1. Learn About a Hero's Legacy at the Rosa Parks Library and Museum
The Rosa Parks Library and Museum is the best place to start your tour of Montgomery. I really can't imagine a Montgomery itinerary without it.
You can find it on the site of the historic Empire Theatre, near where Rosa Parks made her courageous stand in 1955 which changed the country’s history.
View a range of permanent and temporary exhibits and a 103-seat multimedia auditorium. This museum took us about 2 hours to visit.
252 Montgomery St, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-241-8615
2. Explore the Civil Rights Memorial Center
Located in downtown Montgomery in an open plaza in front of the Civil Rights Memorial Center, the Civil Rights Memorial is dedicated to 41 people who fought and died during the American Civil Rights Movement for equal integrated treatment, regardless of race, between 1954 and 1968.
The Civil Rights Memorial Center is located next to the Memorial.
You can see exhibits about the martyrs of the Civil Rights Movement, a 56-seat theater, a classroom and the Wall of Tolerance.
The 20 by 40 foot Wall digitally displays the names of over half a million people who promised to stand against hate and work for tolerance and justice in their lives.
400 Washington Ave, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-956-8439
3. Visit the First White House of the Confederacy
The First White House of the Confederacy is a beautiful Italianate mansion in the historic area of downtown Montgomery that served as the Jefferson Davis' family residence in 1861, when Montgomery was the Capital of the Confederacy and Jefferson Davis was its president.
Many of the Davis family personal possessions, furniture and art pieces were gifted by Ms. Davis. They give you a glimpse of the life of one powerful family during those turbulent times.
The house is open to the public and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
644 Washington Ave, Montgomery, AL 36130, 334-242-1861
4. Meet Wildlife at the Montgomery Zoo
Travel through the jungles of South America, explore the savannas of Africa, the mountains of Asia and grassy plains of North America, to see the zebras, tigers, camels and monkeys, all roaming free on 40 beautiful acres near the Montgomery downtown, without cages or barriers.
Montgomery Zoo is the home of more than 500 animals from all over the world.
Walk around the lush greens between habitats, take a ride on the charming miniature train, take a behind-the-scenes tour of the elephant or tiger habitats.
2301 Coliseum Pkwy, Montgomery, AL 36110, 334-240-4900
5. Walk in the Footsteps of Dr. King at the Dexter Parsonage Museum
The house that holds the Dexter Parsonage Museum, a nine-room clapboard home built in 1912, was home to 12 Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church pastors from 1920-1992, including Dr. Martin Luther King and his family.
They lived in the parsonage from 1954 to 1960. The house has been renovated to appear the way it looked when Dr. King and his family lived in it. You can see the living and dining room, bedroom and study furniture used by Dr. King.
The museum also has an Interpretive Center, and the outdoors King-Johns Garden for Reflection.
At the Interpretive Center you can see a permanent exhibit that includes photographs of all 12 pastors that lived in the Dexter Parsonage, a wall of Pastoral Wisdom with various pastor’s inspiring quotes, and previously unpublished photographs of Dr. Martin Luther King, Montgomery ministers who participated in the bus boycott, and much more.
309 S Jackson St, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-261-3270
6. Discover State Heritage at the Museum of Alabama
The Museum shares a beautiful stately building, built in 1940, with the Alabama Department of Archives and History.
The museum is located just across the street from the Alabama State Capitol in downtown Montgomery. It tells the story of Alabama's past - from prehistoric times to the present.
The centerpiece of the Museum is the exhibit Alabama Voices, which describes dramatic events in Alabama history from the early 1700s to the modern era.
You can view over 800 artifacts, hundreds of documents and images.
36130, 624 Washington Ave, Montgomery, AL, 334-242-4435
7. Tour the Alabama State Capitol
Completed in 1851 in the Greek Revival style with evident Beaux-Arts influences, Alabama State Capitol is located in downtown Montgomery on what was once known as Goat Hill.
It is a National Historic Landmark which contains a museum about Alabama State politics and history, the seat of the state governor and other officers of the executive branch.
The grounds around the Capitol were landscaped by famous landscape artist Frederick Law Olmsted in 1889, and many of the trees he planted still stand.
600 Dexter Ave, Montgomery, AL 36130, 334-242-7100
8. Explore Masterpieces at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
Founded in 1930, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts is the oldest of its kind in the state of Alabama.
You can see a permanent collection that contains sculptures, paintings and other works of art created by regionally and nationally renowned artists.
The American Collection’s most important part is the Blount Collection of American Art with 41 paintings by Edward Hopper, John Singer Sargent and Winslow Homer.
The collection of prints by Old Masters includes works by Dürer, Rembrandt, and Whistler.
If you have kids, you will love ARTWORKS, a hands-on art studio and gallery for kids.
1 Museum Dr., Montgomery, AL 36117, 334-240-4333
9. Dive Into Southern Literature at The Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum
The Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum is the world's only museum dedicated to writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, best known for his book Great Gatsby, and his wife, Zelda, an icon of the 1920s, and the founder and star of the "Flapper Movement."
She grew up in Montgomery, and the couple moved to the two-story brick and clapboard house in the Old Cloverdale neighborhood in 1931 after prolonged travel through Europe.
You can see a number of photos, letters, books and other personal possessions and memorabilia that belonged to the Fitzgerald’s.
919 Felder Ave # 919, Montgomery, AL 36106, 334-264-4222
I had great espresso at Vintage Cafe a couple of blocks from the museum.
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