Exploring Birmingham AL – Things To Do In The City

Birmingham is a city that is rich in culture, history, and southern hospitality. From the comforting warmth of southern cooking to the welcoming whispers of the city’s abundant green spaces, there is something for just about anybody that comes visiting The Magic City. However, just because a city has a lot to offer doesn’t mean that those offerings are always super easy to stumble across. That’s why we’re giving you a few of our favorite things to do in the city. Here’s what you can check out if you’re exploring Birmingham, AL!

Check Out Some Exhibits

From Civil Rights to a huge variety of trades, Birmingham has a lot of museums and other exhibits to explore to meet the curiosity of so many. Chances are you’ll be able to find a space in the city showing off a special interest or two of yours. Here are a few examples:

The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum is a fantastic place to visit for motor enthusiasts of all kinds. The collection hosts incredibly rare cars and bikes, some modern and some dating back to the 1800’s. Many of these machines have even been restored to racing condition, which is why many consider the collection to be a “living museum.” A racetrack surrounds the building, and lucky visitors might catch some of the rare vehicles showing off their speed in a demonstration or two.

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is an important site to visit for any guest or resident of the city. It captures moments of the Civil Rights movement, as well as darker moments of the state and country’s dark history. Guests can find a Freedom Riders bus replica, as well as a replica of the jail cell where Martin Luther King wrote his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail.

The Birmingham Museum of Art offers guests a walk through a global selection of art, with over 20,000 pieces in its collection, including notable names such as Georgia O’Keefe and Andy Warhol. There are paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and many more pieces to enjoy and admire throughout this building.

Take a Stroll Through Nature

For those who like the great outdoors, there are plenty of great outdoor spaces to check out and explore in Birmingham, too! Whether you’re looking for some sunlit historical learning or you just need to spend some time with the trees, you’ve got options.

The Kelly Ingram Park is a park with plenty of trees and open space, and is located in the Civil Rights district. The park features multiple statues and information about important Civil Rights figures and moments in history. Vulcan Park and Red Mountain Park are two other very popular spaces in the city. Vulcan Park is home to the largest cast iron statue in the world: Vulcan, god of fire and forge. Red Mountain Park is full of hiking and biking trails, walking trails, ziplines, and many more ways of getting your daily steps in!

Catch a Fright or Two

Birmingham isn’t particularly well-known for haunting and ghost-stories compared to some other cities in the United States, but a city with such a rich and complicated history is bound to have some spooky tales to tell. The Birmingham Ghost Walk is one of the most popular ghost tours in the city, and the lantern-lit tour takes you down the twists and turns of the city, as well as of the history. Guests will hear stories from the foundation of the city through the Civil Rights era, with most of the stories taking place before the first World War.

Birmingham also has its fair share of local ghosts and spooky legends to be on the lookout for. Perhaps your ghost tour of choice will mention Harry the Hacker, which locals feared was actually Jack the Ripper moving into town. Harry and Jack shared a lot of similarities, but it seems that Harry the Hacker was a separate killer acting with his own M.O.

Get Some Great Deals

Finally, what about all of us hunting for a great deal? Fortunately, Birmingham has us covered there too. There are plenty of opportunities to go thrifting, second-hand shopping, yard sale searching, and more of our favorite activities.

For thrift shops, consider What’s on 2nd. This store sells antiques and vinyls, and some guests say that it feels just like old-school thrift shopping. If you’re the kind of person that dives into a second-hand store headfirst just to see what you’ll find, this is the shop for you.

The Bama Flea Mall & Antique Center is another great option in this style. One yelp reviewer says they have everything from junk, to collectibles, clothing, to nice antique pieces. Another says you never know what treasure you’ll find here.

And, of course, what about tackling that yard sale Birmingham style? Finding the best yard sales around the city will be part of business as usual for us. Checking for both virtual and physical local forums and spaces to get an insight into where you might stumble upon somebody’s hidden gem sale. Sometimes, the hunt is just as exciting as the deals—long live the yard sale! Check out Yard Sales in Birmingham, AL! Or, you can browse other cities offering Yard Sales in Alabama.