Photo Credit: Art Meripol
Where to stay, eat, move and slow down on a wellness-minded weekend in Alabama’s Magic City, from someone who lives here.
I live in Birmingham, so when friends come to visit, the first thing they ask is where to eat. Fair enough. Between Frank Stitt, Chris Hastings and a new generation of chefs, the city has earned its culinary reputation. But some of my favorite Birmingham weekends have very little to do with restaurant reservations.
They're the slower ones: a morning workout followed by coffee with friends, a Saturday at the farmers market, an afternoon alternating between a sauna and cold plunge. A walk along Shades Creek under the trees. An hour in the Botanical Gardens with no particular plan.
If I had 48 hours to show a friend the Birmingham I know and love, this is how we'd spend them. With good food, plenty of movement and time to slow down.
Photo Credit: Hotel Wildemont
FRIDAY
4 P.M. | Check Into Hotel Wildemont
I’d base the weekend in Mountain Brook at Hotel Wildemont. Locals may still know it as the Grand Bohemian, but the 99-room hotel recently became Hotel Wildemont, keeping its place in Marriott’s Autograph Collection.
For a wellness weekend, it puts the essentials under one roof: a full-service spa downstairs and a rooftop restaurant upstairs. Mostly, though, it’s about location. The Botanical Gardens are across the street, and Mountain Brook’s villages are a few minutes away.
4:30 P.M. | Start With the Spa
Before you do anything else, book something at The Spa at Hotel Wildemont, whether that’s a massage, a facial or whatever sounds good after the trip in. I’d rather start a weekend here than rush out to see something on the first afternoon.
Photo Credit: Hotel Wildemont
6:00 P.M. | Drinks on the Rooftop
After the spa, head up to the hotel’s rooftop restaurant for a drink before dinner. It’s an easy first evening that doesn’t require going anywhere, and a nice spot to watch the light go down over Mountain Brook.
Photo Credit: Bottega Cafe
7:30 P.M. | Dinner at Bottega Café
For the first night, I send visitors to Bottega Café. Frank Stitt did as much as anyone to shape how Birmingham eats today, and Bottega feels like a night out without being formal. The menu leans Italian and changes with the seasons, and it’s easy to eat lightly: vegetables, salads, fish, a bowl of pasta.
Call it an early night. Tomorrow starts with a workout.
Photo Credit: SUPERTONE
SATURDAY
8:15 A.M. | Workout Class at SUPERTONE in Homewood
Start the morning at SUPERTONE, a Birmingham fitness studio combining strength training and indoor cycling in two dedicated spaces. Classes are set to music and range from cycling and strength to workouts that combine both. But the experience extends beyond the workout. “The community and camaraderie is what sets SUPERTONE apart,” says co-owner Augusta Cole. Members often linger afterward to connect over coffee before heading into their day.
9:30 A.M. | Breakfast at Farm Bowl + Juice Co.
Farm Bowl + Juice Co. is nearby in Homewood, and it’s exactly what I want after a class: smoothies, cold-pressed juices, fruit bowls, oatmeal and yogurt bowls. It’s the one stop this weekend that’s openly a health-food place, and it’s quick and casual.
10:30 A.M. | Pepper Place Farmers Market
In Birmingham, Saturday mornings mean Pepper Place. Alabama farmers, food producers and makers have been setting up here since 2000, and it’s still one of my favorite ways to spend a weekend morning. Walk the stalls, see what’s in season and pick up something for later.
Photo Credit: Steve Dunlap
1:30 P.M. | Explore Birmingham's History and Culture
Not every stop needs to be about exercise or food. Spend the afternoon exploring the Birmingham Museum of Art or the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, where the city's history comes into focus. If you'd rather spend more time outdoors, take a walk through Railroad Park.
To me, this is part of healthy travel, too. A trip can make you feel better physically, but it can also teach you something. You can’t understand Birmingham today without knowing its history, and your visit will be better for making time for it.
4:30 P.M. | Contrast Therapy at SweatHouz
By late afternoon you’ll have done a lot of walking. Head to SweatHouz in Cahaba Heights and book a private 60-minute contrast therapy session. The infrared sauna and cold plunge are in the same suite, so you can go back and forth at your own pace, and each suite has a Vitamin C shower.
It's a good way to slow down after a full day of exploring.
Photo Credit: Hot and Hot Fish Club
7:30 P.M. | Dinner at Hot and Hot Fish Club
For dinner, go back to Pepper Place for Hot and Hot Fish Club. Chris Hastings has spent decades working with local farmers, purveyors, foragers and artisans, and the menu changes with what they bring in. Seafood, vegetables and Southern produce do most of the work. If you’re here in summer, order the heirloom tomato salad.
SUNDAY
8:30 A.M. | Breakfast at Alabama Biscuit Company
Start Sunday at Alabama Biscuit Company, which makes its signature biscuits with stone-ground spelt instead of white flour.
It’s still the South. A healthy weekend here should include a biscuit.
9:30 A.M. | Walk the Jemison Park Trail
Back in Mountain Brook, Jemison Park is one of my favorite walks in the city. The trail follows Shades Creek through the woods, with paved and natural paths under old trees. Recent work moved parts of the trail closer to the creek, added native plants and opened a new gravel trail through the woods.
Walk or run at your own pace. With Shades Creek beside you and the trees overhead, it's easy to forget you're just minutes from the center of Mountain Brook.
Photo Credit: Alison Lewis
11 A.M. | Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Before you leave town, walk across the street from the hotel to the Botanical Gardens. They cover 67 acres with more than two dozen garden areas, and I always end up in the Japanese Gardens because it’s so peaceful.
Don’t bother with a route. Wander for an hour, or find a bench and stay a while. If you have time afterward, stroll through Mountain Brook Village and browse the local shops on your way out of town.
If You Have More Time
Birmingham’s outdoor access surprises most visitors. Add a morning at one of these:
Red Mountain Park, trails on the ridge just southwest of downtown.
Ruffner Mountain, a nature preserve on the city’s east side.
Vulcan Trail, a short, easy walk with views over the city.
Oak Mountain State Park, Alabama’s largest state park, about 30 minutes south, for longer hikes and trail runs.
Good to Know
When to come: Spring and fall are the best seasons for walking, trails and outdoor tables. Summer brings the best produce at Pepper Place, but plan outdoor time for early morning.
Getting around: You’ll want a car. This weekend moves between Mountain Brook, Homewood, Cahaba Heights and downtown, and most drives are 10 to 20 minutes.
Book ahead: Reserve the spa, your SUPERTONE class, your SweatHouz suite and both dinners before you arrive.
If you only do one thing: Spend an unhurried hour in the Botanical Gardens. It’s free, it’s across from the hotel, and it’s the Birmingham I’d want every visitor to see.
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