Alabama

Known by many for Repast, his celebrated (and sorely missed) Atlanta restaurant, Joe Truex is now executive chef at Pursell Farms, a 3,200-acre resort in Sylacauga, Alabama, featuring an inn, cottages, an 18-hole golf course, and three restaurants.

The smell of rib-eye steaks sizzling on an indoor grill brings Rob McDaniel right back to his grandmother’s house in Oneonta, Alabama. His vivid memories of her cooking inspired him to become a chef, and now his downtown Birmingham restaurant, named Helen in her honor, is garnering national accolades for its Southern-inspired cuisine.

Savvy Birmingham shoppers in search of the perfect gift head “over the mountain” to the cozy suburb of Homewood. Their destination? Eighteenth Street South, a wide, old-fashioned boulevard with an abundance of locally owned boutiques and restaurants.

Sky-high luxury quarters and a decidedly down-to-earth vibe—experience the best of both worlds on Alabama’s Gulf Coast.

You don't think inside the box. Why sleep in one? The South is full of unexpected accommodations, from a nineteenth-century castle to a Hobbit hut to the tree house of your dreams. Let us introduce you to sixteen offerings that are anything but ordinary.

The chef hosts his Black Belt Biscuit Making Experience in Reverie, the 1858 historic Greek Revival mansion in Marion, Alabama.

Set along a shallow stretch of the Tennessee River in the northwestern corner of Alabama, the communities of Florence, Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia are known collectively as the Shoals.

Check in at one of these full-service establishments, among the most storied in the Gulf, from the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi to the legendary Loews Don CeSar (aka: the Pink Palace).

While university spirit permeates this college town, there’s far more to Auburn than just academic and athletic pride.

When most people think of Tuscaloosa, they think of the Crimson Tide. But those who know this city well think of: fishermen reeling in bluegill on Lake Tuscaloosa; students jogging along the town’s Riverwalk; kids filling up on biscuits at Rama Jama’s across from Bryant-Denny Stadium.