Free & Cheap Things to Do in Montgomery

Historic Sites

Alabama's 1851 Greek Revival capitol crowns Goat Hill at the head of Dexter Avenue, where Jefferson Davis was sworn in as Confederate president and where the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march ended on the front steps. Free self-guided and guided tours cover the twin spiral staircases, historic chambers, and a brass star marking where Davis stood.

Address: 600 Dexter Ave, Montgomery, AL 36130

Tip: Open Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–4 p.m.; closed weekends and state holidays. Guided tours for groups of 15 or more are by appointment — call ahead. Pair it with Dexter Avenue church one block downhill for a tight history walk.

History & Museums

The official state history museum, housed in the Alabama Department of Archives and History building across from the Capitol. Free galleries run from Native American Alabama through statehood, the Civil War, and civil rights, anchored by the immersive 'Alabama Voices' exhibit and a hands-on family gallery — one of the best free museums in the South.

Address: 624 Washington Ave, Montgomery, AL 36130

Tip: Open Tuesday–Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday. The Hands-On Gallery suits younger kids while 'Alabama Voices' is the headline for adults. Free parking, and it sits directly across the street from the State Capitol.

Arts & Culture

The MMFA sits in leafy Blount Cultural Park with free admission and free parking. The collection spans American art, Old Master prints, and Southern regional work, plus ARTWORKS — a hands-on interactive gallery for kids — and a sculpture garden on the surrounding grounds.

Address: 1 Museum Dr, Montgomery, AL 36117

Tip: Closed Mondays. The ARTWORKS children's gallery and the lakeside grounds make this an easy free family stop. Combine with a walk around Blount Cultural Park and the adjacent Alabama Shakespeare Festival grounds.

Parks & Waterfront

Montgomery's revitalized riverfront runs along the Alabama River from downtown, with a paved riverwalk, the historic Union Station train shed, an amphitheater, and a riverboat dock. It's free to stroll, watch the river traffic, and read the historical markers; riverboat cruises and ballgames cost extra.

Address: Coosa St, Montgomery, AL 36104

Tip: Free to walk the park and riverwalk anytime; the Harriott II riverboat cruises and Biscuits baseball at adjacent Riverwalk Stadium are paid add-ons. Sunset over the river is the photo. Metered street parking is free evenings and weekends.

Parks & Nature

A 175-acre English-style park on the east side of town with three miles of paved trails, ponds, rolling lawns, and a natural amphitheater. It's home to both the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, so a free walk pairs sculpture, swans, and architecture in one loop.

Address: 1 Festival Dr, Montgomery, AL 36117

Tip: Open daily until sundown except during museum and theater events. The ponds draw ducks and geese, so it's a hit with little kids. Free to enter; the festival's outdoor grounds are part of the stroll even when shows are ticketed.

Memorials & History

The Southern Poverty Law Center's memorial centers on Maya Lin's circular black-granite fountain, inscribed with the names of 40 martyrs of the civil rights movement. The outdoor memorial is free and open around the clock; the indoor center adds galleries, a film, and the Wall of Tolerance.

Address: 400 Washington Ave, Montgomery, AL 36104

Tip: The Maya Lin memorial outside is free 24/7; the interior center is $5 and open Tuesday–Saturday 9–5 (last entry 4:15). It's a block from Dexter Avenue church and across from the Capitol — easy to chain together.

History & Museums

Built on the very corner where Rosa Parks was arrested in 1955, this Troy University museum recreates the bus boycott with a restored period bus, archival film, and the actual police report. The main museum covers the boycott; a separate Children's Wing 'time machine' is geared to younger visitors.

Address: 252 Montgomery St, Montgomery, AL 36104

Tip: The main museum is one wing at $7.50; adding the Children's Wing makes it $14 for adults. Closes for lunch noon–1, and closed Sundays. Park free in any Troy University Montgomery lot.

Memorials & History

Set inside Montgomery's restored 1951 Greyhound bus station, where a mob attacked the Freedom Riders in May 1961, this Alabama Historical Commission museum tells the story of the nonviolent volunteers who challenged segregated interstate travel. A period bus and rider portraits fill the old platform.

