Tourism Information

Alabama: The River Heritage Region

Tourism Information

The Metropolitan Region is a diverse slice of the state. You'll find speed at Talladega Superspeedway, big-city living in Greater Birmingham, peaches like no others in Chilton County, the roar of water rushing over Noccalula Falls and M-Class cars easing along assembly lines at the Mercedes plant in Vance. Attractions, activities and events are waiting for you in places like Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Anniston and Gadsden.

Alabama's River Heritage region has long been known for its rolling farmlands, old homes, and friendly people. But did you know this region pulsates with history and culture?

Absorb yourself in Native American, Civil War, and Civil Rights history on a tour of Alabama's State Capitol, the First White House of the Confederacy, Civil Rights Memorial Center, Rosa Parks Museum, and Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church in Montgomery. Explore Confederate Officers Quarters in Tallassee. Experience a soldier's life at Fort Toulouse-Jackson Park near Wetumpka. Visit the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. Or, follow the struggle for voting rights along U.S. Highway 80 to Selma. A must-see is the new Lowndes County Interpretive Center.

For a good cultural mix, visit the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery, Opelika's Center for the Performing Arts, Troy's new Performing Arts Center or Brundidge's dinner theater.

See masterful exhibitions at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts and the Jule Collins Smith Museum in Auburn. Follow the Hank Williams trail from Montgomery to Georgiana. Journey to Gee's Bend and see how quilting is defined as a way of life.

Or, visit Dothan where old buildings become a canvas for displaying the area's history. Shop for unique treasures, including pottery at Black Belt Treasures in Camden, and handmade quilts at the Alabama Rural Heritage Center in Thomaston.

For a beguiling look into the state's architectural past, see the dogtrot houses in Montgomery's Old Alabama Town, Clayton's Octagon House, plantation homes in Lowndesboro and Demopolis, or go on a pilgrimage in Selma or Eufaula, where antebellum homes, floral trails, art shows, and entertainment culminate into a weekend of Southern hospitality.

The region sports numerous golf courses, including Robert Trent Jones courses in Prattville, Greenville, Dothan, and Auburn, two national forests, several state parks, gaming facilities, water parks, and secluded spots for canoeing, camping, and fishing.