This is a quaint glimpse of what Madison, Alabama was like until the population and growth…read moreexplosion that hit this particular area. Main Street is a quiet and definitely has that small town feel to it. Like I said, Madison, Alabama has exploded in growth and population and I would consider the area around the stadium to be the new main area of Madison. Still, this is a very cool place to check out and I would definitely recommend here and I give it five stars overall. If you find yourself anywhere in the area, I would definitely recommend checking this glimpse into the past out.

Main Street is a small block or two in old Madison. It was the commerce hub when Madison was…read moredeveloped in the 1850s around a stop of the Memphis & Charleston Railroad. Main Street is home to the Main Street Café (which is the former site of a local prison and features a jail cell you can dine in) and Old Black Bear Brewery, Madison (which also has an Athens, AL location). Other Main Street-area businesses currently are Holtz Leather (store front is Sullivan Street), Murphy Homes, and the Lanier House Tea Room and Private Venue. Main Street is surrounded by unique 1800s period architecture including homes on Church Street. The gazebo and surrounding historical markers on Main Street are worth a stop, albeit brief, to check out! I agree with yelper John M.'s review! And, honestly, one can drive right by Main Street Madison, AL without noticing it. Since the Town Madison development has come into play, the area around the Toyota Stadium now offers many entertainment, dining, and housing options and is considered "Madison" also. Of course, Town Madison does not have the old school charm and coziness of Main Street, Madison.

Big fan of Egg Beater Jesus. I came. I saw. I bought the t-shirt. Whisk you were here.read more

The oldest Baptist church in Alabama! There is a historical marker on the front right corner of the…read moresidewalk. You will definitely not miss this church, it's bright and colorful Jesus portrait is sure to draw your attention. Very neat steeple too that looks similar to a rocket.

The Madison Gazebo reminds me of a time before Madison, Alabama grew so much and Madison had a more…read morered small-town feel to it. It's by the Main Street area and I would definitely recommend checking this gazebo out.

This is one of my very favorite parks!! It's vast, clean/well taken care of, and just lovely. I…read morecould spend hours watching the ducks, and I LOVE feeding the fish :) Be sure and bring some quarters for fish food when you visit! It's really convenient having so many fun places to eat and shop within walking distance. Highly recommend this park (and the surrounding area)

The park is nice to walk around and sort of connects some of the downtown andajor hotels. The…read morewater was great to be alongside and stretched for a while. It's full of fish and ducks. People walking around were friendly and smiling. My only complaint was about the homeless guy under the tunnel. As he lay there not making much of an effort to do anything, he mustered up the energy to yell at everyone that walked by to tell them how miserable they are, that their wives hate them, etc. He was passed out when I returned, but if only he used that energy to do something productive...

Nice every Thursday 5 pm mingle venue til mid October..back by popular request?…read moreSome German and domestic beers and wine - 16$ meals were good . Rec skip the desserts. Had a live band for an hour

Having lived in Germany for 11 years I am always looking for good German food ambience. Biergarten…read moremeet both for me. Excellent food and service! I highly recommend you give them a try, even if you've never had German food or Beer.

