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I'm planning several trips. This April/May I plan to hit these areas in the southeast in this order. Can everyone please help me pick specific activities/things to do?
I'm in my early 30's --- and like fishing, outdoors, hiking, sports, eating healthy food, drinking unique beer, drinking wine, bars/music/jazz all great.
Oh, I'll have a rental car the entire time - and I plan to fly to areas where the drive is more than 4+ hours.
Money/time is not an issue, I can go wherever and stay wherever.
Memphis TN
Nashville TN
Chattanooga, TN
Atlanta GA
Birmingham AL
Montgomery AL
Pensacola FL
Gulf Shoes, AL
Mobile AL
New Orleans LA
I've been to all the places on your list so I'll chime in. Just match up your interests with the places you are going to visit.
Fishing = Gulf Shores & Pensacola, if you go on a charter boat out on the gulf. The mountain lakes and rivers east of Chattanooga have decent fresh water fishing.
Only one place on your list has decent hiking, Chattanooga, and the hiking is good even within the city limits on Lookout Mountain.
Sports, as in pro sports events would be Atlanta.
The places on your list are really not that far apart. Most places aside from Atlanta and Nashville have pretty sparse air service so you would be better off just driving once you get there.
Eating healthy food = not easy in the south where most of the menu is deep fried. Anyplace along the gulf coast has good fresh fish and you can usually get it grilled instead of fried.
Bars/Music/Night Life = New Orleans, Nashville and Memphis, each place with different flavors of music and a different vibe.
I grew up on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay, and currently live outside Huntsville and travel to Birmingham every weekend, so I guess it's my duty to reply!
I'm going to jump straight to Birmingham since I've I know the remaining areas the best. Also, I'm not sure why you have them in the order you do. I'm sure there is a reason, but if there isn't, can I make some suggestions? Skip Montgomery and take the train from Atlanta into Birmingham and New Orleans. In New Orleans rent a car and drive the coast to Mobile, Gulf Shores and Pensacola. I-65 in Alabama is one of the most boring stretches of highway in this country (aside form 287 in TX). Nothing but pines trees for 300+miles.
Birmingham: Vulcan is a must do. Do it first. You'll learn about the city, and it's a great view that will help you get your bearings. Sloss Furnace is great. It's free, and you'll learn about Birmingham's history. Civil Rights museum is supposed to be wonderful (I've never been).
If you want to go for a hike, go to Ruffner Mountain and Red Moutain parks AFTER you go to Vulcan and Sloss. They're old mines that have been reclaimed by nature. Railroad park is new and has won numerous awards. The Zoo and Botanical gardens are both nice.
Stop by Good People Beer for a brew. The Garage bar in Highlands is pretty neat too. Catch a show at the Alabama Theater. Workplay is a great venue too. My go to bar is The J. Clyde in Fivepoints/Southside. Lots of good beers there.
If you like Urban decay type things, carefully go through Ensley. You'll see old factory furnished homes and the old TCI Ensley steel facility. Be careful here though. I recommend going there via I-20.
Mobile: Lots of cool things on the coast. Ed's Seafood Shed on the causeway is one of my favorite restaurants. It's blown up in popularity since I moved away though, so you may have to wait in line. Lots of Nightlife on Dauphin Street. Street names here can be tricky BTW, some are English, some are French, and some are Spanish. If you like gardens, Bellingrath is nice place to go. You may hear about him in Atlanta, he was one of the first Coca-Cola distributors. I always liked driving along the dock roads, but I enjoy checking our industry if you didn't learn that from my Birmingham suggestions.
If you're lucky, Austal will have their doors open and you'll be able to see a new Liberty class ship in production by standing across the river in the Convention Center park.
Drive across Africa Town Bridge for a good view. As you cross the bridge heading East, immediatly to your left at the end of the bridge will be a good birding vantage point. For hikes, there isn't a whole lot here except for Blakley State Park, North of Spanish Fort.
