I was so excited to visit Birmingham that I forgot my camera— epic fail.
Honestly, it was kind of nice not carting that thing around and I managed to get some good snaps on my ancient iPhone. The drive from Memphis to Birmingham was about three and a half hours. We probably made it just a bit over due to a totally necessary stop for snacks. Even with hitting a patch of ridiculous traffic, which is when I had a moment to notice my missing camera, it was pretty smooth drive. How would I describe Birmingham? Surprising, packed with amazing food and even better art, and just a really a good time!
1- Get Your Art + Culture On
Third Space at the Birmingham Museum of Art features over 100 pieces of contemporary art that range from paintings and drawings to sculptures, photography, and videography. I suggest checking it out during one of BMA’s Art after 5 events! If you happen to be in town the first Thursday of the month then also stop by the Pizitz Food Hall for dinner and the Birmingham Art Crawl.
2- Explore Homewood
Hanging out in the suburbs isn’t usually my thing but I quickly added Homewood to the list of stops after reading about multiple must-try restaurants. Grab breakfast at Holler & Dash, shop along 18th street at Soca Clothing Boutique, Soho Retro, and Shaia’s, then grab a late lunch at Real & Rosemary.
3- Take a Coffee Break At Revelator Coffee
I make sure to stop into a coffee shop on every trip. A caffeine fix, quiet space, and insight into the coffee scene is always a welcome break from jumping place to place. Stop into Revelator to get a little bit of it all, including some drop latte art.
4- Spend An Afternoon In Avondale
I love walking around and exploring different neighborhoods. It’s great to see distinct differences between one area and another and also leaves me feeling less guilty about the many restaurants I pop into on each trip. Avondale is an awesome area downtown to spend the afternoon relaxing at the park, indulging in lunch at the cheese lover’s haven that is Melt, shopping at Winslet & Rhys, having dinner and drinks at Avondale Common House & Distillery, and wrapping up the day with dessert at the Big Spoon Creamery.
5- Experience Peak Happy Hour Greatness at Collins Bar
The Collins Bar is an experience unlike one I’d ever had at a bar. You walk in and greeted by giant paper planes, board games, and a Periodic Table of Elements that incorporates a Birmingham theme in place of elements. Don’t look for a cocktail menu— all cocktails are crafted based on your mood and taste!
6- Get Your Shopping Fix
I found lots of shopping options from locally-owned boutiques to larger retailers. I suggest taking advantage of it all! Two of my favorite shops were Winslet & Rhys, Open Shop Woodlawn, and Soca. Home decor and antiques fans will also love Soho Retro.
If you’re looking for national brands then hop over to The Summit and take advantage of Anthropologie, Gus Mayer, LOFT [the chambray jumpsuit above is linked], Madewell, Sak’s, Trader Joe’s and more all located in one place. We picked up some snacks for the drive back home at the Target and Fresh Market in the Brookwood Shopping Center near our hotel in Homewood. Also, consider making a trip to Nordstrom Rack —it’s packed with some awesome finds!
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What are some places and activities you always look forward to checking out when traveling?
Thanks for the tips! Lovely post 🙂
Of course! Thanks for reading 🙂
So your post made me grow a new appreciation for my hometown. I’ve been dodging exploring Birmingham since I moved to Atlanta for college 7 years ago. I’ve always viewed Birmingham as boring, but I hear there is a lot of development going on that’s beginning to spice it up.
It’s been years since I’ve been to the museum. And I love the Homewood area though, it’s near my high school actually and my mom’s job. And I can’t lie there’s so much awesome food in B’ham.
Actually, next time you visit, I recommend Shrimp Basket and Purple Onion. They’re both around the Homewood area. Shrimp Basket has the best-fried shrimp I’ve ever had, and Purple Onion’s chicken tenders are like crack lol.
Thanks for this post, I’ll see if my mom wants to go to Rose Distillery when I visit Bham next week.
– Tia | http://www.filtercrave.co
Thanks for the recs! I’m vegetarian so I’ll have to skip the shrimp and chicken but I’m sure there’s some other awesome dishes.
I love the idea of an Art Crawl. SO cool! Also, all those food pics have me drooling!
The Art Crawl was so much fun! Oh, and the food at every spot was amazing 🙂
I never would have thought of Birmingham as a place I’d like to go to, but you’re making me want to go!
YAY, I highly recommend it! I had so much fun!