| Ask anybody and the typical answer you will get is | | | | tourists of every taste and predilection. |
| that there is nothing in Alabama that is of special | | | | For bargain hunters, Fleamarket Mobile offers the |
| interest to the tourist. Yet tourism happens to be big | | | | biggest opportunity with it being the largest such |
| business in the state and is, in fact, the state's biggest | | | | market on the Gulf Coast. Similarly for those interested |
| industry, generating well over $10 billion in revenue each | | | | in education and museums, there is something for |
| year. | | | | everybody. Natural history, political history or military |
| The key to Alabama's attractiveness as a tourist | | | | history - you name it and there are museums that will |
| destination is above all its rural and agricultural | | | | satisfy your curiosity. For culture lovers there is the |
| orientation punched with great hospitality, delectable | | | | Alabama Shakespeare Festival which is the only |
| cuisine, top notch hotels and resorts, and a globally | | | | professional theatre in the United States that has a |
| well-known events calendar with many festivals and | | | | live-in acting troupe which stages a rotating repertory |
| performances thrown in. | | | | of classical works. Then there is the F. Scott and |
| For tortured souls tired of city lights, Alabama is the | | | | Zelda Fitzgerald Musuem. Don't forget Ivy Green, the |
| place to reclaim your sang-froid. From the fresh, crisp | | | | birthplace of the legendary Helen Keller. |
| air of the mountains and lakes of north-central | | | | There is a lot for sports lovers too. While the Alabama |
| Alabama to the glistening sun-soaked beaches of the | | | | Sport hall of Flame highlights the feats of such sporting |
| state's southern Gulf coast, the state has a whole | | | | greats as Jesse Owens, the International Motorsports |
| dazzling array of attractions to offer to the tourist | | | | Hall of Fame and the Barber Vintage Motorsports |
| seeking solace in Nature's arm. It is also a state with a | | | | Park and Museum are a must visit for auto freaks. |
| rich history and heritage. So, whether it is just a | | | | And, of course, there is the Birmingham Greyhound |
| weekend trip or a longer vacation, smart folks check | | | | Race Track for those interested in dog racing. |
| out Alabama before deciding where to head when the | | | | For a state that has given us such literary |
| well-earned break comes. And I say 'smart' folks, | | | | masterpieces as To Kill a Mockingbird, there is a lot for |
| because a vacation in Alabama doesn't hurt your | | | | the literary minded. But leaving aside the more serious |
| pocket - you can have a wonderful time at a much | | | | stuff, the stout-hearted tourist looking for literary |
| lower cost than comparable vacation spots! | | | | entertainment of the macabre kind can also try their |
| From museums to flea markets, from golf to motor | | | | luck at collecting the innumerable ghost stories that |
| sports or greyhound racing, from battleship Alabama | | | | Alabama folks are wont to tell. So, if you are looking |
| to the US Army Aviation Museum, and even natural | | | | for an outing that you can enjoy without bothering too |
| history museums and the estuarium at the Dauphin | | | | much about the hole in your pocket, think Alabama! |
| Island Sea Lab, Alabama has something to offer to | | | | |