Dilcy Hilley, vice president of marketing for the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau, calls Birmingham the perfect spot for getaway trips lasting 2-3 days for folks in the Chattanooga area.
"Birmingham is a city of festivals, foodies and fun," Hilley says.
Forbes included Birmingham in its list of 20 best cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada for entertaining and affordable travel this summer, citing the city's good eating, music scene and Civil Rights heritage as key draws.
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LIVE MUSIC SCENELive music has become the city’s signature draw, according to the city’s tourist and convention bureau. So far this year, the city has been host to entertainers including Dave Matthews Band, Maxwell, 311, Oak Ridge Boys, Robert Earl Keen, The Flaming Lips, Death Cab for Cutie, Drivin’ N’ Cryin’, Davis Sanborn, Digable Planets, Snoop Dogg, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Morris Day and The Time, Boney James, Def Leppard, REO Speedwagon and Tesla. Upcoming performances include Zac Brown on Sept. 16; Heart, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and Cheap Trick on Sept. 20; Korn and Breaking Benjamin on Oct. 7.; and Carrie Underwood on Nov. 14.The city has also hosted music artists such as AC/DC, Billy Joel, Elton John, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, and U2 .>Music festivals include the Steel City Jazz Festival and Sloss Music & Arts Festival.In a city of intimate music venues, Saturn offers a 24-hour bar decorated in Star Wars memorabilia and comic book art.
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*WHERE TO EAT*Several of Birmingham’s restaurants and chefs have earned the highly prized James Beard Foundation Award and/or nominations, the highest honor bestowed upon North American food and beverage professionals. As the home of so many nominees and winners of “the Oscars of dining,” the city offers the ideal foodie weekend. The Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau says the city’s “hot cuisine scene” offers good, beautiful food.The bureau lists Highlands Bar and Grill, owned by famous chef Frank Stitt, as one of its recommended “go-to” restaurants. The venue has been nominated for Outstanding Restaurant in the Beard Awards for eight years straight. Reservations should be made well in advance. (2011 11th Ave. S; 205-939-1400)Chez Fonfon, another Stitt restaurant, takes no reservations and wins national awards for its “Hamburger Fonfon.” (2007 11th Ave. S; 205-939-3221.)Other top-rated restaurants include: Bottega; Cafe Dupont; Dreamland Bar-B-Que; El Barrio Restaurante Y Bar; Hot and Hot Fish; Ovenbird; Post Office Pies; and The Satellite Coffee Bar.
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SPORTSBirmingham hosts Conference USA basketball tournaments, with the next event scheduled for March 8-11, 2017. Men’s basketball games will be held at Legacy Arena at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex and women’s basketball will be held at Bartow Arena at the University of Alabama.The city also hosts the National Senior Games, and nearby Hoover, Ala., host SEC baseball tournaments.
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FUN FACTS>Birmingham serves as home to two winners of “American Idol”: Ruben Studdard in 2003 and Taylor Hicks in 2006. Birmingham native Bo Bice made “American Idol” runner-up in 2005.>Time magazine named The Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival as one of its “Film Festivals for the Rest of Us” in the June 5, 2006, issue.>Birmingham receives mention in songs by the Rolling Stones (“Rip This Joint”), Lynyrd Skynyrd (“Sweet Home Alabama”), Emmylou Harris (“From Boulder to Birmingham”), Randy Newman (“Birmingham”), John Mellencamp (“When Jesus Left Birmingham”), and Bruce Hornsby (“Jacob’s Ladder”).>The Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), broadcasts from its Birmingham studio headquarters to a global audience of millions of viewers.