Huntsville Guidebook
Our Favorite Restaurants
These are based on the types of foods we like, but there are so many restaurants WE haven't even tried!
This is our favorite restaurant! You can drive (takes 3 minutes) or walk to it if you want the exercise! The food is delicious with many affordable menu items and the margaritas are fabulous! Very inviting atmosphere. This is a local favorite in Huntsville and often crowded during lunch and weekends. Service is fast!
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Rosie's Mexican Cantina
7540-A Memorial Pkwy SWThis is our favorite restaurant! You can drive (takes 3 minutes) or walk to it if you want the exercise! The food is delicious with many affordable menu items and the margaritas are fabulous! Very inviting atmosphere. This is a local favorite in Huntsville and often crowded during lunch and weekends. Service is fast!
Enjoy local bands/artists, trivia, and delicious drinks. Very friendly staff.
El Vaquero Mexican Restaurant
10020 Memorial Parkway SouthwestEnjoy local bands/artists, trivia, and delicious drinks. Very friendly staff.
I Love Sushi Jones Valley - Japanese Cuisine
2000 Cecil Ashburn Drive SoutheastYummy sushi and nice atmosphere.
MELT
201 Jefferson St NFun place to go downtown and great food.
Taco Mama - Jones Valley
2750 Carl T Jones Drive SoutheastGreat place for lunch or dinner, but we prefer going for lunch.
CHOPCHOP Fresh Salads
6125 University Dr NWI love salads, and this place has good ones stuffed into bowls.
Metro Diner
975 Airport Rd SWGreat breakfast, lunch, or dinner with many southern favorites on the menu!
City/Town Things To Do
Places listed here are must sees and most popular among locals and first time visitors.
Huntsville has so much to offer! Not only is it considered the Rocket City, it has soared on the US News and World Report's list of best places to live, and been A-listed by the New York Times as a must-travel to destination.
So what's so great about Rocket City? Huntsville Folk are smart! Huntsville remains an aerospatial/technology hub, employing one of the highest concentrations of scientists and engineers in the country. Bright people have diverse interests and Huntsville residents ensure that there is so much to do here.
Huntsville is home to Alabama’s top tourist attraction, the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. This Smithsonian-sized and affiliated complex houses one of the world’s largest collections of rockets and space memorabilia. Experience the immensity of the projects when walking under the full-stack Space Shuttle and the suspended Saturn V moon rocket (if not prone, it would be 36-storeys high). Visit a mock-up space station and learn how astronauts live in space. Try out simulators — the G-Force accelerator or the moon shot (go 140 feet up in the air in 2.5 seconds).
Find great beer! A number of Huntsville's science/engineering folk brew beer and are behind the Free the Hops campaign that lifted Alabama's beer alcohol limit from 6% to 13.9% - legitimizing the craft-brewery scene. Downtown Huntsville, Inc. has created beer trails so tourists can experience some of the results. Grab your trail card at the Huntsville/Madison County Visitor Center (a great place also for discounts on attractions). Walk the trail, use Zagster, join Bikes and Brews, or use Uber/Lyft.
Huntsville repurposes it old buildings: You'll love Campus No.805, a series of bars and restaurants in a disused junior high school. A playground for adults, it feels so naughty drinking in classrooms. Enjoy the speakeasy at Straight to Ale Brewing, where the secret entry is hidden behing lockers. There's also coffee, great food, and activities from Axe throwing to ballroom dancing. In summer, enjoy free concerts hosted on campus.
The Stovehouse is a new leisure precinct in an old stove factory with restaurants, a cocktail bar, and boutique shops. Enjoy living room, vinyl evenings, live bands, and seating around outdoor firepits.
A.M. Booth's Lumberyard (circa 1895) retains much of the original rough-sawn lumber and is on the railway tracks. It offers meals, live entertainment, and socializing nooks that include old rail cars.
The heritage-listed 1922 Lombardo Building is a stop on Huntsville's Antiques Trail. Repurposed as Railroad Station, you'll find three stories of curiosities to mill over.
Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment (open Wednesday through Saturday) is the nation's largest privately owned art studio. The old textile mill is home to 148 working studios that tourists are welcome to come visit. Enjoy six galleries, restaurants, performance venurs, workshops, and classes. Culinary artists are represented by Piper and Leaf's artisan tea blends and chocolates from Pizelle's Confections. Irons ONE Distillery offers whiskey tastings and tours.
Arts and Science Intersect in Huntsville with cultural mindedness: Enjoy a concert by the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra (the longest continuously operating professional orchestra in Alabama) or attend a Broadway Theatre League or Huntsville Ballet Company performance at the Von Braun Center. Visit the Huntsville Museum of Art with it's impressive collection of American art and yearly exhibitions by the Huntsville Photographic Society, whose members' interests include aerial and astro-photography.
Discover Huntsville's public artworks on a Secret Art Walk. There's a koi fish mural at the corner of Spring and Spragins streets. Stand at the point marked RB and see it in 3-D. This is the kind of smart art you'll find in Huntsville that encourages people to stop, think, and engage.
Huntsville's forward thinking preserves it's past: Visit Harrison Brothers Hardware - Alabama''s oldest operating hardware store. With old counters and Reggie the original cash register, it's a unique shopping experience. These days, nails and spades have been replaced with top-quality American made toys and souvenirs.
For and English experience, book an afternoon tea at The Poppy, an English-style pub with tiered stands, scones, and cucumber sandwiches.
During the Civil War, while Union Soldiers captured Huntsville's Depot, the town's historic homes were spared, which is why Rocket City features the South's largest concentration of antebellum homes. The Twickenham Historic District is walkable from downtown. Download a tour map or take a free walking tour in the spring or fall. The pillared mansions are straight from Gone with the Wind. Homes date from 1819 and many have rambling gardens. The Weeden House Museum was home to Maria Howard Weeden (born 1846), known for her watercolors of former slaves. The dignity and realism of her portraits still move onlookers today.
At Alabama Constitution Hall Park, step back to 1819, when delegates gathered in the cabinetmaker's workshop to agree on Alabama's state constitution. The complex has many historic buildings, and you can watch craftsman.
Huntsville Has A Stellar Food Scene:
This is the Deep South, so open wide! At G’s Kitchen, feast on Southern fried chicken, catfish, fried green tomatoes, black-eyed peas, cornbread, collard greens, and Huntsville’s best meatloaf. Or head to Blue Plate Cafe for breakfasts of bacon, eggs, cheesy grits, and biscuits and gravy.
Huntsville’s German legacy lives on in its cuisine, too. Ol Heidelberg, a Huntsville haunt since 1972, serves sausage platters, stroganoff, and a dozen varieties of schnitzels. Head to Hildegard’s, where happy hours mean cheap drinks — and also German potato pancakes with sour cream, and pretzels with house-made beer cheese.
On Thursday evenings April through October, the U.S. Space and Rocket Center holds a Biergarten featuring German cuisine. The Nook, a much-loved local bar, runs Tuesday German food nights. At Yellowhammer Brewing, learn about German brewing traditions. Of course, Oktoberfest in Huntsville is celebrated with gusto.
For high-end dining, head to Cotton Row for American cuisine with a Southern twist (think cornmeal-crusted oyster salad). Chef Boyce’s pedigree includes top restaurants in New York, California, and Las Vegas, and his cookery demonstrations are a great way to eat out and learn how a master creates delicious cuisine.
Wine merchants Stephanie and Matt Mell own Purveyor Huntsville, where you can enjoy fine wine, bourbon (over 50 selections), and handcrafted cocktails, plus an innovative menu with dishes such as duck meatballs topped with black truffle pate shavings or guacamole laced with a slug of bourbon. You can also head to Domaine South for exceptional wine and cheese pairings.
Nature Walks Abound In Huntsville
Wander through Big Spring International Park with its 60 cherry trees and red friendship bridge (gifts from Japan). Huntsville Museum of Art is at the park’s edge. Visit the terrace for a casual meal at Pane Vino Pizzeria (another Boyce restaurant). Here you’ll be treated to glorious views, and in winter you can watch — or participate in — outdoor ice skating.
