Alabama rarely tops anyone's American wishlist — New York, Orlando and California usually get there first. That's a strange oversight for a state that helped shape the Civil Rights Movement, built the rocket that carried astronauts to the Moon, and produced some of the defining songs of the 1960s and '70s. Better still, its three headline stops sit within easy driving distance of each other, making a tidy fly-drive loop.

Start in Birmingham, where the Civil Rights Movement reached its turning point. In 1963, thousands of Black schoolchildren marched in what became known as the Children's Crusade, met by fire hoses and police dogs in scenes broadcast worldwide. Months later a bomb at the 16th Street Baptist Church killed four girls, and the outrage that followed helped push the Civil Rights Act through Congress the next year. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the church itself are the essential stops.

From there it's about 100 miles north to Huntsville, the self-styled Rocket City. While Houston got Mission Control and Cape Canaveral got the launchpads, it was here that Wernher von Braun's team engineered the Saturn V. The U.S. Space & Rocket Centre displays one of only three surviving Saturn Vs, suspended overhead along the length of an entire hall — a genuinely staggering sight, and without the queues you'd face at Kennedy Space Centre.

The loop's third stop is Muscle Shoals, roughly 70 miles from Huntsville and arguably the most under-the-radar music town in America. Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Percy Sledge, the Staple Singers and the Rolling Stones all recorded here, producing tracks like "When a Man Loves a Woman", "I'd Rather Go Blind" and "Brown Sugar". Both FAME Studios and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio still operate as working studios and run tours, so you can stand in the rooms where it all happened. The Renaissance Muscle Shoals hotel even hosts "CAUTION! Stones Ahead", billed as the world's largest public collection of Rolling Stones memorabilia — the band cut three Sticky Fingers tracks in town.

If you have extra days, head south to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, where white-sand Gulf coastline rivals Florida's without the crowds, or to Mobile, which staged America's original Mardi Gras in 1703 — fifteen years before New Orleans existed, as locals will cheerfully tell you over a drink.

Practically speaking, there are no direct flights from the UK: Birmingham and Huntsville connect via hubs such as Atlanta. A hire car is essential, and the Birmingham–Huntsville–Muscle Shoals loop works comfortably over four to five days, with barbecue and small-town diners filling the gaps. UK operator Purely America offers packages from £1,599 per person.

Alabama's appeal is exactly that it never became famous for any of this. You get world-class history, space-race engineering and music heritage in near-empty rooms, seasoned with Southern hospitality. Go before word gets out.