Auburn, AL

Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama with a 2012 population of 56,908. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. The Auburn-Opelika, AL MSA with a population of 140,247, along with the Columbus, GA-AL MSA and Tuskegee, Alabama, comprises the greater Columbus-Auburn-Opelika, GA-AL CSA, a region home to 456,564 residents.

Auburn is a college town and is the home of Auburn University. The city has been marked in recent years by rapid growth, and is currently the fastest growing metropolitan area in Alabama and the nineteenth-fastest growing metro area in the United States since 1990. U.S. News ranked Auburn among its top ten list of best places to live in United States for the year 2009. The city's unofficial nickname is “The Loveliest Village On The Plains,” taken from a line in the poem The Deserted Village by Oliver Goldsmith: “Sweet Auburn! loveliest village of the plain...”

Auburn's economy is centered around Auburn University and providing university-affiliated services. Auburn University employs 4,300 people, which is roughly one-quarter of the city's total workforce. In addition, 2,400 “Auburnites” are employed by the federal and state government in positions which are generally connected with the university. Some 8,500 are employed in service sector jobs. Auburn's industrial base is built around mid-sized, high tech manufacturing and research firms. Auburn has one industrial park and four technology parks where main areas of industrial focus are on the manufacture of small engines, automotive wheels, fuel cells, plastic injection technology, and vehicle armor. The 156-acre Auburn University Research Park opened in September, 2008. Overall, the manufacturing sector accounts for some 5,000 jobs in Auburn.

Auburn/Opelika is a family that could easily become yours. It's a ball in a cup, one under if you're very lucky or very good. Eagles live here. And tigers too. It's a spirit that is not afraid. We take our football seriously but know that no one can play golf without a sense of humor, and people all around the world know we have the best of both. Auburn-Opelika is the proud home of Auburn University, Alabama's biggest, and the Robert Trent Jones Trail, the world’s finest. It's the coolest college town in the South, according to us, and one of the top 10 cities in the US for small businesses, according to Forbes. Centrally located near Atlanta, Birmingham and Montgomery, Auburn-Opelika is easy to get to and easy to love.

RTJ Golf Trail at Grand National
Grand National, by all reports, was the single greatest site for a golf complex Robert Trent Jones, Sr. had ever seen. Built on 600-acre Lake Saugahatchee, 32 of the 54 holes drape along its filigreed shores. Both the Links course and the Lake course were in the top 10 of Golf Digest's list of "America's Top 50 Affordable Courses" and all three courses at Grand National are listed among the nation's 40 Super Value courses by Golf Digest's "Places to Play".

National Village, a golfing community on the Trail, is adjacent to these courses and the Marriott Hotel.

Chewacla State Park
Open 8 a.m. to sunset. Admission: Weekdays $2 for Adults; Weekends $3 for Adults; Children 6 to 11 years of age: $1; Senior Citizens 62 years of age and older: $1

Tranquil park facilities include a 26-acre lake, rental boats, swimming area, playgrounds, hiking trails, a modern campground and more! Chewacla’s 696 scenic acres are a delightful pause from nearby interstate traffic. Also available are picnic areas with tables, grills and shelters. You’re bound to fall in love with their rustic family cabins. Chewacla State Park is a great place to get away for some rest and relaxation or the perfect place to stay the weekend of the big ballgame. You can watch the sunset on the lake from your cabin and enjoy the fireplace on a cool fall day.

Jule Collins Smith Museum at Auburn University
Mon-Fri 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Sat 10:00 a.m.to 4:45 p.m.
For more than seven years, the Jule Collins Smith Museum at Auburn University has broadened the cultural horizon in Auburn & Opelika. Besides traveling and temporary exhibitions of international, national, and regional focus, JCSM has children's programs, concerts, films, lectures by artists and scholars, and a varied and interesting permanent collection that focuses primarily on American and European art. The museum's gorgeous landscaping consists of 15 acres of gardens complete with walking paths and sun-filled terrace overlooking the front lake. Inside the museum, the lobby opens onto a central rotunda with a breathtaking, 17-foot chandelier by renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly. Browse the eight galleries which house exhibitions from the permanent collections as well as traveling exhibitions, which normally change three to four times a year.

Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve
Open seven days, sunrise to sunset.
The Forest Ecology Preserve is a nature center established as an outreach program of the Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences designed to reach out to all people of every age with a strong focus on families and children. Besides providing 110 acres with miles of beautiful wooded hiking trails and other special features, it also provides regularly scheduled programs presented by professionals in their field. Field trip opportunities for school age children are available by reservation. These programs include exciting hands-on environmental education activities that support the Alabama curriculum course of study. Features include the Frank Allen Turner Memorial Canopy – a 150- seat multi-level meeting area with restrooms, fireplace, wheelchair ramp and drinking fountain; pavilion and welcome center/office; 1/8th mile handicap trail; kiosks providing maps and other information; more than 15 named trails through various habitats; Global Positioning System (GPS) Benchmarks; and permanent orienteering course. Don’t miss the reptile viewing area, fern viewing area, native azalea area, pond and streams, waterfall, butterfly garden, an old home site and barn.

Opelika Northside Historic District
This Opelika neighborhood features turn-of-the-century homes restored to their original grandeur. Home of the Victorian Front Porch Christmas tour. Driving and walking tours for groups available through the Tourism Bureau.

Toomer's Corner
The main intersection of Auburn and Auburn University where Auburn fans and friends gather to celebrate everything from athletic victories to the new year. Look for the orange tiger paw painted in front of Toomer's Drugs. An original soda fountain-style diner and drugstore, Toomer's has been an Auburn tradition for over a century! Located in the heart of downtown Auburn where the city and campus come together, you'll find delicious sandwiches, soda fountain specialties, and snacks along with a full line of Auburn souvenirs. Home of world famous Toomer's Lemonade, a featured member of Auburn-Opelika’s Top 10 Eats.

Best Bites
Auburn Opelika is home to many independent restauranteurs and talented chefs who created exceptional establishments with specialty dishes you'll find nowhere else in the world. Among these restaurants you'll find something suitable for every taste and budget - whether it's a downtown student haunt or a white tablecloth dining room with a 300-bottle wine list. Our restaurants have been featured in Southern Living, Gourmet, and Wine Spectator, just to name a few, and we're pretty proud when the world discovers what we already know. From tapas to tacos, and squash to sushi, make your trip especially memorable when you visit these Auburn-Opelika legends.
www.aotourism.com/Dining/Tastes-of-the-Town