History Buff

If you are a lover of learning about Alabama’s unique past, then Montgomery is YOUR place!

• Start your day at the Museum of Alabama inside the Alabama Dept. of Archives. If you want the full story of Alabama from our indigenous people to colonization, slavery, civil war and the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement, then this will fill you in perfectly

• After, don’t go too far as the First White House of the Confederacy is right next door and the newly installed Bicentennial Park is right around the corner. This park features 14 monuments chronicling 200 years of Alabama History.

• Once you get to Bicentennial Park, you are on the most historical small street in the nation, Dexter Avenue. This street is where the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March ended, right at the steps of the Capital. Dr. Martin Luther King preached the next block down at Dexter Ave. King Memorial Baptist Church and you are just minutes from the Civil Rights Memorial

• As you travel down Dexter Avenue, you will enter “Lower Dexter” which is full of great eateries like Rock n' Roll Sushi and Prevail Union: a local coffee shop.

• At the end of Dexter Ave is a beautiful fountain. We call this area 360 degrees of History! Stop by the Montgomery Visitor’s Center and catch a FREE daily tour to learn about all that you can do and see right off this iconic corridor and what is in walking distance, such as landmarks like the Freedom Rides Museum, Hank Williams Museum and the Winter Building and Marker detailing the telegram that was sent to begin the Civil War… and that is just a few!

• Make sure you take a picture with Mrs. Rosa Parks’ statue where it is believed she first got on the bus befoe refusing to get out of her seat just a block down the road from the Rosa Parks Museum

• If you are searching for Truth and Reconciliation from our dark and hard past, Montgomery is at the forefront! Head over to the Mothers of Gynecology where you will learn the story and pay tribute to three named slaves who were brutally tested on, without anesthesia, in one man’s quest to become known as the “father of gynecology”. Right up the street is the award winning, most iconic structure in the last 5 years, the Memorial for Peace and Justice. Here you will learn about lynching victims from across the South as they are finally memorialized and many of their stories told End this journey by heading over to the Legacy Pavilion home to the Legacy Museum which miraculously explains the correlation of slavery to mass incarceration in this country. You may need a bit more time than you think at the Legacy Museum, so make plans to stop next door at Pannie George’s Kitchen, Southern cuisine you must not miss.

• Just a block away, you can step back in time to Old Alabama Town. Visit a one-room schoolhouse, grits mill, cotton gin, log cabin, and the oldest building in Montgomery—Lucas Tavern! Explore how early Alabamians lived and worked in Old Alabama Town.

Weekend Getaway

Whether you are on a girls or guys trip, a solo traveler looking to relax or a couple's trip looking for a fun place that’s close by, Montgomery has a little something for everyone.

• Start your day at either our 18-hole golf course at Lagoon Park or 9-hole executive course at Gateway Park

• If brunch is your thing, then Cork and Cleaver, The Bubbly Hen or Shashy’s Bakery may be perfect for you!

• If you are a DIY bunch, then head over to Wine and Design or Board and Brush Creative Studio to whip up an amazing piece of art to take home and remember us by!

• Got an hour or two? Head over to Escapology or Civil Axe Throwing to get your mind working and your arms flinging

• Theater or Music buffs? Check the event calendar at Montgomery Performing Arts Centre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival or Cloverdale Playhouse and the Live Music Calendar for the Sanctuary, 1048 Jazz and Blues Club, BB King’s Blues Club or The Exchange Bar. Don’t forget to check out the Hank Williams Statue, Museum and Memorial if you are interested in learning more about one of the greats!

• Ready for a downtown pub crawl? Start at Hilltop Public House for a fresh local artisan cocktail and work your way down! Get a pint at Goat Haus Biergarten or a flight a Common Bond Brewers. Stop next door at Bibb Street Pizza, you know…to refuel! Then head down for a glass of wine at Taste Too! wine bar before turning the corner and heading to the trifecta of beer/cocktails: Aviator Bar, Alley Bar and Commerce Beerworks which all are connected through back tunnels. Here you will find several moe restaurants, ranging from pizza to fine dining! Aound the corner, you can pour your own beer at Alabama’s first full self-pour Beer Bar & Restaurant: Tower Taproom

• If you can do all this before 8pm, catch the last Sip-N-Cycle on our Alabama River. Captain Stu is waiting for you at the BYOB fun experience where he promises you can do more sipping than cycling if you desire!

• If you love cigars, 23 Court and TORCH Cigar Lounge are two spots you must stop by simply for the vibe!

• All our bars are open late, so check out our nightlife section on page 42 for a list of bars around the city!

Find a full listing of Montgomery

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