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Tourist attractions in your area


krazeeboi

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Memphis: Graceland, Beale Street, the Peabody Hotel and ducks, National Civil Rights Museum, Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Sun Studio, Mud Island River Park and Museum, Memphis Zoo, and Libertyland :lol:

More like events than places: Memphis in May month-long celebration including the BBQ Fest and Music Fest, the Mid-South Fair, and Wonders Exhibits at the Pyramid

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This is for Hot Springs, AR (not Little Rock):

Magic Springs and Crystal Falls Theme Park (just opened in 2000 and expanding rapidly):

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The newest ride (in 2006) is supposed to be a roller coaster that is the "only one of its kind" in the world.

Nature:

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Bath-house row and downtown Hot Springs:

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Lake fun at Lake Hamilton (the most commercialized lake in the state):

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Oaklawn Horse Racing:

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Garvan Gardens (largest botanical gardens in the state):

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And the history...........This was Bill Clinton's hometown and used to be a gambling mecca.

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Memphis: Graceland, Beale Street, the Peabody Hotel and ducks, National Civil Rights Museum, Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Sun Studio, Mud Island River Park and Museum, Memphis Zoo, and Libertyland :lol:

More like events than places: Memphis in May month-long celebration including the BBQ Fest and Music Fest, the Mid-South Fair, and Wonders Exhibits at the Pyramid

FYI: Graceland is the second most visited home in the country. 2nd to only the White House.

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In my beloved Columbia there is Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden, named Southeastern Tourist Attraction of the Year several times; the South Carolina State Museum, the largest museum in the southeast; EdVenture Children's Museum, the largest children's museum in the southeast; Congaree National Park, an ancient flood plain next to the Congaree River; the South Carolina State House, called by many the most handsome state capitol in the nation; the University of South Carolina Horseshoe, with the oldest free-standing college library in the nation; the Robert Mills Mansion, designed by Robert Mills, who also designed the White House; the Kensington Mansion, an example of plantation homes owned by planters in Richland County, which at the time the Civil War started was home to 9 of the 10 wealthiest men in South Carolina, which was the wealthiest state in the Union; the city itself, because it is the first planned capital of any state and has a very orderly look; Lake Murray, where lots of fishing tournaments take place, but I don't know much about fishing, although I think one of the tournaments is for large mouth bass fishing. Those come to mind immediately, but there are others. I've run out of time.

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Huntsville's other attractions (besides the one everyone knows)

Huntsville Botanical Garden, EarlyWorks (children's history museum), Constitution Village (where AL became a state), Hsv Depot (museum of transportation), Monte Sano State Park, Cathedral Caverns, Lake Guntersville, Ditto Landing, Big Spring Park, and the Twickenham/Old Town historic neighborhoods.

Within an hour's drive is Jack Daniels. :alc:

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West Tennessee (outside of Memphis)

Reelfoot Lake State Park (Lake Co./Obion Co.)

Land Between the Lakes - Paris Landing (Henry Co.)

Casey Jones Village (Jackson- Madison Co.)

West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx (Jackson-Madison Co.)

West Tennessee Museum (Brownsville-Haywood Co.)

Lots of other natural areas and small state parks.

Western Kentucky - Purchase/Pennyrile Regions

Historical Downtown Paducah (McCracken Co.)

Quilting Museum (Paducah - McCracken Co.)

Land Between the Lakes - Main Park Facilities (Livingston Co., Lyon Co., and Trigg Co.)

Kentucky Dam/Kentucky Dam Village Resort Park (Marshall Co./Livingston Co.)

Lots of other natural areas and small state parks.

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in murfreesboro, tn we have the geographic center of the state. more than 12 million people visit it each year. ok, so that last part is a lie. but it is the future home of the president of the united states (that would be me people :D ).

Satalac, let me be the first to congratulate you on your election as president. Er, could you give me a raise? LOL

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  • 5 months later...

Alabama has next-to-nothing in the way of major tourist attractions.

We're mostly that big empty space in the middle of the South that everyone else has to drive through

to get where they're going.

Locally, what minor attractions we do have include :

* The University of Alabama - The big draw here is the football program, which ranks at or near the top

nationally for TV and bowl appearances and so forth. The stadium will seat > 90,000 this fall.

The park-like campus (which is celebrating its 175th anniversary) is a draw in its own right, from watching sunbathing coeds at the river park to photographing old buildings like the UA President's Mansion (1839).

The university maintains several museums, including the Bryant Museum (UA sports), Alabama Museum of Natural History (which coordinates numerous field trips, and the award-winning public TV series "Discovering Alabama"), the Gorgas Home (1829 - oldest building on campus. A member of the Gorgas family was intrumental in creating the Panama Canal), the UA Arboretum (located a couple miles east of campus, a 60-acre place to walk), and a 300-acre site at Moundville. Moundville is located maybe 12 miles south of town, and is considered one of the most important archaelogical sites in the U.S. Roughly 30 ancient mounds are preserved from the Moundbuilder civilization that lived there roughly from 900-1500 AD. At its peak in the 1200s, it was possibly the largest "city" in what is now the contiguous U.S.

* Riverwalk - This is in just the early stages of development. The first "attraction" is the Bama Belle riverboat. The city is considering an ampitheater downtown that would be able to accomodate up to 10,000.

