Flight Destinations
Flights to Birmingham
Destinations in Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in the US state of Alabama. It is situated in the north central part of the state and yes, it was named after Birmingham in England!
Flights to Birmingham (airport code: BHM) from the UK are available with numerous airlines, most available with one connection. Direct and one stop flights to Birmingham are offered by airlines such as US Airways, United Airlines, Continental, Northwest Airlines, KLM, Virgin Atlantic Airways, British Airways, and American Airlines. These airlines have connecting flights in cities such as Washington DC, Philadelphia, Detroit, Atlanta, and Dallas.
The Tourist Attractions of Birmingham
Although Birmingham is a relatively young city it’s played an important part in modern history for the United States and is best remembered for being a city heavily involved in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. Birmingham grew as an industrial city originally, much like its counterpart in the UK, with steel and iron being the biggest industries. Though the city has moved away from these somewhat now, there’s still some evidence of this part in the city’s history to be found by visitors today.
Here are some of the interesting attractions to visit in Birmingham, Alabama…
Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark
Visitors interested in the industrial history of Birmingham should visit the Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark. The Sloss Blast Furnaces were used from 1882 to 1971 and produced pig iron. When the site closed it was decided that it would be preserved for the public. There is now a museum and interpretive centre here plus annual events and classes.
Birmingham Civil Rights District
As Birmingham featured heavily in the civil rights movement, a district has been designated in downtown Birmingham where many of the events took place. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is dedicated to this period of history and shows visitors the struggles people had to go through. Also in the district is the 16th Street Baptist Church where a bombing took place in 1963, killing 4 girls and injuring 22 others. At the Kelly Ingram Park you can see sculptures which represent events that took place in the park. This was a common place for black Americans to protest, but the police turned them back with fire hoses and more. The scenes were often broadcast on television, opening the eyes of the nation to what was going on. Finally the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in this district is an interesting visit too.
Birmingham Museums
In addition to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Birmingham has several other museums too. Two halls of fame are Alabama Men’s Hall of Fame and Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, there’s the Birmingham Museum of Art and the Southern Museum of Flight. Just outside the city is the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum and Motorsports Park, and with great views over the city is the Vulcan Statue and Museum.
Other Birmingham Attractions
Two other attractions in Birmingham definitely worth seeing are the Arlington Antebellum Home and Gardens and the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. The former is a historic Southern house built between 1845 and 1850. It’s known as an antebellum house because antebellum means it was built before the Civil War in a Greek revival style of architecture. This is an interesting place to visit to see the kind of houses which would have been built back in the mid 1800’s.
When Should You Visit Birmingham?
Like the rest of Alabama, Birmingham has a hot southern climate. Summers are long with high temperatures and high humidity. The July and August highs are around 32C (90F). Winters are mild, though probably the best times to visit are spring and autumn as temperatures are pleasant and humidity is lower. Storms are least common in autumn.