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Birmingham

Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2025

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Downtown Birmingham, Alabama

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Overview

Birmingham is a confluence of leafy green space, fantastic bars and restaurants, and innovative public space projects. It's also a far more liberal town than you may expect given the political proclivities of its home state. This town may lack the name-brand recognition of musical powerhouses like New Orleans and Nashville, or business centers like Atlanta and Houston, but as mid-sized cities go, Birmingham is hard to beat.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Sloss Furnaces is a National Historic Landmark in Birmingham, Alabama in the United States. It operated as a pig iron-producing blast furnace from 1882 to 1971. After closing it became one of the first industrial sites (and the only blast furnace) in the U.S. to be preserved and restored for public use. In 1981 the furnaces were designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior

    Sloss Furnaces

    Birmingham

    The Sloss Furnaces constitutes one of Birmingham's can't-miss sites. From 1882 to 1971, this was a pig iron–producing blast furnace and a cornerstone of…

  • Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.

    Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

    Birmingham

    A maze of moving audio, video and photography exhibits tell the story of racial segregation and the Civil Rights movement, with a focus on activities in…

  • Birmingham, AL / USA - May 7, 2017: 16th Street Baptist Church as seen from Kelly Ingram Park; Shutterstock ID 1794704176; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Kelly Ingram Park

    Birmingham

    When Bull Conner was the sheriff, civil rights activists, led by Dr King, embarked on a desegregation campaign downtown. Their strategy was to flood the…

  • Statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Statue in Kelly Ingram Park, Birmingham, Alabama, USA, North America across from the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. October 13, 2017.; Shutterstock ID 773710357

    16th Street Baptist Church

    Birmingham

    This church became a gathering place for organizational meetings and a launchpad for protests in Birmingham in the 1950s and ’60s. During a massive…

  • Birmingham, Alabama, USA city skyline.; Shutterstock ID 410812180

    Railroad Park

    Birmingham

    Credit where it's due: Birmingham's Railroad Park, which constitutes some 19 acres of downtown real estate, is a stroke of planning brilliance. As urban…

  • McWane Science Center

    McWane Science Center

    Birmingham

    This science museum, full of all manner of interactive exhibits, is primarily set up for families; if you have kids in tow, it's one of the most…

  • Moss Rock Preserve

    Moss Rock Preserve

    Birmingham

    You'll find about 12 miles of trails webbing across this 349-acre nature preserve, which is thick with streams, forests and dramatic rock outcroppings…

  • Vulcan Park

    Vulcan Park

    Birmingham

    Imagine Christ the Redeemer in Rio, but made of iron and depicting a beefcake Roman god of metalworking. Vulcan is visible from all over the city – this…

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