Where should I go in Alabama?
Do you have any idea of good places to visit in Alabama? I'm going there later in the year.
Temi, via email
Simon Calder
Oh yes, what a great state this is, probably the cheapest in the United States.
It’s not that easy to get to, with no direct routes, so you’d probably have to fly into Atlanta and then drive down to Birmingham, Alabama. You can follow the Civil Rights’ Trail, where there is a lovely museum. You can drive down to the coast, where you will get some lovely beaches.
But the one place you really want to go to is Scottsboro, Alabama, because that is the home of the Unclaimed Baggage Centre, an extraordinary place. Every time a suitcase gets misplaced in the USA and has no way of identifying it, they get sent to Scottsdale. Everything gets emptied out, the clothes are washed and then hung out. So you have an amazing department store, with designer clothes, electronics and jewellery where no two items are ever the same It’s the only shopping experience I have ever enjoyed.