Explore Huntsville Botanical Garden, with its 112 acres of lush greenery, Japanese reflection pools, America’s largest seasonal open-air butterfly house, and a grandiose Southern mansion-style guest center. At Christmas time, enjoy the Galaxy of Lights — 1.8 miles of 200 animated displays to walk or drive.
Visit Burritt on the Mountain, a historic mansion, and other buildings in a park setting showing how people lived in the 19th and 20th centuries. With dramatic views back over Huntsville, mull over just how far the city has come as you walk on the wooded trails of this 167-acre park that, like the town, is filled with history.
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Huntsville
Huntsville has so much to offer! Not only is it considered the Rocket City, it has soared on the US News and World Report's list of best places to live, and been A-listed by the New York Times as a must-travel to destination.
So what's so great about Rocket City? Huntsville Folk are smart! Huntsville remains an aerospatial/technology hub, employing one of the highest concentrations of scientists and engineers in the country. Bright people have diverse interests and Huntsville residents ensure that there is so much to do here.
Huntsville is home to Alabama’s top tourist attraction, the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. This Smithsonian-sized and affiliated complex houses one of the world’s largest collections of rockets and space memorabilia. Experience the immensity of the projects when walking under the full-stack Space Shuttle and the suspended Saturn V moon rocket (if not prone, it would be 36-storeys high). Visit a mock-up space station and learn how astronauts live in space. Try out simulators — the G-Force accelerator or the moon shot (go 140 feet up in the air in 2.5 seconds).
Find great beer! A number of Huntsville's science/engineering folk brew beer and are behind the Free the Hops campaign that lifted Alabama's beer alcohol limit from 6% to 13.9% - legitimizing the craft-brewery scene. Downtown Huntsville, Inc. has created beer trails so tourists can experience some of the results. Grab your trail card at the Huntsville/Madison County Visitor Center (a great place also for discounts on attractions). Walk the trail, use Zagster, join Bikes and Brews, or use Uber/Lyft.
Huntsville repurposes it old buildings: You'll love Campus No.805, a series of bars and restaurants in a disused junior high school. A playground for adults, it feels so naughty drinking in classrooms. Enjoy the speakeasy at Straight to Ale Brewing, where the secret entry is hidden behing lockers. There's also coffee, great food, and activities from Axe throwing to ballroom dancing. In summer, enjoy free concerts hosted on campus.
The Stovehouse is a new leisure precinct in an old stove factory with restaurants, a cocktail bar, and boutique shops. Enjoy living room, vinyl evenings, live bands, and seating around outdoor firepits.
A.M. Booth's Lumberyard (circa 1895) retains much of the original rough-sawn lumber and is on the railway tracks. It offers meals, live entertainment, and socializing nooks that include old rail cars.
The heritage-listed 1922 Lombardo Building is a stop on Huntsville's Antiques Trail. Repurposed as Railroad Station, you'll find three stories of curiosities to mill over.
Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment (open Wednesday through Saturday) is the nation's largest privately owned art studio. The old textile mill is home to 148 working studios that tourists are welcome to come visit. Enjoy six galleries, restaurants, performance venurs, workshops, and classes. Culinary artists are represented by Piper and Leaf's artisan tea blends and chocolates from Pizelle's Confections. Irons ONE Distillery offers whiskey tastings and tours.
Arts and Science Intersect in Huntsville with cultural mindedness: Enjoy a concert by the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra (the longest continuously operating professional orchestra in Alabama) or attend a Broadway Theatre League or Huntsville Ballet Company performance at the Von Braun Center. Visit the Huntsville Museum of Art with it's impressive collection of American art and yearly exhibitions by the Huntsville Photographic Society, whose members' interests include aerial and astro-photography.