Thank you, John Hunt, for being the historic pioneer who, in 1805, built a cabin in Big Spring Park…read morewhere he and his family resided, and Mr. Hunt is considered the founding father of this fair city! Mr. Hunt was a Revolutionary War veteran, and you guess it - Huntsville was named for him! It's known as the "Rocket City" and its motto is "Star of Alabama." In 1811, Huntsville became the first incorporated town in what is now Alabama. I was conceived and born here. Mom birthed me at Huntsville Hospital. Crestwood Hospital would have been around at that time at its former location off Jordan Lane north of Bob Wallace across from the former Westlawn Middle School. I heart Huntsville! From its humble beginnings as primarily cotton farmland, which began at what is now MidCity to the west which was considered "the country" back in the day. Huntsville has really grown ya'll. In 2022, the estimated population was 227.5K folks, making it the second most populous metropolitan area in the state after the Birmingham metropolitan area. There were 142K people living in Huntsville when I was in high school. Enough backstory. What's to love about Huntsville? We boasted about the largest number of PhDs per capita for decades, and this may still hold true. This differentiates us from other towns in Alabama. In the early 1940s Redstone Arsenal (RSA) was developed. And the rest is history: NASA, U.S. Army, FBI, Missile Defense Agency, AMCOM and more are located on RSA. The growth from cotton fields to rocket development was phenomenal. And the last two decades have ushered in a huge influx of people. You can barely drive a block without seeing orange construction barrels and cones, along with the ubiquitous crane. Apartment complexes are the latest developments with fewer condos for purchase. This influx has nurtured local restaurants [Cotton Row, Commerce Kitchen, all the Church Street Family eateries/wine shoppes, Green Bottle Grille] and extensive chain restaurants, too. There are craft coffee cards to get stamped, craft brewery cards to get stamped, and more "trails" to follow including real outdoor hiking at Monte Sano State Park, my favorite - Green Mountain, and Ditto Landing. Various entertainment venues are now options in "Hunts Vegas" including Mars, the Orion, the Von Braun Center, and bars with stages both big and small. HSV has the friendliness of a small southern town, with the perks of a larger city. We have rooftop bars, and lovely patios, covered picnic pavilions and sports - the Trash Pandas are always fun at Toyota Field, the Havoc are a blast if you love ice hockey, and we have a soccer [European "football"] team now, and there's always the Dixie Derby Girls, who do roller derby. Don't forget the US Space and Rocket Center and Space Camp, the Huntsville Botanical Garden, the Huntsville Museum of Art, Burritt Museum, the Weeden House, Constitution Hall Park and Museum, Early Works, the Huntsville/Madison County Veterans Memorial Park, the planetarium, and the mixed-use facilities, Lowe Mill, Campus 805, Stovehouse, and MidCity [with more on the way!] You can find events and festivals here: https://www.huntsville.org/events/festivals/ A great destination picnic location is Ditto Landing. Bank fish, or launch your boat and enjoy the beautiful bridge connecting south Huntsville to Lacey's Spring. If nothing in Huntsville "whets your whistle" or you are just itching to get out of town, Nashville is just 90 minutes north, Birmingham is 90 minutes south, Atlanta is ~ 4.5 hours SW, and the white sands of Orange Beach are just 5.5 hours due south. It's a hop and skip down to New Orleans by car, and you can always opt for the train that departs from Birmingham. Just please, please, don't move here - we are getting "full up" with people! Hence the 4 versus 5 stars. Traffic is also really crappy since the infrastructure has not kept pace with the population growth. Another minus for the Huntsville metro area is the dire lack of public transportation. Regardless of various efforts [I'm looking at you "Shuttle" busses and not "Orbit" busses], this is an area Huntsville falls short, especially for those who are wheelchair bound.

I've been in Huntsville for 3 months now and love it. There is so much to do and see here. Of…read morecourse it's the home of the Space & Rocket Center and Redstone Arsenal. Land of opportunity for careers! I've had several interactions with the actual departments of the City of Huntsville as well. One was a frustrating experience dealing with the City Engineer to get my certificate Occupancy for my house. I had to contact the Mayors Office and they resolved the issue within a few hours. Since then no issues. I also have my utilities through the city. Interestingly enough, they combine electric, water, and trash here. Their electric rates have been through the roof during the winter. I guess we will see how it changes in the. Next couple months. Another pro - taxes are cheap and the city offers a homestead tax break for people who own their primary residence in the City of Huntsville.

This is a really neat little frozen piece of history. I happened to wonder upon it and started…read morereading all the historical markers. This is where the Alabama constitution was written before statehood. Very well preserved historical area!

Neat little village located in downtown Huntsville with well preserved buildings from the early…read more1800s when Alabama was holding its first state constitutional convention. The village was closed when we stopped by so we weren't able to go inside any of the buildings but this will definitely be at the top of my list on my next trip to Huntsville!

Really great trail that runs right along the creek the whole way, with plenty of spots to walk over…read moreinto the water if you choose. (We opted out of this with two wild kiddos and being in from out of town!) While the trail starts on the map where indicated, we recommend parking at the middle school and dropping in midway along the trail. (There's a nice park there as well.) Trail is fairly flat with a few little hills here and there, but overall decent enough that we took a stroller and didn't have any issues beyond just being tired of pushing our youngest. Great views along the way of wooded areas, some little wetland pieces, going under bridges by a busy highway - good variety to keep the little ones entertained and remember landmarks on your return trip of this out and back style trail. Was a wonderful little break to our trip - very happy we found it and highly recommend to anyone passing through.

Great walking trail. Watch out for the homeless people at the south parking area. Recommend you…read morepark at the middle school.

This is such a nice tribute to our veterans. It's alongside the train tracks in a small park on…read moredowntown historic Madison Main Street. There is a bench, flags and a wall with the names of several veterans.