* Parks & recreation - Tuscaloosa County has a significant amount of park land - thousands of acres in the SE portion of the county are in a National Forest, there's a 3,300-acre state-owned nature preserve at Sipsey Swamp in the western part of the county, Tannehill Historic State Park is on the border of Tuscaloosa and Jefferson Counties and is among the most interesting and popular parks in the state. Among Tannehill's attractions is the Alabama Iron & Steel Museum, and is of particular interest to those who want to learn about the history of the Birmingham area. Lake Lurleen State Park's latest addition is an under-construction mountain bike trail around the lake, that will be 20+ miles when completed. The Army Corps of Engineers maintains a half dozen or so park areas in the county, a couple of which have campgrounds, boat ramps, and small beach areas. The Tuscaloosa County Parks & Recreation Authority is also very active, and has over 2,000 acres, including several boat ramps. In addition to being along the Black Warrior River, the city includes within its limits three sizable lakes open to recreation : Harris (250 acres), Nicol (350 acres), and Lake Tuscaloosa (5,885 acres). A $1.4-million Tuscaloosa Transportation Museum is slated to open in January 2007. Capitol Park downtown is the site of the old state capitol.

* Art & History - The downtown area includes antebellum buildings on display like the Old Tavern Museum, Battle-Friedman House, and the Jemison-VandeGraaff mansion (city visitor center - A member of the VandeGraaff family invented the "VandeGraaff particle accelerator" that scientists and engineers here will recognize). There's also a Children's Museum downtown.

Northport isn't your typical suburb, in that it has its own historic downtown. A few businesses there have been open in the same location for many decades. Northport's focus on the arts led to the creation of monthly "Art Night" events, which has now spread to galleries in downtown Tuscaloosa, with free public transportation and refreshments.

In the northern portion of the city of Tuscaloosa, the Warner Museum of Young America overlooks Lake Tuscaloosa. This is an art museum with a focus on early America, and especially George Washington.

I don't know how much Mr. Warner's collection is worth, but some individual paintings are valued in excess of $10 million. He has been recognized by national publications on lists of top private art collectors in the country and even internationally.

* Mercedes Visitor Center (museum & factory tour)

Within 50 miles :

* Hale & Greene counties are rural Black Belt counties officially included in "metro Tuscaloosa," though I doubt there are many who think of it that way. In antebellum days, Greene was the most populous county in Alabama. Now, it is the least populous and one of the poorest. Only some remaining antebellum mansions serve as reminders that the area wasn't always as poverty-stricken as it is now.

Greenetrack is one of the state's very few gaming facilities. Alabama doesn't allow "casinos" as such, but the video bingo machines there are similar to slot machines. Greene and especially Hale account for over 3/4 of the state's catfish production, and there's some interesting "experimental aquaculture," including a saltwater shrimp farm where you can buy straight from the pond. As it so happens, there's a low-salinity underground water source in this part of the state.

* Bessemer, once known as the "Marvel City" is nearly as old as Birmingham and remains among Birmingham's largest suburbs. Although Bessemer is poor, it is one of the most interesting and underrated parts of greater Birmingham. Just 35-40 miles or so east of Tuscaloosa proper, Bessemer is home to Alabama Adventures, Alabama's only amusement park, and Bright Star, the state's oldest continuously operating restaurant.

* Hoover, Birmingham's largest suburb, largely revolves around the Riverchase Galleria, the state's largest shopping center and home to the longest skylight in this hemisphere. Hoover is also home to the Birmingham Barons baseball team (main minor-league pro sports franchise in Greater B'ham area), and the new Ross Bridge Resort, the state's "championship" golf facility. Hoover is about 45-50 miles east of Tuscaloosa.

* Downtown Birmingham is about 55 miles east of Tuscaloosa. Birmingham is easily the largest metro area in the state. A lot of Birmingham's charm lies in its industrial heritage, a heritage linked to points west.

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http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/lofivers...php/t23163.html

here in Shreveport,Bossier City we have tons to do :)

Dang, you beat me to it! (good job!) :thumbsup:

But to expand upon this a bit, let me add to the Shreveport-Bossier attractions:

* The biggest tourism draw here: casino gambling. Two of our casinos have hotels over 20 stories tall, and five of the casinos are within 1 mile of one another along the Red River. The sixth casino is about 10-15 miles away off I-20 and combines a real casino with horse racing.

* Independence Bowl. Every year, two teams bring their school spirit and thousands of fans to watch one of college football's final games of the year.

* Municipal Auditorium. Once home to radio's Louisiana Hayride... Elvis Presley got his start on the stage at the Municipal after the Grand Ole Opry told him to go back to driving a truck!! Elvis tour groups from numerous states, as well as foreign countries, have come to visit the Municipal over the last few years.

* The Gardens of the American Rose Center. This facility is home to the nation's largest rose garden and park as well as being the national headquarters for the American Rose Society. At Christmas time every year, the park is adorned with Christmas lights for visitors to stroll through. It's quite a sight to see.

* Louisiana Boardwalk. More of a regional destination than a national one, the Boardwalk draws in thousands of people for its collection of outlet stores, big-name retailers, entertainment offerings, and big-name restaurants.

* Sci-Port Discovery Center. Another regional destination, this hands-on science museum includes interactive educational displays as well as an IMAX theater. Opening this year at Sci-Port is a space center, complete with the world's first interactive laser planetarium. The new space center is sure to make Sci-Port an even bigger draw.

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Hot Springs looks fascinating.

It is actually QUITE fascinating! For being a town of only some 30,000+ residents, that city has an amazing history. Hot Springs National Park, located in downtown Hot Springs, was actually the United States' first national park.

I will be in Hot Springs in late May, as I am almost every year at that time. I love that town. :D

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