Birmingham is a unique, vibrant city that one could explore for a lifetime and never run out of new experiences. But no matter how great your hometown is, everybody needs to get away sometimes. If you're fortunate enough to call Birmingham home, you're within a day's journey of the best weekend getaways in Alabama.
If you have gas in the tank and a couple of blank days on your calendar, there's no end to the adventures you can have in the Birmingham area.
Gulf Shores, AL
Gulf Shores is one of the best beach day trips from Birmingham. With its pure white sand and warm waters, Gulf Shores is the gateway to 32 miles of picturesque beaches. Gulf State Park offers all the sun and surf you could ever want, along with a popular fishing pier where you can catch sheepshead, red drum, and mackerel.
The cozy Downtown district of Gulf Shores offers a wealth of cozy bars and eateries, including some popular seafood restaurants. After all, Gulf Shores is the city that hosts the annual National Shrimp Festival every fall. Plus, the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo and Adventure Island are always worth visiting too.
Chattanooga, Tennessee
About 150 miles from Birmingham lies Chattanooga, a historic city on the banks of the Tennessee River. Chattanooga was a boomtown in the early railroad days, but it's now better known for its burgeoning arts scene and its wild natural landscape. There's always something unique to discover in Chattanooga, from urban rock climbing to an authentic riverboat tour.
Explore art galleries and sip lattes in hip coffee shops in the Bluff View Art District. Take in some live music and nightlife in the Southside neighborhood. And don't leave until you've taken the Incline Railway up to Lookout Mountain and to experience the incredible underground cascades of Ruby Falls.
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is close enough to be a day trip from Birmingham, AL. It's about a 90-minute drive. Be that as it may, there's so much to explore here that you'll want to extend your visit over the whole weekend. Long known for its role in the Space Race as a major hub for NASA, Huntsville has also undergone a bit of a modern Renaissance.
These days, trendy restaurants, funky boutiques, and craft breweries seem to be popping up all over Huntsville, often in renovated spaces that have made the city a leader in urban renewal. Of course, space fanatics should still visit the U.S. Space and Rocket Center®, which is the world's largest space flight museum.
Tupelo, Mississippi
A city in Mississippi with a charming, small-town atmosphere, Tupelo is best known as the birthplace of Elvis Presley. Here you can visit Elvis' childhood home—a modest shotgun house where the King of Rock 'n Roll was born in 1935. Then, visit the Elvis Presley Birthplace® which follows the path of his life and music.
Tupelo also has a bustling downtown district packed with local shops and streets lined with tupelo and black gum trees. The Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo is home to numerous wild creatures, including a resident buffalo herd, and the Tupelo National Battlefield which memorializes a Civil War battle from 1864.
DeSoto Caverns, Alabama
Alabama's largest cave system, DeSoto Caverns, is a perfect family getaway near Birmingham. At various times DeSoto Caverns was a Native American burial site, a haven for moonshiners, and a place where Confederate soldiers mined the raw materials to make gunpowder during the civil war.
With its vast main chamber adorned in stalactites and stalagmites, the cave offers an opportunity to explore an underground world and learn about its unique history. The nearby community of Childersburg offers accommodations and dining options and is also just a few miles from several of Alabama's best golf courses.
Atlanta, Georgia
If you're looking for excitement, you’ll love Atlanta, one of the most perfect weekend trips from Birmingham, AL. Offering some of the best dining, entertainment, and nightlife in the South, Atlanta is equally befitting as a romantic couple's trip or a weekend getaway with friends.
Catch a show at a legendary venue like the Fox Theatre® or the Variety Playhouse, and then check out Atlanta's bar scene in the vibrant Little Five Points neighborhood. Atlanta also offers a wealth of arts and culture, ranging from the High Museum of Art to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.
Mobile, Alabama
Alabama's oldest city, Mobile was first settled in 1702 and features some of the state's most fascinating architecture and historic sites. It also happens to be one of the best weekend getaways in Alabama, whether you want to take a walking history tour, dine on world-class Soul Food and BBQ, or explore the wilderness of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta.
Mobile is also a great place to be for Mardi Gras. There may be no other city outside of New Orleans that throws a better party. It's also worth taking time to explore some of the more complicated chapters in Mobile's history with a tour of Africatown and the wreck of the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to ever dock in a U.S. port.
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is one of America's great music capitals, making it one of the best places to spend a weekend exploring rich musical heritage. Legends like W.C. Handy, Memphis Minnie, and Johnny Cash made their seminal recordings here, and to this day the bars and clubs along Beale Street pump out blues, soul, and rock 'n roll all day and night.
It takes about 3.5 hours to reach Memphis from Birmingham. The journey itself is one of the best road trips from Birmingham, AL, taking you through the Mississippi Hill Country to the Delta. Once you get to Memphis, be sure to check out some of the famous music landmarks like Sun Studio, the Stax® Museum of American Soul Music, and Graceland.
The road from Birmingham can take you in all kinds of directions, but wherever you end up, chances are you're about 10 minutes away from a Hotel by Wyndham. Download the Wyndham Hotels & Resorts app today to start planning your weekend getaway, and access faster booking at thousands of hotels.
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