Address: 210 S Court St, Montgomery, AL 36104

Tip: A family ticket is $12 for two adults and two kids. Small and focused — about an hour. The building itself is the artifact; combine with the Capitol and Dexter Avenue church a few blocks away.

Memorials & History

The Equal Justice Initiative's sites — the Legacy Museum tracing slavery to mass incarceration, and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice honoring victims of lynching — are joined by the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park and Montgomery Square. One $5 ticket covers all four, with free shuttles between them.

Address: 400 N Court St, Montgomery, AL 36104

Tip: Closed Tuesdays. Budget 3–5 hours for the museum alone; same-day re-admission lets you break for lunch. Free parking and free shuttles at each site, and a riverboat also runs to the sculpture park.

Historic Sites

A downtown district of more than 50 restored 19th-century buildings — a working print shop, a one-room schoolhouse, a grange hall, shotgun houses, and Lucas Tavern — that recreates everyday Alabama life in the 1800s. Self-guided, with costumed interpreters on busier days.

Address: 301 Columbus St, Montgomery, AL 36104

Tip: Open Thursday–Saturday 10–4; buy tickets at Lucas Tavern, 310 N Hull St. Kids 12 and under are free with an adult, making it a cheap family history stop. Wear walking shoes — it's spread over several blocks.

History & Museums

The only museum dedicated to F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, set in the 1910 house where the couple and daughter Scottie lived in 1931–32. Rooms hold original letters, first editions, and Zelda's paintings, telling the story of the Jazz Age couple and Montgomery-born Zelda.

Address: 919 Felder Ave, Montgomery, AL 36106

Tip: Open Thursday–Sunday 10–3 (Wednesdays by appointment). Small and quick — about 45 minutes — and a literary change of pace from the civil-rights core. Street parking is easy in the Old Cloverdale neighborhood.

Arts & Culture

A downtown shrine to country music's first superstar, the Montgomery-raised Hank Williams. The centerpiece is his powder-blue 1952 Cadillac convertible — the car he died in — surrounded by his Nudie suits, boots, handwritten lyrics, guitars, and the largest collection of Hank memorabilia anywhere.

Address: 118 Commerce St, Montgomery, AL 36104

Tip: Open daily, with shorter Sunday hours (1–4). No photos allowed inside. His and Audrey's graves sit a mile away at Oakwood Cemetery Annex, free to visit, if you want to complete the pilgrimage.

Parks & Nature

A 40-acre zoo with around 500 animals across barrier-free exhibits grouped by continent, plus the attached Mann Wildlife Learning Museum of North American wildlife. One ticket covers both, along with the Waters of the World aquarium walk and a reptile house; a train and skylift cost extra.

Address: 2301 Coliseum Pkwy, Montgomery, AL 36110

Tip: Enter at the Mann Museum during 2026 construction of the new admissions complex. The train, skylift ($6), and giraffe feeding ($4) are paid add-ons. School and group rates (20+) drop adults to $18 and kids to $14.

Memorials & History

The red-brick church a block below the Capitol where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor from 1954 to 1960 and where the Montgomery Bus Boycott was organized. Guided tours take in the sanctuary, King's pulpit, and a mural depicting his journey from Montgomery to Memphis.

Address: 454 Dexter Ave, Montgomery, AL 36104

Tip: Tours are by appointment only, Tuesday–Saturday; the church doesn't post a price online, so call (334) 261-3270 to book and confirm the fee. No tours Sundays or Mondays. The nearby Parsonage Museum keeps separate hours.

History & Museums

One of the Southeast's largest planetariums, with a 150-seat dome theater in Oak Park. Saturday public shows mix kids' programs like 'The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket' with general-audience full-dome features on stars, comets, and the night sky, all on a new laser projection system.

Address: 1010 Forest Ave, Montgomery, AL 36106

Tip: Saturday shows run four times a day; summer adds Thursday–Friday afternoon shows. No reservation needed for public shows and doors open 20 minutes early. The surrounding Oak Park is a free, shady historic city park.