Discover Huntsville's public artworks on a Secret Art Walk. There's a koi fish mural at the corner of Spring and Spragins streets. Stand at the point marked RB and see it in 3-D. This is the kind of smart art you'll find in Huntsville that encourages people to stop, think, and engage.
Huntsville's forward thinking preserves it's past: Visit Harrison Brothers Hardware - Alabama''s oldest operating hardware store. With old counters and Reggie the original cash register, it's a unique shopping experience. These days, nails and spades have been replaced with top-quality American made toys and souvenirs.
For and English experience, book an afternoon tea at The Poppy, an English-style pub with tiered stands, scones, and cucumber sandwiches.
During the Civil War, while Union Soldiers captured Huntsville's Depot, the town's historic homes were spared, which is why Rocket City features the South's largest concentration of antebellum homes. The Twickenham Historic District is walkable from downtown. Download a tour map or take a free walking tour in the spring or fall. The pillared mansions are straight from Gone with the Wind. Homes date from 1819 and many have rambling gardens. The Weeden House Museum was home to Maria Howard Weeden (born 1846), known for her watercolors of former slaves. The dignity and realism of her portraits still move onlookers today.
At Alabama Constitution Hall Park, step back to 1819, when delegates gathered in the cabinetmaker's workshop to agree on Alabama's state constitution. The complex has many historic buildings, and you can watch craftsman.
Huntsville Has A Stellar Food Scene:
This is the Deep South, so open wide! At G’s Kitchen, feast on Southern fried chicken, catfish, fried green tomatoes, black-eyed peas, cornbread, collard greens, and Huntsville’s best meatloaf. Or head to Blue Plate Cafe for breakfasts of bacon, eggs, cheesy grits, and biscuits and gravy.
Huntsville’s German legacy lives on in its cuisine, too. Ol Heidelberg, a Huntsville haunt since 1972, serves sausage platters, stroganoff, and a dozen varieties of schnitzels. Head to Hildegard’s, where happy hours mean cheap drinks — and also German potato pancakes with sour cream, and pretzels with house-made beer cheese.
On Thursday evenings April through October, the U.S. Space and Rocket Center holds a Biergarten featuring German cuisine. The Nook, a much-loved local bar, runs Tuesday German food nights. At Yellowhammer Brewing, learn about German brewing traditions. Of course, Oktoberfest in Huntsville is celebrated with gusto.
For high-end dining, head to Cotton Row for American cuisine with a Southern twist (think cornmeal-crusted oyster salad). Chef Boyce’s pedigree includes top restaurants in New York, California, and Las Vegas, and his cookery demonstrations are a great way to eat out and learn how a master creates delicious cuisine.
Wine merchants Stephanie and Matt Mell own Purveyor Huntsville, where you can enjoy fine wine, bourbon (over 50 selections), and handcrafted cocktails, plus an innovative menu with dishes such as duck meatballs topped with black truffle pate shavings or guacamole laced with a slug of bourbon. You can also head to Domaine South for exceptional wine and cheese pairings.
Nature Walks Abound In Huntsville
Wander through Big Spring International Park with its 60 cherry trees and red friendship bridge (gifts from Japan). Huntsville Museum of Art is at the park’s edge. Visit the terrace for a casual meal at Pane Vino Pizzeria (another Boyce restaurant). Here you’ll be treated to glorious views, and in winter you can watch — or participate in — outdoor ice skating.
Explore Huntsville Botanical Garden, with its 112 acres of lush greenery, Japanese reflection pools, America’s largest seasonal open-air butterfly house, and a grandiose Southern mansion-style guest center. At Christmas time, enjoy the Galaxy of Lights — 1.8 miles of 200 animated displays to walk or drive.
Visit Burritt on the Mountain, a historic mansion, and other buildings in a park setting showing how people lived in the 19th and 20th centuries. With dramatic views back over Huntsville, mull over just how far the city has come as you walk on the wooded trails of this 167-acre park that, like the town, is filled with history.
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Ferðast með börnum
Monte Sano State Park Playground
The playground there is a must! There will be a small entry fee at the gate. Bring a picnic; there's a great pavilion and picnic tables up there.