Tuscaloosa County is in the middle of catfish farming, just down the road from chicken roosts in North Alabama, and less than a day’s journey from the Gulf Coast.

So, is it any wonder that catfish, chicken and seafood dishes are popular items on the menus of restaurants in Tuscaloosa County? And residents and visitors will tell you that some of the best barbecue they’ve ever eaten was served to them in a Tuscaloosa area restaurant.

The menus and venues are varied, but one can find a quick burger or chicken sandwich or dine fancifully downtown or along the Black Warrior River. International menus are available. Diners can sit at a table in a sports grill or eat under an umbrella at a sidewalk café.

Click Here For A List Of Local Restaurants

The entertainment “menu” in Tuscaloosa County is filled with exciting entrees that draw crowds, large and small. For example, take the line-up of annual events and festivals. Click here to check out more about the arts and attractions in Tuscaloosa.

There’s the Kentuck Festival of the Arts - which is held in October in Northport, features more than 300 artists and artisans, and draws upwards of 30,000 visitors each year.

The International City Fest and Weindorf Festival is held in downtown Tuscaloosa each May, and has become one of the state’s premier music festivals. Weindorf provides an authentic German village with entertainment and food. Tuscaloosa’s relationship with Shorndorf, Germany has a special spot in the festival.

In April, as the dogwoods bloom, Heritage Week comes as a week-long pilgrimage of Tuscaloosa County’s beautiful and historic antebellum homes and a schedule of activities built around the historical theme.

Celebrating Tuscaloosa’s special relationship with Japan for over 12 years, the Sakura Festival occurs each spring and offers a line-up of Japanese arts, exhibits, forums, and other cultural experiences.

Christmas is a special time in Tuscaloosa County, highlighted by Dickens Christmas in downtown Northport. Strolling musicians, art exhibits, other entertainment and food make this a memorable event each year. Christmas Afloat has also become a tradition. Boats and other watercraft, adorned with sparkling holiday lights, float down the Black Warrior River.

Football weekends at the University of Alabama and Stillman College bring a lot of excitement to the county - as does the West Alabama State Fair, also held in the fall.

In addition to football season and the once-a-year festivals and cultural emphases, Tuscaloosa County offers its home folks and its visitors many attractions to experience and enjoy.

The Alabama Museum of Natural History on the University of Alabama campus features exhibits from the Age of Dinosaurs and the Ice and Coal Ages. The Paul W. Bryant Museum, also a campus fixture, contains memorabilia and exhibits relating to one of the richest football traditions in the United States - the Crimson Tide. Although the emphasis is on Bryant (“The Bear”), exhibits tout the Tide tradition all the way back to 1892.

A real star in the attractions crown is the Mercedes-Benz Museum and Visitors Center, up the road near Vance. Besides the colorful chronicle of Daimler-Benz, there are interactive exhibits and technological displays to interest young and old.

Youngsters—and the young at heart—always enjoy the Children’s Hands On Museum in downtown Tuscaloosa. Special programs aimed at children and hands-on, participatory exhibits draw hundreds during the summer months and thousands during the school year.

Selected as one of the “Top 100 Small Art Communities” in America, the Kentuck Museum in downtown Northport features some of the finest arts and crafts exhibits in the South.

Art aficionados will find plenty to look at in the various museums around the county. There’s the Garland Art Gallery on the University of Alabama campus, the Harrison Galleries in downtown Tuscaloosa, the Moody Gallery of Art, the Junior League Gallery at the Bama Theater, and the Warner Collection at the headquarters of Gulf States Paper Corporation. Finally, there’s the fabulous Westervelt-Warner Museum near the North River Yacht Club.

Historic and antebellum homes dot the landscape. The President’s Mansion at the University of Alabama dates back to 1841. Other historic homes include:

The Old Tavern (1827)
The Gorgas Home (1828)
The Battle-Friedman Home (1835)
The Dearing-Swain House (1835)
The Guild-Verner Home (1822)
The Mildred Warner Home (1820)
The McGuire Strickland House (1820)
The Shirley-Christian-Harper House (1840)

Many of the historic homes also house museums and other attractions. The Murphy-Collins House (1827) houses the African-American Museum, and the University Club (a private dining establishment) dates back to 1821 when Tuscaloosa was the capital of Alabama. The Tuscaloosa Convention and Visitors Bureau is housed in the Jemison-Van de Graaff Home (1859).

The historic site of Capitol Park has partially excavated ruins of the site of the Alabama State Capitol, when Tuscaloosa was the seat of state government (1826 to 1846).

Denny Chimes rises above the treetops on the University of Alabama campus, chiming every 30 minutes and playing late-afternoon concerts. The Chimes were built in 1929 and restored in 1986. A "Football Walk of Fame" lies at the foot of the chimes. Nearby, Bryant-Denny Stadium shakes with the yells of 84,000 football fans six or seven times each fall.

One of the most important prehistoric Indian settlements and ceremonial centers in North America, Moundville Archaeological Park is located just 15 miles south of Tuscaloosa. Tannehill State Park (1,500 acres of scenic, wooded hills and bubbling streams) features restored 19th century buildings, the pre-Civil War Tannehill Iron Works and Tannehill Trade Days-a giant, once-a-month flea market. For more information on the Tuscaloosa sites, click here.