Things to do in Tuscaloosa
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Tuscaloosa
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Fall football season brings home game Saturdays, Homecoming and the highest hotel prices of the year.
Peak festival month, with the Moundville and Kentuck festivals and Oktoberfest alongside football.
Spring is the best non-football season, with A-Day in April, mild weather and normal hotel prices.
Live at the Plaza concerts run on Fridays in May and June as summer heat builds.
Worst months for walking, with relentless heat and humidity, but the lakes and amphitheatre are at full stretch.
The quiet, cheap season after football, with walk-in restaurants, the lowest hotel rates and early dark.
What's on
- Alabama Football Home Games Home Saturdays, September to November
Seven or so home Saturdays that double or triple hotel prices and fill every downtown restaurant.
- Moundville Native American Festival Early October, Thursday to Saturday
Indigenous artists, dancers and demonstrators fill Moundville Archaeological Park for its 38th festival.
- Kentuck Festival of the Arts Usually the third weekend of October
More than 270 folk and contemporary artists at Snow Hinton Park, the 55th Kentuck Festival.
- Tuscaloosa Oktoberfest Early October
A newer downtown festival in Government Plaza at the start of the fall festival run.
- University of Alabama Homecoming Usually a week in October; dates follow the football schedule
A week of homecoming events that makes its game weekend one of the hardest and priciest to book.
- Druid City Arts Festival A weekend in April each year
A free two-day festival with more than 80 artists and live music in Government Plaza downtown.
- A-Day April
The spring football scrimmage brings a festive but manageable campus weekend in April.
- Live at the Plaza Fridays in May and June
Free Friday evening concerts in Government Plaza through May and June.
Best things to do in Tuscaloosa
Bryant-Denny Stadium
A 101,821 seat stadium where the Quad tailgate and Walk of Champions make game day a full city festival.
Paul W. Bryant Museum
A small, cheap museum that makes Alabama football culture legible through trophies, film and Bear Bryant's office.
Denny Chimes
The 115 foot bell tower anchoring the Quad, with captains' handprints and footprints set in concrete around its base.
President's Mansion
An 1839 mansion that survived the 1865 burning of the university, best seen as part of a free Quad campus walk.
Gorgas House
Built in 1829 and among the oldest buildings in the state, a quiet walk-past stop on the historic Quad circuit.
Tuscaloosa Riverwalk
A flat, lit 4.5 mile river trail locals use most, best at sunrise or in the last hour of light.
Park at Manderson Landing
The green, playground and splash pad end of the Riverwalk near the university, made for an unhurried hour.
Mercedes-Benz Amphitheater
An 8,000 seat open air riverfront venue whose country and rock nights are the top non-football reason to time a trip.
Where to stay in Tuscaloosa
Downtown and Riverfront
best all-round base
Walk to the restaurant row, theatre, Riverwalk and amphitheatre, with campus five minutes away.
Campus
game day and campus visits
Walk to Bryant-Denny Stadium, the Quad and the Bryant Museum and ignore game day parking.
Historic Northport
quietest, most local stay
Small town Main Avenue calm with City Cafe, barbecue and Kentuck nearby, but thin lodging and a drive to campus.
McFarland Boulevard and Midtown
value and road trips
Chain hotels with free parking and pools at lower rates, in a car-dependent corridor with nothing to stroll.
Think twice about
- Outer McFarland Boulevard and Skyland Boulevard motel rows
Variable upkeep, highway surroundings and nothing walkable after dark, so a cheap rate buys a stranded stay.
- The Strip as a sleep base
Student bars stay loud and very drunk late on game nights, so sleep downtown and walk in instead.
Best restaurants in Tuscaloosa
Chuck's Fish
Downtown's flagship for Gulf fish and sushi, the date night splurge ending in white chocolate bread pudding.
Evangeline's
A quiet, locally owned farm-to-table room for shrimp and grits and filet, the calm fine dining alternative.
Five Bar
A scratch menu built in fives in a hip bar-led room, the group dinner compromise that feels like a choice.
DePalma's Italian Cafe
Downtown's Italian institution for hand-tossed pizza and house pasta, an alumni homecoming ritual worth the wait.
Avenue Pub - Tuscaloosa
Downtown's best gastropub for a bacon burger, standout fish and chips, brunch and local beer in one room.
Half Shell Oyster House
A New Orleans-leaning room for charbroiled Gulf oysters and seafood, livelier and cheaper than the flagship.
Dreamland Bar-B-Que
The famous hickory rib name with Brunswick stew and banana pudding at family-friendly prices.
Archibald's BBQ
A family pit since 1962 serving hickory ribs over white bread with tangy vinegar sauce, the purist's barbecue.
