Must-SeeBirmingham Civil Rights Institute
A powerful walk through segregated Birmingham and the marches of 1963, with the jail cell door that held Dr. King, who wrote his famous letter here.
Birmingham
Where the civil rights struggle's turning point took place in 1963, a former steel city with a giant iron statue on its hill and a great food scene.
In the spring of 1963, police turned fire hoses and dogs on children marching for their rights in Kelly Ingram Park, and a bomb at the 16th Street Baptist Church killed four girls that fall. It helped pass the Civil Rights Act. The district is now a national monument.
Birmingham also has Vulcan, the world's largest cast-iron statue, and great restaurants.
- Best Time
- March to May, October and November
- Time Needed
- 1–2 days
- Cost Level
- $$$$
- Open
- Year-round
- Getting There
- About 2 hours from Atlanta, with its own airport.
The Short List
9 sights, 5 of them free. Tick off what you've seen and rise from Sailor to Captain of Birmingham.
Your Birmingham list0 of 9 visited
1 more place to become Sailor · tap “Been There” on any place you've visited
Must-See
Must-See
Must-See16th Street Baptist Church
The church bombed by the Klan in 1963, killing four young girls. Welsh people gave its stained glass window of a Black Christ.
Must-SeeKelly Ingram Park
The staging ground of the 1963 Children's Crusade, with sculptures of the police dogs and fire hoses that shocked the world.
Worth a Detour
Worth a DetourSloss Furnaces
Giant rusty iron-making blast furnaces from 1882, now a National Historic Landmark, and the only ones of their kind preserved as a museum.
Worth a DetourVulcan Park
The world's largest cast-iron statue, a 56-foot Roman god of the forge, on Red Mountain above the city, with a bare backside facing the suburbs.
If You're Nearby
If You're NearbyBirmingham Museum of Art
A free museum known for its Wedgwood collection, the largest outside England, and strong Asian and African galleries.
Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum
The world's largest motorcycle collection, with more than 1,600 bikes on five floors, next to a racetrack.
Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Free gardens on Red Mountain with a Japanese garden and a glass conservatory.
Rickwood Field
America's oldest professional ballpark, from 1910, where Willie Mays played for the Black Barons and which hosted a 2024 Major League game.
Neighborhoods
- Civil Rights DistrictThe Institute, 16th Street Baptist and the Fourth Avenue business district.
- Five Points SouthRestaurants and bars.
- AvondaleBreweries and restaurants.
- Railroad ParkDowntown's lovely green space, and the ballpark.
Getting Around
Downtown and the Civil Rights District are walkable. Otherwise, use a car or rideshare, since public transit is limited: MAX buses and the Birmingham Xpress rapid line run along main routes. Amtrak's Crescent stops here.
Plan Your Visit
- Day 1: the Civil Rights Institute, 16th Street Baptist Church and Kelly Ingram Park. Day 2: Sloss Furnaces, Vulcan Park and the Museum of Art.
Know Before You Go
- The civil rights sites are all together downtown.
- 16th Street Baptist tours are limited, so check times.
Where to Stay
Stay downtown or in Five Points South.
What to Eat
- Meat-and-threeNiki's West is the classic, with a cafeteria of Southern sides.
- Greek-Southern foodGreek immigrants shaped the city's food, as at the famous Bright Star in Bessemer.
- Barbecue with white sauceAlabama's mayo-based sauce, invented in Decatur. Saw's is popular here.
- Highlands Bar & GrillFrank Stitt's James Beard-winning restaurant, with its famous stone-ground baked grits.
Where to Eat
Our picks are on the way.
Editor's picks. Nobody paid to be on this list.
Something wrong or out of date?
Traveler Reviews
Sign in and mark Birmingham as visited to write a review.
Go Next
If You're NearbyAtlanta
Georgia
Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthplace and church, the Georgia Aquarium and World of Coca-Cola.
Full Guide
Worth a DetourMemphis and Graceland
Tennessee
Elvis's Graceland, the blues on Beale Street and the National Civil Rights Museum.
Full Guide
Worth a DetourMontgomery
Alabama
Where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and where the Selma marchers ended, with America's most powerful memorial to the victims of lynching.
Full Guide
Last checked 2026-11-01. Part of the Southeast list.