Gulf Shores: If you're going to Mobile from Gulf Shores (or visa versa), be sure to take the Fort Morgan ferry. Of course check out Fort Morgan. Fort Gaines is across the bay from Fort Morgan, and is where the ferry will dump you. Lots of beautiful beaches here, lots of fishing. It will be a little chilly though, which is sad.
Pensacola: I don't know a whole lot about Pensacola except for the Naval things. Do the Naval Air museum. On Wednesdays the Blue Angles practice, and after practice you can meet the pilots. Pretty beaches here as well. Think Mobile combined with Gulf Shores.
New Orleans: I've only been there a handful of times. Be careful in the French Quarter. If you're there after 5 and had to park your car far away earlier in the day, grab it and move it closer to where you will be. Ride the streetcars. Sorry, I'm not much help here. Oh, drive across the river into Mississippi and see Stennis Space Center.
Chattanooga: Only been once really. Riverwalk area is cool, that's where the aquarium is. Walk the Foot Bridge across the river. Next the bridge will be some good ice cream shops and pizza/bar places. You'll be on the "younger" side of town.
One thing about Nahsville, make sure you time it so you arrive on Friday orSaturday. Weekend is when the music scene really comes alive and it's not just country music. The city really lives up to its nickname as music city.
I've never been to Memphis but my former boss couldn't stop talking about it when she returned from there. She said the music scene was fantastic, predominantly blues but really good. The city is on my list to visit,for sure!
I didn't like Atlanta that much. Too much college bar hop vibe. The Georgia aquarium is worth visiting though, within walking distance from CNN center which is also worth visiting.
Pensacola is absolutely beautiful and it has a really laid back feel compared to some of the other Florida cities further south. I intend to retire there one day
I was considering birmingham till i heard its the 10th highest crime rate in the nation, that scared me off, i might look into mobile or pensacola, I have a place in Clearwater mostly NYers there now which is fine, i grew up in NJ lol Im in Knox tenn and very bored here.
I am looking for a preppy place, nice friendly people, any ideas? lol I thought about louisville KY also, help I want to move soon like in a month or 2, NY is way expensive, seeking a nice clean place and fun. prof people. What about Tallahassee? which is better mobile, tall or pensacola?
Well, to start, all of that is easy driving times. I recommend flying into Memphis, Rent a car there, then plan a circuit to cover all of those spots. run from Memphis-Nashville-Chatanooga, From Chatanooga, run up to the Smoky Mountain National Park and spend a few days there, maybe run over to Asheville area, even. Then south to Atlanta.
From Atlanta, Birmingham and Montgomery are an easy drive. Then south to Florida. Maybe even add Panama City to the list. Run west from there taking your time to New Orleans. While in New Orleans area, take a run out to the Atchafalaya and Cajun country. Some good food and fishing around there. Then you can either fly out of New Orleans, or run back up to Memphis. North along the Mississippi you might want to check out the Vickburg area, and the Natchez Trace. Some nice hiking along there.
Memphis is worth visiting, go see Graceland, eat BBQ, check out Beale St. It's a really authentic place with a lot of character, not just some cut-and-paste big city like Atlanta. New Orleans is similar, Cajun food/culture, worth checking out. The Gulf Shores/Mobile area is worth visiting, great beaches and attractions. Pensacola is the place to be during spring break, but it's farily quiet otherwise. Nashville is also worth spending time in, lots to see and do.
Personally, if time was limited I would skip Birmingham and Atlanta. Birmingham doesn't have a whole lot of attractions, and the downtown area really isn't very nice, there's a reason all the locals stick to the suburbs. It's basically a rust-belt city.
Atlanta has a lot to see and do, but it's a generic big city. If you're looking for authentic Southern character, there are better places.
Chattanooga doesn't have a whole lot of attractions.
If you have a rental car from Atlanta, come see Rome! It's a pretty sleepy town, really, but the downtown is very nice and it's in beautiful country. Three rivers downtown, and 4 colleges. Hiking trails on Berry college camping, and the House of Dreams on top of Lavender. Some very good restaurants downtown, plus shops. Good hiking too at "The Pocket" or Keown Falls. PM me if you'd like to know more.
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