Birmingham to Lexington coach

Birmingham may not be the capital of Alabama, but it does hold the crown as both the cultural and entertainment capital of the Cotton State. The second-most populous city, Birmingham was founded during the Reconstruction Period, which followed the American Civil War.

Quietly going about its business as an industrial powerhouse, producing much of America's iron and steel, Birmingham didn't enter the world's consciousness until the Civil Rights Movement one hundred years later. It’s one of the 8 iconic cities on our Martin Luther King, Jr. road trip, as it’s the city where Dr. King wrote his famous “Letter From a Birmingham Jail.” When visiting, be sure to stop at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute to learn more about the city’s civil rights history.

Today known as America's 'Magic City,' new life has been blown into downtown Birmingham in recent years. Its streets have been cleaned up, allowing the city's historical gems such as the Alabama Theater to shine once more both by day and by night.

The Birmingham Museum of Art contains the most extensive collection of artworks in the southeastern United States. It's connected to the nightlife districts of Five Points South, Lakeview, and Uptown by a series of charming tree-lined public squares. Close by Five Points South also lies Red Mountain's Vulcan Park, home to the world's largest cast-iron statue. It was made for the St. Louis World Fair of 1904.

Birmingham is an important regional hub linking the Deep South, the Appalachian Mountains, and Piedmont. Travelers can easily reach other noteworthy destinations in the U.S., including Dallas, Phoenix, and Montgomery, thanks to the hundreds of bus and train routes to and from Birmingham.

Located at the heart of Bluegrass Country, Lexington is sometimes called the horse capital of the world for its thoroughbred stud farms. The second-largest city in Kentucky, Lexington was named after the battle of the American Revolutionary War, and it was founded just a year before the Declaration of Independence was signed.

The presence of some of the nation's brightest minds at the University of Kentucky has helped foster a cultured air and led Lexington to take another nickname, the Athens of the West.

Downtown Lexington remains the place to see and be seen, hosting many of the city's top hotels and a handful of grassroots distilleries. You’ll be happy to know that Lexington is the city with the second cheapest pint of beer on average, so plan to hit up some breweries. Slightly east lies the Gratz Park district, home to several important buildings, including Hunt-Morgan House. A relatively modest red brick structure by today's Lexington standards, it was built by the first millionaire west of the Allegheny Mountains.

Travel to and from Lexington couldn't be simpler, thanks to no less than 180 different bus routes. There's certainly little difficulty reaching the state capital Frankfort, the rock 'n' roll sounds of Memphis, or the laid-back vibes of New Orleans.