Off the beaten path things to see, eat and do in Montgomery Alabama?

October 25, 2018 8:33 PM

I'll be meeting relatives soon to spend 4 days exploring the civil rights history of Montgomery, Alabama, including the new National Memorial for Peace and Justice honoring U.S. lynching victims. We're aware of most of the obvious museums and sites we can find at sites like this, but want to know if any locals can provide personal recommendations for other interesting things to see.

We're looking for cool places to eat (esp. good seafood and vegetarian spots), neat neighborhoods to explore, odd funky shops, galleries or bits of local history, and/or spots of unusual natural beauty, preferably within a half hour of the center of town. Bike rental recommendations especially welcome. We will be sticking to Montgomery, so aren't interested in things in Birmingham or other cities more than a half hour away. Thanks!

posted by mediareport to Travel & Transportation around Montgomery, AL (8 answers total)

Best answer: I am a very new transplant to Montgomery, so I am still in exploring mode myself. Martin's is supposed to be the place to go for soul food, but I have not had a chance to go yet. The riverfront is nice, and is walking distance from Dexter Avenue. I have heard there are paddle board rentals, but it might not be the right season. The Blount cultural park where the Shakespeare festival sits is really nice. It's big with nice landscaping and places to walk. The Jasmine hill gardens in Wetumpka is on my list, and the Wetumpka impact crater is neat if you are into geological history. I have not looked for bike rentals, and most of the streets are not great for biking, although the downtown area is very walkable. The Kress building downtown has a tour company and delicious coffee (Prevail union).
posted by Maxwell's demon at 10:06 PM on October 25, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Seconding Jasmine Hill gardens and the Shakespeare Festival.

If you like funky antique shops, Eastbrook Antique Flea Market and Antique Mall on Coliseum Blvd is a good one.

The Cloverdale Neighborhood is an interesting area -- the Scott & Zelda museum is there (at the house the Fitzgerald's lived in the early 1930's). The Capri Theatre is another Cloverdale landmark.
posted by TwoToneRow at 11:25 PM on October 25, 2018 [1 favorite]

Also, Chris' Hot Dogs is a downtown institution.
posted by TwoToneRow at 11:32 PM on October 25, 2018

Sometimes being at a place like that needs post-visit processing time, so take that into consideration with planning the sequence of what is being visited. Seeing children playing helped me after Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad Museum in MD’s Eastern Shore. The local beautiful scenery, not so much as I would wonder about people hiding en route to freedom. The ocean was a balm as well.
posted by childofTethys at 4:33 AM on October 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Chris's Hot Dogs are a big local thing, but I personally think they are weird and gross, you definitely need an iron stomach. Proceed at your own risk.

Definitely go to Martin's for meat-and-three, and please be aware that most if not all fo the vegetables there will be cooked with some kind of meat flavoring, so really not vegetarian.

If you want to dress up and eat fancy, try Vintage Year.

For seafood, try Jubilee, which is centrally located, or Capitol Oyster Bar, which is on the river. (COB is very tucked-away and can be hard to find, but it's worth the effort!)

Also try El Rey Burrito Lounge and its companion joint Leroy.

See a movie at the Capri Theatre in Cloverdale, and have a conversation with Martin who runs the place if you get a chance. He's a character!
posted by mccxxiii at 6:06 AM on October 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

the rosa parks and hank Williams museums.
several of zelda Fitzgerald's paintings are in the Montgomery art museum
posted by brujita at 9:57 AM on October 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks, y'all; these are great! Things like the Wetumpka crater, Cloverdale, the Kress building and Jasmine Hill are exactly the kind of things I was looking for.

Anyone know of a way to get a more science-y tour of the crater than just wandering around ourselves? It appears they only do tours once a year?
posted by mediareport at 2:37 AM on October 27, 2018

As far as Wetumpka crater, it hasn't been known as an impact site that long. When I was a wee geologist, we took a couple of field trips in Northeastern Alabama, but didn't visit the site, because it wasn't really in the literature yet. It's giant, and mostly covered with vegetation, so there is not much to see, except for fairly dramatic topography (for the area) and some roadside signs on the main road. Jasmine Hill road goes through it, and is a pretty drive. I think there might be more info at the Wetumpka library. The big attraction for me is more conceptual, kind of like Yellowstone- imagining an event making a hole in the ground so big you can't even tell what it is from the ground.
posted by Maxwell's demon at 3:57 PM on October 28, 2018 [1 favorite]