Things to Do at Alabama State Capitol

Walk up the long green slope toward the Alabama State Capitol and you feel the weight of Montgomery's past pressing on your shoulders. The white dome glints against Alabama's hard blue sky, the air thick with cut grass and humidity. Inside, footsteps clack across cold marble while tour groups whisper beneath the soaring rotunda painted sky blue. Here, in 1861, delegates voted to secede; a century later, the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March ended on these steps. Still a working capitol, the place bustles with suits rushing past portraits of governors. Worth it.

The Alabama State Capitol sits at the top of a hill at the end of Dexter Avenue, which is the main downtown corridor. If you're staying at one of the hotels in central Montgomery, it's often a walkable distance, and you'll pass other landmarks along the way. Driving is straightforward, with metered street parking and a few paid lots nearby. The lots are a mid-range option compared to street parking, which is cheaper but can be hard to find during the day. The city's public bus system has stops a few blocks away, which is the most inexpensive way to go if you're coming from further out.