Montgomery Travel Guide, Alabama

Set in a picturesque area with the Alabama River slicing through it, Montgomery is a pleasant city and the state capital of Alabama. Its neighborly atmosphere and beautiful scenery create a warm community full of opportunity for all those who visit or live here.

What attracts people to this place is mostly history that they can see come alive as they enjoy the area's special monuments and tributes to the men and women who have left such a rich heritage.

Most of the museums are devoted to local legends and the one that depicts the life of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald is one of the kind, actually it is the only one in the world devoted to the author. The museum is mostly visited by literary buffs and by those who read and loved the author’s 20th-century classic novels like The Great Gatsby and Tender Is the Night. The museum is housed in the house where the author lived together with his wife Zelda, a Montgomery native whom he met while he was in town. Among the exhibits visitors can see some of Zelda’s personal belongings, paintings and self portraits and they can also watch a video about the Fitzgeralds. All these can be seen for free.

Being a historic city, Montgomery is mostly visited for its historic civil rights sites. With so many museums and sights, people coming here will definitely enrich their cultural and historic knowledge and in doing so they don’t even have to go long distances as most of them are in the downtown area, most within walking distance. The Blount Cultural Park is also full of cultural landmarks but to see it you will need a car drive.

The best way to start your visit of the civil rights sites is with the Rosa Parks Museum, named after the local legend: Rosa Parks a black seamstress who had a major role in the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, led by the Rev. Martin Luther King. The interactive displays including actors' dialogue that present the moment that sparked the ride to freedom for the city's black population and galleries help visitors understand and empathize with Rosa Parks.

Another National Historic Landmark belonging to the civil rights theme is the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church where Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr first preached. Guided and self-guided tours are offered during the week days while on Sunday you can assist at the worship service.

Still downtown area but not within walking distance from the church, another related site dedicated to the civil rights leader is the Dexter Parsonage Museum the place where King lived from 1954 to 1960. Most of the household objects and furniture of that time are preserved. A monument dedicated to those who took part in the civil rights is the Civil Rights Memorial an impressive architectural piece designed by Maya Lin. Those who want to see where Jefferson Davis and his family once lived should head to the First White House of the Confederacy.

Passing on to other type of attraction that offers a lot of fun, the Old Alabama Town is a reconstruction of an Alabama village in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Among the constructions you can see a drugstore, a schoolhouse and a tavern.

Other fun options include hanging out in popular restaurants and boutiques to be found at Old Cloverdale south out of downtown, watching the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and Montgomery Biscuits minor-league baseball. You can watch the team play at the downtown's Riverwalk Stadium.

Emerge yourself in history in the city of Montgomery, a modern city proud of its heritage.