Downtown

They say the heart of any city is its downtown and ours is beating loudly these days.  The twelfth busiest port in the country, Mobile is the social, economic and creative hub of the entire Gulf Coast - our colorful downtown has drawn people for centuries.  Many large businesses are headquartered in downtown Mobile right next to quaint, locally-owned art galleries, shops, restaurants and bars.  On any given week day, you'll encounter business people, artists, construction workers, shop owners, students, families and tourists making their way along our flower-lined streets.  

In the evenings and on the weekends, we shake things up a bit, with festivals, open-air markets, live concerts and other special events (street pole vaulting, anyone?), giving folks a reason to come downtown and linger for a few hours or even a few days.  In downtown Mobile, brunch is a sport, shopping an art and socializing a must.  

Mobile is home to America's Original Mardi Gras and each year, it hosts the oldest organized Carnival celebration in the United States, right in the heart of downtown. The festival began to be celebrated in the first decade of the 18th century, during the city's French colonial period. Mobile also formed the first formally organized mystic society, also known as a krewe, in 1830. Since then, downtown has become the hub of cultural, social and celebratory events.

The Downtown Mobile Alliance is an excellent source of information for everything to know, see and do in downtown Mobile and are incredible stewards of the downtown experience for visitors and locals alike.