Road Trip to Birmingham, Alabama

There’s a reason Condé Nast Traveler ranks Birmingham with global destinations like London and Rapa Nui, Chile as one of the 22 Best Places to Go in 2022. In fact, there are many of them. So, if you happen to be fortunate enough to live within driving distance of Birmingham, and you’re looking for an easy but exciting weekend, you’re done looking. While on this summer road trip, here is a list of things to do in Birmingham:

Let’s start with the food and drink scene. Noted by everyone from Andrew Zimmern to Esquire magazine, Birmingham’s food and drink have easily earned it the reputation as the Dinner Table of the South. There’s hardly a place you can stand and not be able to throw a well aimed rock and hit a James Beard-nominated or award-winning restaurant.

Places like Highlands Bar & Grill, Helen, and Hot and Hot Fish Club set the white tablecloth standard, while tucked-away gems serve up rapturous soul food, places like Eagle’s Restaurant, where you can get an out-of-this-world cobbler, and SAW’s Soul Kitchen, where the pork and greens along with a cold beer are absolutely redemptive. And, there’s everything in between.

As for drinks, well, where to start? If you’re thirsting for a heady craft beer, you have any number of local options ranging from Good People to Trim Tab, to Ghost Train and a host of others.

On the other hand, if you’re hankering for a craft cocktail, you’ll want to grace the doors of places like Queen’s Park, Paper Doll, or Juniper. Or, you could ditch into any one of our hidden-away dive bars such as Mom’s Basement, The Brown Derby, or The Nick, (where there’s always some live music happening). 

Speaking of music, in addition to The Nick, you’ll want to check out WorkPlay, Iron City, or Saturn to hear the surging beat of the future. These are the incubators where bands like St. Paul and the Broken Bones and Wray got their starts.

And if you’ve had your fill of food, drink, and tunes, take off your-your-your boogie shoes and throw on those hiking boots for a jaunt on one of the many trails around town. Or, wear out your wedges with a little shopping, or throw on your PF Flyers and head to Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, where more than a million people annually check out the largest collection of vintage motorcycles on the planet. Bottom line, for a weekend getaway (or, better yet, a long weekend getaway) you’d be hard pressed to do better than a road trip to Birmingham.