Enjoyable & Fascinating Issues to Do in Cell, Alabama…
Cell is the 4th vacation spot we’ve got visited in Alabama to date, and the extra we discover this state the extra we take pleasure in it’s historical past, tradition and other people.
After spending time in Huntsville for a convention, exploring Montgomery and stress-free on the Gulf Shores and Orange Seaside we had been excited to see what town of Cell needed to supply.
I’ve all the time preferred port cities, and curiously again within the 1800s Cell was often called the Paris of the South when Cell was the 10th wealthiest metropolis in the USA, because of the port and the cotton commerce.
As we speak Cell is the twelfth busiest port within the nation and stated to be the hub of your complete Gulf Coast.
The place is Cell, Alabama?
Town of Cell is conveniently situated simply two hours east of New Orleans and one hour north of the gorgeous Gulf Shores and Orange Seaside.
It’s simply accessible east/west on Interstate 10 and north/south on Interstate 65.
We arrived on the town after a couple of stress-free days on the Gulf Shores and Orange Seaside and shortly found that Cell additionally provides a wonderful native foodie scene, plus attention-grabbing historical past, tradition and humanities.
There’s all kinds of actions for households and other people of all ages, and Cell’s colourful downtown is flourishing!
And do you know that Cell is residence to America’s Authentic Mardi Gras? And every year it hosts the oldest organized Carnival celebration in the USA?
That’s purpose sufficient to go to!
We’ve achieved Mardi Gras in New Orleans with children, which was wonderful, now we’d like to expertise the family-friendly Mardi Gras in Cell.
While we solely had two days to discover, we acquired an excellent style of what this metropolis is about and would love to come back again and soak up a few of it’s dwell music, dwell theater, and eat our means across the metropolis.
Under is what we acquired as much as.
Issues to do in Cell Al
Discover Dauphin Avenue & Bienville Sq.
Our first introduction to Cell was Dauphin Avenue.
We drove in from Gulf Shores, discovered a carpark on Dauphin Avenue, grabbed some lunch at Fountain of Youth – FOY (extra on this place later) then explored the road.
Throughout the street from FOY is Bienville Squarea, a historic metropolis park within the middle of downtown Cell. It takes up your complete block bordered by the streets of Dauphin, Saint Joseph, Saint Francis, and North Conception.
There’s a pleasant fountain and a few benches to sit down on to folks watch or watch the squirrels operating all over the place.
Alongside Dauphin Avenue you discover quite a few eating places, cafes, bars, pubs and shops – we didn’t enterprise out late with children, however you possibly can inform that is the place all of it occurs in downtown.
We additionally loved the structure and vibrant colours. Can be nice to be right here throughout Mardi Gras!
Discover the usALABAMA Battleship
Cell performs residence to the usAlabama Battleship and you may journey into America’s army previous at one of many prime South Alabama sights.
Courting again to 1940, the usAlabama (“Mighty A”) started her World Conflict II adventures within the North Atlantic in 1943, then later that yr, went to the South Pacific seas.
She ended up in Cell, Alabama as a Nationwide Historic Landmark and memorial to thousands and thousands. The Alabama performed a key position in a number of battles and is one BIG ship.
You are able to do a self-guided tour of the Alabama following a coded map. It was the primary time on a battleship for us, and it was so attention-grabbing to see all of the working elements that make up a conflict ship.
And our actually children loved exploring all of the completely different nooks and cranny’s of the ship – what a distinct playground it was for them!
Sitting beside her in Cell Bay is the Nationwide Historic Landmark WWII submarine USS DRUM (SS-228). The DRUM is the oldest American submarine on public show.
It’s also possible to tour the Plane Pavilion, Tanks & Artillery, and Park Memorials.
Enjoyable Information:
- USS ALABAMA earned 9 battlestars
- Nicknamed the “Mighty A”
- The ship was used within the movie USS Indianapolis: Males of Braveness starring Nicolas Cage.
Battleship Memorial Park is open on daily basis besides Christmas Day.
