Fort Worth to Birmingham train

Much more than an afterthought to nearby Dallas, Fort Worth is an exciting destination in its own right. Fort Worth is one of the largest cities in Texas and in the United States overall, because, as we all know, everything is bigger in Texas. With the motto "City of Cowboys and Culture," Fort Worth has activities, sights, and experiences to deliver on both of those fronts.

If you dressed as a cowboy for Halloween as a child (or last year), your first stop should be the Fort Worth Stockyards. Once a livestock market, the Stockyards are now a National Historic District characterized by restaurants, bars, Old-West themed shopping, and live music. Here you can see real Texas Longhorns on a cattle drive twice a day, or attend the Stockyards Championship Rodeo, held every weekend at the Cowtown Coliseum. Can you see why we named Fort Worth one of the best vacation destinations in Texas?

If you're more intrigued by Fort Worth's cultural offerings, you'll be wowed by the breadth of museums to visit. Admire the art at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth or the Kimbell Art Museum (whose architecture is a work of art in itself). Outdoor oases like the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and Fort Worth Water Gardens will bring a breath of fresh air - not to mention a chance to dip your feet in the water to cool off.

Luckily, there's no need to ride a horse into Cowtown. Bus service from several local and national carriers, as well as Amtrak train service, make it easy to get to Fort Worth from cities throughout the U.S. Plus, with proximity to one of the world's busiest airports, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, you can visit Fort Worth from nearly anywhere on the globe.

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.