Saturday 13 May 2023 • Promotional Content


Why Alabama needs to be on your summer bucket list


Discover the true highlights of the southern state, where awe-inspiring landscapes meet delectable cuisine and soothing soul sounds


spellbinding scenery, sweet home Alabama is a jewel of a state that promises an unforgettable experi- ence to all who step foot in the desti- nation. Here’s a little taste of what to expect.


I


Delicious eats Alabama’s stellar food scene is fuelled by its agreeable climate and glorious diversity of both culture and landscape — from mountain to bayou to coastline. Tat means knockout ingredients and mouth-wa- tering fusions of flavour. Te BBQ is rightly famous — don’t miss the state’s speciality white sauce, with mayo, cider vinegar and piquant spices, especially at Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur. Tere’s also the other down-home favourite: classic Southern smothered pork chops. Get the BBQ Trail app to hunt down


the state’s most irresistible foodie spots and read the story behind every plate. Lesser known is Alabama’s thriving craft beer scene; wet your whistle along the North Alabama Craft Beer Trail or imbibe the state’s rich geology and sunny disposition at some choice vineyards.


Historic thrills Where else can you make a solemn pilgrimage


to the Montgomery


Capitol Steps, where Martin Luther King delivered his epochal ‘How Long, Not Long’ speech, and that same night stay in the groovy jazz-age domi- cile of F Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald (now an Airbnb and museum). History and culture are embedded


into the very landscape here, from the wreck of the slave ship Clotilda, recently uncovered on the edge of the Mobile River, to the out-of-this- world tech on display at US Space and Rocket in Huntsville, where the very rockets that first put men on the moon were developed. For terres- trial thrills, the Barber Museum in Birmingham is ideal for vintage motorbike and Lotus fanatics. Here, you’ll also find the McWane Science Centre and the Birmingham Museum Of Art.


Birmingham PHOTOGRAPH: (ATD) ALABAMA TOURISM DEPARTMENT


Natural highs Alabama is a land of ravishing scenery, with Seven Natural Wonders embodying the state’s innate gran- deur. From the summit of Mount Cheaha, the canopy of Talladega National Forest appears to stretch on forever. Dismals Canyon, meanwhile, is a fantasy underworld populated by bewitching blue-green glow-worms. Ten there’s the Cahaba River, home to 130 species of fish and an elusive species of lily, and pretty Little River Canyon is a dreamy spot for an outdoorsy weekend. Few places can compare, however, to the bone-white sands and cerulean seas of those Gulf coast beaches.


nfused with southern hospi-


tality, world-class food, an unmatched musical heritage and


Mount Cheah sunset view PHOTOGRAPH: TREY MCMEANS


Te Travel Guide 13


Gulf Coast boardwalk PHOTOGRAPH: (ATD) ALABAMA TOURISM DEPARTMENT


Montgomery PHOTOGRAPH: (ATD) ALABAMA TOURISM DEPARTMENT


Mobile streetscape with Dauphin RSATower in the background PHOTOGRAPH: (ATD) ALABAMA TOURISM DEPARTMENT


Sweet sounds Te Father of the Blues himself, W C Handy, was born in a humble wooden cabin that’s still standing to this day. You can visit it, and the museum attached. But that’s not even Alabama’s most


significant


contribution to music. FAME Studios and nearby Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, on the banks of the Tennessee River, revolutionised popular music in the Sixties and Seventies, cutting R&B-inflected records by the likes of Aretha Franklin and Percy Sledge. Swing by and breathe the sacred air — or better yet, check out the current talent at Soul Kitchen Music Hall in Mobile, Te Orion Amphitheatre in Huntsville or the Rattlesnake Saloon in Tuscumbia.


Great outdoors Alabama folks love heading out into the beautiful landscape they call


home and getting active. Te afore- mentioned Mobile-Tensaw delta — dubbed America’s Amazon for


its


almost psychedelic level of biodiver- sity — is a prime spot for kayaking, as is the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge, home to the rare and elusive Cahaba lily. If you prefer your boating with a side of adrenaline, white- water rafting on the Chattahoochee River is probably more your speed. Or if you’re on holiday to take it easy for a change, try a gentle cycle or a spot of fishing at laid back Gulf Shores.


For more information, visit alabama.travel


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