You should buy tickets upfront by way of Viator
Gulf Coast Geese
On the lookout for enjoyable issues to do in Cell Al? Our youngsters and us all the time love happening these duck excursions that are a mix of sightseeing on land and water.
They’re a enjoyable and informative approach to find out about a vacation spot with passionate tour guides and the youngsters simply love the novelty of splashing into the bay.
On this tour with Gulf Coast Geese you’ll hear tales about all issues Cell together with the usALABAMA, Battleship Memorial Park, Cell Bay, the Port of Cell, and town of Cell.
And, in case your duck will get held up getting into the bay by a items practice, like ours did, you’ll get to see historic elements of town not usually on the tour!
Oakleigh Backyard Historic District
Seven Nationwide Register Historic Districts make up what is named downtown and midtown Cell.
There’s Church Avenue, Decrease Dauphin (LODA), Previous Dauphin Means, Leinkauf, Ashland Place, De Tonti Sq., and naturally Oakleigh Backyard Historic District.
We love driving and strolling round Historic Districts, we’ve got one right here in Raleigh, and beloved exploring the Backyard District in New Orleans.
Cell’s Oakleigh Backyard Historic District was definitely spectacular and we spent an hour or so cruising round trying out all the gorgeous and enormous historic southern properties.
The Richards DAR Home Museum
We first stumbled on the Richards DAR Home (Daughters of the American Revolution Home Museum) throughout our diverted duck tour. It sounded and regarded fascinating, so we returned on our personal for a tour. It’s imply to be haunted so we had been hoping to make some new buddies.
As you possibly can see from the surface, its hanging cast-iron facade is from the Italianate model and this lovely townhouse tells the story of Cell throughout its antebellum interval.
The home was in-built 1860 by Captain Charles Richards, a steamboat captain, and remained of their household till 1946.
The Ideally suited Cement Firm bought the home from Richards’ descendants in 1946. After being turned over to town of Cell in 1973, it was leased to the DAR for operation as a museum.
It’s stated to be haunted, and little Savannah was hesitant to enter at first, however we didn’t see or hear something, lol.
Carnival Museum
After experiencing Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans just some weeks earlier than visiting Cell, our Carnival spirit was nonetheless on a excessive.
Even when you can’t go to Cell or New Orleans throughout Mardi Gras, the Cell Carnival Museum is open all yr and is completely devoted to Mardi Gras
It opened in 2005 and is barely $5 for adults and $2 for teenagers.
The museum provides 14 gallery rooms, a pictorial hallway, theater, den (social gathering space) and present store. As well as, the house is registered as a historic constructing.
We immersed ourselves extra into the wealthy historical past and traditions of carnival, and searching on the the intricate designs and artistry of majestic crowns and robes of Mardi Gras monarchs.
And our youngsters loved dressing up and pretending they had been on a Mardi Gras float.
Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Heart
Right here’s a spot our youngsters had an opportunity to get inventive, curious and play for a couple of hours.
Contemplating we presently homeschool our youngsters, any probability we get for interactive and fingers on studying we leap at it.
The Gulf Coast Exploreum has been voted one of many prime Alabama sights and is a enjoyable place for households.
It gives fingers on instructional alternatives in a enjoyable studying surroundings with everlasting and particular reveals, and an IMAX.
Plus there’s an onsite cafe and distinctive present store.
Eat & Drink
Breakfast and Beignets at Panini Petes!
Our youngsters fell in love with beignets in New Orleans, in order that they had been tremendous excited to begin one in all our days in Cell with beignets at Panini Petes Cafe & Market on Dauphin Avenue.
Our youngsters rank the beignets right here second solely to those we ate at Cafe Du Monde in NOLA, so seize your self a couple of scorching beignets.
However Panini Petes provides extra, and was not too long ago named one of the best sandwich store in Alabama serving up inventive sandwiches, Angus beef burgers, scorching canines, hand-cut fries and extra!