Best bars in Tuscaloosa
Druid City Brewing Company Taproom & Ell's Kitchen
A music-led brewery taproom with house beers, pub food and vinyl, the grown-up alternative to The Strip.
Black Warrior Brewing Company
Downtown's walkable brewery taproom for house beers, trivia, comedy and art events opposite City Hall.
Best coffee in Tuscaloosa
Monarch Espresso Bar
A calm, brick-lined specialty coffee shop with study tables and a bourbon pecan cortado, built for slow mornings.
Outdoor things to do in Tuscaloosa
Ol' Colony Golf Complex
A Jerry Pate designed municipal course and home to Alabama's golf teams, a real test at public golf money.
NorthRiver Yacht Club
A private lakeside club whose peninsula 17th is the splurge round, reachable only by member invitation or an outing.
Lake Lurleen State Park
A 250 acre lake with 23 miles of trails, a swimming beach and waterfront camping, the best full outdoors day here.
Moundville Archaeological Park
Twenty-nine Mississippian mounds around a great plaza, once a major city, best given three hours and a museum visit.
Hurricane Creek Park
A boulder gorge on the last free-flowing Appalachian-type stream here, wilder and quieter than the Riverwalk.
Lake Nicol
The locals' smaller, calmer lake for beginner paddling, picnics and birding, with rentals on weekends in season.
Lake Tuscaloosa
Nine square miles of boating and year-round fishing among pine hills, best shared as a rental or hosted outing.
The University of Alabama Arboretum
Sixty free acres of native forest trails, fields and gardens where local families and birders walk their dogs.
Best hotels in Tuscaloosa
The Alamite, Tuscaloosa, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel
Downtown's luxury boutique hotel with a serious restaurant and the Roll Call rooftop, for when the hotel is the evening.
Hotel Indigo Tuscaloosa Downtown
A riverfront boutique by the Riverwalk and amphitheatre with river views and the Lookout rooftop bar.
Embassy Suites by Hilton Tuscaloosa Alabama Downtown
All-suite downtown rooms with made-to-order breakfast and an indoor pool, the practical pick for groups and families.
Homewood Suites by Hilton Tuscaloosa Downtown
Extended-stay suites with kitchens by the amphitheatre and Riverwalk, best for longer stays and self-catering.
Comfort Inn & Suites Downtown near University
A well-reviewed budget chain on Jack Warner Parkway that keeps a central, walkable base at a cheap rate.
Hotel Capstone
The on-campus hotel beside the Bryant Museum, the most convenient bed in town for a game or campus visit.
Bama Bed and Breakfast
A historic house bed and breakfast near campus with porches, gardens and a cooked breakfast full of character.
La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Tuscaloosa University
The value chain pick on McFarland Boulevard with a pool and free parking, a drive to everything at the lowest price.
Is Tuscaloosa expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $85 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $145 a person |
| Splurge | $320 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Bryant-Denny Stadium: weeks ahead
- Mercedes-Benz Amphitheater: weeks ahead
- Ol' Colony Golf Complex: a few days ahead
- The Alamite, Tuscaloosa, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel: weeks ahead
- Hotel Capstone: weeks ahead
- Chuck's Fish: a few days ahead
- Evangeline's: a few days ahead
- Book game weekend hotels first, then Friday and Saturday dinners, months ahead for big opponents and Homecoming.
- Expect two-night minimums and prepayment on game weekends and confirm small property bookings in writing.
- Book amphitheatre tickets before the room, and Lake Lurleen campsites and Ol Colony tee times ahead in season.
- Check campus museum sites on the morning of a game weekend visit, as they can close or change hours.
Is Tuscaloosa safe?
- Walk back on University Boulevard or Greensboro Avenue late on game nights rather than quiet side streets.
- Carry water and start early outdoors in summer, and respect storms and creek conditions after rain.
- Do not cliff jump at Lake Nicol, and keep valuables out of sight in trailhead and stadium car parks.
Tuscaloosa travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Treating The Strip as a destination rather than a walk-through on the way to the stadium.
- Queuing at famous Dreamland while local favourite Archibald's sits across the river.
- Paying game weekend hotel prices by accident for a non-football trip, so check the home schedule first.
- Counting a stadium photo stop alone as a visit, without the Quad, the Bryant Museum and Rama Jama's.
Getting around Tuscaloosa: public transport and more
- Downtown, the Riverwalk, Northport Main Avenue and the Quad each walk well, and driving between clusters takes about ten minutes.
- Fly into Birmingham-Shuttlesworth, about an hour away, for the widest flight choice.
- On game day walk or use shuttles, because rideshare surges as the stadium empties.
- Park in the free downtown Intermodal Facility deck, as campus game day parking is pre-sold and scarce.
Who Tuscaloosa suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Great |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Tuscaloosa your trip
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