From Wikitravel

Alabama[1] is a state in the United States of America.

Contents 1 Regions 2 Cities 3 Other destinations 4 Understand 5 Talk 6 Get in 7 Get around 8 See 9 Do 9.1 Festivals 9.2 Sports 9.2.1 Collegiate 9.3 Hike 10 Eat 11 Drink 12 Sleep

Regions

• Gulf Coast
• River Heritage
• Metropolitan
• Mountains

Cities

• Auburn -- Home to Auburn University
• Anniston
• Birmingham -- Alabama's largest city
• Boaz
• Childersburg
• Clanton -- Great Peaches!
• Decatur
• Evergreen
• Fairhope
• Florence
• Foley -- Home to Lambert's Cafe
• Fort Deposit
• Gadsden -- Noccalula Falls and Lookout Mountain
• Georgiana -- Birthplace of Hank Williams Sr.
• Greenville
• Gulf Shores -- Gulf Coast beaches (Part of Pleasure Island)
• Huntsville -- Home of Marshall Space Flight Center
• Millbrook
• Mobile -- Alabama's only major port and largest city near the Gulf.
• Montgomery -- State capital and former capital of the Confederacy.
• Muscle Shoals -- Alabama's Music capitol
• Orange Beach -- Gulf Coast beaches (Part of Pleasure Island)
• Prattville
• Tuscaloosa -- Home to The University of Alabama, former state capital, Mercedes Benz USI, several museums, and Dreamland BBQ.
• Tuscumbia -- Helen Keller's home
• Wetumpka

Other destinations

• Little River Canyon National Preserve [2]
• Russell Cave National Monument [3]

Understand

Alabama, and the South in general has a reputation for "southern hospitality". The people of this state are generally genial and helpful, and often go out of their way to help a stranger. While racial divisions still exist in the state, they are much more muted than is generally believed. The attitudes and problems of the old south are mostly held today only by the old and the uneducated.

Known primarily for it's unusual status as the original capitol of the Confederacy and the birthplace of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's, Alabama can be a study in contrasts.

The sport of football is taken seriously in Alabama. In addition to significant regional devotion to high-school football teams, the entire state is divided in a way over Alabama versus Auburn University football rivalry.

Talk

Many (though certainly not all) Alabamians speak with thick local accents, so non-native English speakers may have difficulty understanding them.

Get in

Alabama is accessible by five interstate highways: I-10 crosses the state from east to west near Mobile in the south; I-20 enters Alabama from the east, traverses Birmingham, and joins I-59 as it traverses Tuscaloosa and exits the state in a southwesterly direction; I-59 enters northeastern Alabama, continues southwest through Birmingham, and exits the state toward the southwest; I-22 enters Alabama from the northwest and ends in Birmingham; I-65 enters Alabama from the north, traverses Birmingham, and ends in Mobile; I-85 enters the state in the east and ends in Montgomery.

There is one daily Amtrak service through the state: trains 19 (southbound) and 20 (northbound) run from New Orleans to Washington DC and New York City. The trains stop in Alabama at Anniston, Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. Coach and sleeper service is available, with checked baggage, a restaurant car, a café and a lounge. See Amtrak for more information.

Get around

See

Do

Festivals

• Gulf Shores is home to the National Shrimp Festival. This outdoor event is held annually in October and features over 300 vendors that offer fine art, arts and crafts, an international marketplace and plenty of shrimp. Three stages also carry music continuously throughout the festival. Over 200,000 people attend the festival annually and it has been ranked as one of the top twenty events in the southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society, and one of the top five in the state. 2006 will mark the 35th anniversary of this festival.

Sports

Collegiate

Home to what is considered one of the top rivalries in sports, the state of Alabama revolves around college football. Each weekend of the fall, hundreds of thousands of fans around the state pack stadiums to cheer for their respective teams.

• University of Alabama Crimson Tide
• Auburn University Tigers
• University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers
• Troy University Trojans
• Iron Bowl
• GMAC Bowl

Hike

• Believe it or not, Alabama has some decent hiking options. One of the best areas is the Sipsey Wilderness

Eat

Drink

Sleep

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