Destination Road Trip: Birmingham, Alabama
Mississippi's neighboring southern states offer great getaways with luxurious accommodations, relaxing recreational activities and fun-filled activities for couples and families. Pack your bags and turn up your favorite beats as you cruise to Birmingham, Alabama, for an exciting weekend. We've found the perfect resorts and activities for an unforgettable weekend filled with relaxation and rejuvenation in less than a four-hour drive.
Renaissance® Birmingham Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa
A sophisticated sanctuary awaits at Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa. Practice your serve on one of the resort's tennis courts, then cool off at their indoor and outdoor saltwater pools with bar service, waterfalls and a slide. Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa boast the fifth longest golf course in the world, named one of the 50 best courses in America by Golf Digest. When you're not on the green, replenish with soothing treatments at their tranquil spa, or enjoy some excitement off site at the nearby Birmingham Zoo, Legion Field, Samford University or Birmingham Civil Rights Museum.
Their accommodations come complete with stylish furnishings, luxurious bedding and marble bathrooms, as well as picturesque views of pristine fairways and rolling hills from private balconies. Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa beckons your next getaway.
Grand Bohemian Hotel Mountain Brook
The Grand Bohemian Mountain Brook brings distinctive luxury to Birmingham’s most charming suburb. This upscale boutique hotel evokes a Southern Bohemian renaissance with interior twists of color inspired by the natural landscape. The vibrant rooftop restaurant and bar overlooks the beautiful Birmingham Botanical Gardens while serving up farm-to-table dishes sourced with regional ingredients. And if enjoying the hotel’s culinary delights wasn’t enough, guests are welcome to take part in an engaging and interactive cooking class at Grand Bohemian Mountain Brook’s Cooking School, a culinary experience perfect for individuals and groups to enjoy.
Poseidon Spa at Grand Bohemian Hotel Mountain Brook
Treat yourself to a muscle melting aromatherapy massage, refreshing facial or any number of special treatments you’ll find only at the Poseidon Spa. Delight in any of their exclusive body treatments from the Jewels of the Sea Collection or melt away with a Kessler signature heated shell massage.
Vulcan Park and Museum
Vulcan is the largest cast iron statue in the world and Birmingham’s unofficial city symbol. Standing high atop Red Mountain, the 56-foot-high statue has an observation balcony on its pedestal for a panoramic view of the city. Vulcan is patterned after the mythical Roman god of the forge, a nod to the city’s powerful position in the iron and steel industry in the first part of the 20th century. The statue was created as Birmingham’s exhibit in the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis and won the exposition’s grand prize. The museum at Vulcan has interactive exhibits and displays that portray the region’s history and progress.
Barber Motorsports Museum
Home to the world’s best motorcycle collection, the museum now has more than 1200 vintage and modern motorcycles and racecars and the largest collection of Lotus cars as well as other significant makes. The collection is the largest of its kind in the world. Approximately 600 of the 1200 motorcycles in the collection are on display at any given time. These bikes range from 1902 to current-year production. Common street bikes are represented, as well as rare Gran Prix race machinery. The museum is adjacent to Barber Motorsports Park, a world-class 2.3 mile road course and home to the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama.
Birmingham Zoo
One of the Alabama's most popular attractions, the Birmingham Zoo is an ever-evolving adventure. Visitors come from around the Southeast to see shows such as the Rhino Encounter, the Giraffe Feedings, the Lorikeet Aviary, the Predator Zone and the Sea Lion Splash Show. The zoo is blazing new trails in elephant conservation with the opening of Trails of Africa. The initiative designates the Birmingham Zoo as a national leader in the care and conservation of threatened elephants. Trails of Africa is a mixed-species exhibit that includes a bull elephant herd, red river hogs, giraffes, wildebeest, zebras and more.
Railroad Park
Railroad Park is a 19 acre green space in downtown Birmingham that celebrates the industrial and artistic heritage of our great city. Situated along 1st Avenue South, between 14th and 18th Streets, the park is a joint effort between the City of Birmingham and the Railroad Park Foundation. Hailed as “Birmingham’s Living Room,” Railroad Park provides a historically rich venue for local recreation, family activities, concerts, and cultural events, while connecting Birmingham’s downtown area with Southside and UAB’s campus.
Golf
Birmingham’s weather is generously comfortable, which is one smart reason golfers come from around the world. With the development of the state’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Alabama became the Godfather of Great Golf. Birmingham has two courses along the trail, one of which is the third longest course in the world.
{Blog by: Jenny Cox Holman}
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