Dinner at Wintzell’s Oyster Home
Consuming oysters appears to be a kind of issues to do in Alabama, and being from Australia and rising up surrounded by recent seafood, we love that!
We had our first style of the well-known Wintzell’s Oyster Home in Montgomery and loved one other night time in Cell eating at Wintzell’s, a historic landmark on Dauphin Avenue in downtown Cell.
It’s one of the vital fashionable locations to eat in Cell they usually’re identified for his or her “Oysters-fried, stewed or nude”.
The inside decor is cool with a number of witty sayings, and even when you don’t like oysters particularly, there’s a variety of different seafood choices, even steaks and pasta.
Felix Fish Camp
One other prime seafood joint in Cell is Felix Fish Camp Restaurant which serves up scrumptious, recent, Gulf seafood and USDA licensed steaks.
They serve up a few of Cell’s traditional recipes, together with their well-known Gumbo, and don’t miss their crab claws.
Not solely is the meals scrumptious and recent, however the location is spectacular too.
Sadly we arrived after sundown so couldn’t take within the lovely views of being located on one of the vital scenic elements of Cell Bay, so possibly guide your dinner for sundown, and even soak up a lunchtime view!
One other delight is the service – tremendous pleasant and impeccable. I do know, it’s what we’ve come to anticipate within the South however they took it to a different stage.
Loda Bier Garten
This place appeared like an actual locals favourite throughout our lunch time go to.
Taking over prime place within the coronary heart of Dauphin Avenue, Loda Bier Garten has a large faucet assortment (over 100 completely different beers) and enormous display TV’s for watching sports activities, and are well-known for his or her burgers – that’s my kinda place proper there!
We sat outdoors and loved our wings, scorching canines, hen salad, and sure I can verify the burgers are GOOD!
Fountain of Youth FOY
Being gluten free and embracing wholesome residing, we search out wholesome and nutritious locations to eat wherever we journey and had been pleased to encounter Fountain of Youth (FOY).
Additionally positioned on Dauphin Avenue, FOY calls themselves Cell’s first fresh-pressed juicery and superfood bar and we loved their choices a lot we went again twice in in the future!
On the menu is vitality bowls, wholesome smoothies, wellness pictures, tremendous tacos and naturally recent pressed juices. The winner for me was their Energy Paleo Pancakes!
Different locations to eat in Cell urged by others that we didn’t get too:
- Moe’s BBQ – Apparently the BEST BBQ you’ll ever style!
- OK Bicycle Store – presumably probably the most attention-grabbing Mexican restaurant you’ll ever go to!
- MoonPie Basic Retailer – Meals, ice cream and naturally, a basic retailer!
- Callagahan’s Irish Social Membership – Recognized for his or her burgers!
- Dumbwaiter Restaurant – Southern classics with a contemporary twist!
On the lookout for espresso in Cell?
Oh, and when you’re in search of good espresso our go too place was Serdas Espresso Firm.
The place to Keep in Cell
We stayed in the center of downtown Cell on the Renaissance Cell Riverview Plaza Resort which is at 64 South Water Avenue.
This lodge is trendy and stylish with out being too excessive for us and our youngsters and we had a beautiful sundown view from our room.
It was proper close to the beginning of Dauphin Avenue and a straightforward stroll to all of the spots talked about above, together with a brief 5 minute stroll to Bienville Sq., Serdas Espresso is a 2 minute stroll away, the Exploreum Science Heart is throughout the road and the Duck Excursions is a stroll away.
Moreover strolling all over the place, we may simply drive to the opposite Alabama sights, together with a 5 minute drive to the usAlabama.
And when you’re on the town for a conference, there’s a direct connection to Cell Conference Heart through a skybridge.
It got here with all our requirements together with complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi, 24 hour health middle and pool.
Planning a Journey to Cell
Reserving.com (affiliate accomplice) has over 40 properties in Cell. You get free cancellation on most rooms and a greatest worth assure.
Flights to Cell
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Automotive Rental in Cell
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