Florence (Alabama)

Florence is a city in northwest Alabama near Mississippi and Tennessee.

Get in

By car

US Highway 72 which runs from East-West from Chattanooga to Memphis passes through Florence. Most major attractions, hotels,restaurants, etc are located on or near US 72 or Florence Blvd as its known within the City of Florence. US Highway 43 runs North-South from Nashville, TN to Mobile Alabama. It travels the same path as US 72 through Florence.

Florence lies about 48 miles west of Interstate 65 Exit 351 in Athens, Exits 340A-340B Decatur/Huntsville, Exit 310 at Cullman.

By plane

Near Florence, there are a few options for flying in and out. Delta Air Lines has service to Northwest Alabama Regional Airport. More flights can be found leaving from Huntsville, AL; Birmingham, AL; Nashville,TN; and Memphis, TN. Huntsville would be the shortest drive at just over one hour. The others are a little more than two hours drive.

• 🌍 Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL  ^IATA), 1729 T. Ed Campbell Drive, Suite A in Muscle Shoals, AL, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail].  
• Port of Huntsville (HSV ^IATA), 1000 Glenn Hearn Blvd, Huntsville, AL, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. 

Get around

See

Museums

• 🌍 Frank Lloyd Wright Rosenbaum House Museum, 601 Riverview Dr, ☎ [phone]. Tu-Sa 10AM-4PM, Su 1PM-4PM. A house built in 1939 and designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The house is open for tours, which last about 45 minutes. $8 adults, $5 seniors and students. (updated Nov 2016)
• 🌍 The Florence Indian Mound & Museum, 1028 S Court St, ☎ [phone]. Tu-Sa 10AM-4PM. The Tennessee Valley area's largest domiciliary mound. Features typical workmanship of the Indians who lived in this area before the Cherokees, Chickasaws, and Creeks. (updated Nov 2016)
• 🌍 The Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts, 217 E Tuscaloosa St, ☎ [phone]. M-F 9AM-4PM. Showcases artists from around the Southeast, and offers classes and workshops to people of all ages. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Free. (updated Nov 2016)
• 🌍 Pope's Tavern, 203 Hermitage Dr, ☎ [phone]. Tu-Sa 10AM-4PM. This building served as a hospital along the way of many Civil War soldiers from both the North and South. It also served time as a stagecoach stop, a tavern, and an inn. The museum houses Civil War artifacts as well as antiques from the 18th and 19th centuries. This remains one of Florence's oldest standing structures. (updated Nov 2016)
• Children's Museum of the Shoals. Contains exhibits displaying the history, people, and events that make up the Shoals' history. The museum is designed to promote learning in a hands-on environment. The museum offers educational workshops year-round for children of all ages. (updated Nov 2016)
• 🌍 The Forks of Cypress. This was a cotton plantation located in Florence. The remains can still be seen in the form of 24 Greek columns and the Jackson Family cemetery. (updated Nov 2016)

Other Sights

• 🌍 Wilson Dam. This 110x600 feet Dam is part of the TVA system. The maximum lift is 100 feet, it is the highest single lift lock east of the Rockies.  

Do

Festivals

• W.C. Handy Festival. Enjoy jazz and blues as Florence celebrates its native son. 
• Fishing near Wilson Dam (Small Mouth Bass Capital of the world). Enjoy the fishing at the "Small Mouth Bass Capital of the World" at Wilson Dam. This fisherman's favorite is a regular on popular fishing shows. 
• Hiking on Wilson Dam's network of hiking and walking paths. 
• Water Sports (Motor Boating; Water Skiing). 
• Florence Renaissance Faire, Wilson Park (Downtown Florence). fourth Saturday and Sunday in October. Held in Wilson Park this unusual event draws 30,000 – 40,000 people each year to its site in downtown Florence, Alabama. It is always held on the fourth Saturday and Sunday in October, taking advantage of the fall weather and foliage. Wilson Park hosts a variety of vendors, events, and demonstrations with a medevile theme. Free. 
• The Sam Phillips Music Celebration (started January 2005. It is an annual week long event that takes place the first week in January by celebrated with events that include the Sam Phillips Birthday Party), ☎ [phone]. 
• The George Lindsey/UNA Film Festival (is named in honor of Florence native, George Lindsey Lindsey is an actor who is most famous portrayal of Goober Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show. Lindsey is a UNA - known then as Florence State College - graduate.).  
• Arts Alive (began in 1986 and celebrates the art of Southern artist who gather to display their work in Wilson Park). 
• The Spirit of Freedom Celebration (showcases music, and fireworks to celebrate Independence Day on the banks of the Tennessee River). 
• Trail of Tears Commemorative Motorcycle Ride. Commemorates the final point at which area Cherokee Native Americans were shipped off to Oklahoma and the mid-west by the Indian Removal Act of 1830. 
• First Fridays in Florence (arts and music event that occurs every First Friday from April through December in Historic Downtown Florence.). 

Books

• Read The Store by T. S. Stribling. This is the 1933 Pulitzer Prize winner that many believe was inspired by Rogers Department Store which closed in 2001.

Sports

• NCAA Division II Championship Game (is held at Florence's Braly Stadium). 

Buy

• Florence Mall, 301 Cox Creek Parkway. Regional Mall consisting of 4 main Anchors, Sears, JC Penney, Dillards and Belks. Department Stores. Contains most mid price national chains and is the focal point for surrounding shopping centers and big box stores. 

Eat

• 360 Grille and Lounge (Renaissance Tower; Dam Tower), ☎ [phone]. Open for Dinner. Alabama's only revolving restaurant overlooks the city and Tennessee River. 

Drink

Sleep

• The Marriott Shoals Hotel & Spa (Marriott Hotel in Florence, Alabama), 800 Cox Creek Pkwy South, Florence, AL 35630, ☎ [phone]. The Marriott Shoals Hotel & Spa is set in the Tennessee River Valley, offers high-speed internet access, private balconies with stunning river views, two championship golf courses on The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, and a 6,000-square-foot European style spa. 

Connect

• Emergency Number. Call 911 
• Police (Main Line; General Information), ☎ [phone]. 
• Fire (General Information). 
• Animal Control, 02 East College Street Street, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. 

Go next

• Huntsville, famous for the U.S. Space and Rocket Center
• Tuscumbia, home to the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and a Moon Tree (a loblolly pine whose seed went around the moon)

Routes through Florence

Columbia ← Jct W E ←	N  S	→ Tuscumbia → Tuscaloosa
Corinth ← Tuscumbia ←	W  E	→ Athens → Huntsville
Becomes ← Jct S N ←	W  E	→ Tuscumbia → Decatur