! We’re planning a stop there on our way to Louisiana this May. Thanks for sharing!
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Jeana says
I’ve never been to Alabama. Thanks for the pointers on where to go!
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Darlene Ysaguirre says
White sand beaches nice! I would love to travel there for history reasons i think it would be a great learning trip for kids
Cecile says
The white sand beaches caught my attention too! I love all the history associated with Alabama. Would be great for the kids.
Tina says
I like you would also love to travel to Alabama. I love this post and the pics of Alabama and the different places there also. Thank you for sharing this and I hope you have a wonderful day!!
Dorothy Teel says
Alabama is beautiful- DId Dophin Island get restored past the hurricaine we rode that ferry one time and it was great and alot of fun. GUlf Shores is beautiful we spent a night there.. on the beach watching the waves was beautiful..
Cecile says
Dauphin Island is in the process of restoration! You will be happy to know that the West End Beach will be open for 2013.
renee says
While I have been to or at least heard of the other places in this post, I had not heard of Orange Beach, Alabama. I would love to visit the beach and the zoo on our next trip to the state, which is pretty close to my hometown in GA. Thanks for the info!
bn100 says
Those look like nice places to visit
Dorothy Teel says
Alabama is a neat state with alot to do, been there alot when younger used to live in Georgia, alot to do and see.. Gulf Shores, Alabama
Cecile says
I will definitely have to check out the Gulf Shores.
Kecia says
It’s sad that we are right next door in Georgia yet we haven’t seen any of the major cities or sites in Alabama. I need to start thinking about a trip!
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Velvet Hubler says
Thankyou for the great post I want to go on vacation now
Carolann Leibenguth says
Alabama sure is a beautiful state full of rich history. Nothing like the white sands of the gulf coast
Cecile says
The white sands look amazing! My kids would have a blast.
Ari says
I’ve only passed on route through Alabama, but after reading your post, I would really like to see some of the sites and other treasures that Alabama has to offer. I would love to go see the white sandy beaches of Orange Beach and visit the Civil Rights Institute. Another cool place I would really like to see is the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. I’ve been to NASA in Houston, but going to Huntsville would make really be the next thing to see! And just for the civil rights sites, I’d love to go to Montgomery. I’ve been reading about MLK and Rosa Parks for so long, it’d only be right to visit the roots of all these events and historical locations!
Thanks for sharing information about this great state!
Cecile says
I really want to see all the civil rights sites too. Would be a great learning experience for my kids.
Alison says
I love this and know most of these – I always thought that Huntsville was a city from a ‘northern’ state put into Alabama because it has a wealth of information and I have been to the Space and Rocket Center. You also should have visited Tuscaloosa – home of the Crimson Tide. The campus is beautiful and also very rich in Civil War history – battles were fought there and the campus has a vast amount of landmarks there. Also, Moundville is nearby and has a great history from the original Americans – the Indians. You can’t do everything in a week or so there – too much and a lot of driving! Thanks for this!
Cecile says
Thanks for sharing additional places to visit. Alabama certainly is rich in history and has great places to visit. I wish I could spend a month in every State!
Breenah says
I follow a couple Alabama bloggers and it’s definitely on the top of my “to visit” list!
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Betsy Barnes says
Never thought much about Alabama having beaches, looks like they would be fun and look beautiful 🙂