Hotels in Auburn, Alabama

A little about Auburn...

Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama with a 2005 population of 49,928 (according to the U.S. Census estimates). It is the principal city of the Auburn Metropolitan Area, a MSA with a population of 123,254 which, along with the Columbus, Georgia-Alabama MSA and the Tuskegee, Alabama Micropolitan Statistical Area, comprises the greater Columbus-Auburn-Opelika, Georgia-Alabama Combined Statistical Area with an estimated population of 276,000.

It is the home of Auburn University. Auburn 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. The city's unofficial nickname is The Loveliest Village On The Plains, taken from a line in the pœm The Deserted Village by Oliver Goldsmith: "Sweet Auburn! loveliest village of the plain . . ."

Auburn is the home to the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. The Smith Museum maintains a collection of primarily 19th and 20th Century American and European art. The museum's exhibits include the Advancing American Art Collection, consisting of 36 works by mid-20th Century American artists including Jacob Lawrence, Ben Shahn, and Georgia O'Keefe, a collection of engravings by naturalist John James Audubon, and works by Dali, Chagall, Renoir, Picasso, and Matisse. Major sculptural works at the museum include a collection of Tibetan bronzes, Jean Woodham's Spinoff, and Dale Chihuly's Amber Luster Chandelier.

Also in Auburn is the Telfair Peet Theatre, which performs a series of plays and musicals each year. The Auburn Community Orchestra, as well as the bands of Auburn University and the Auburn High School Honors Band perform dozens of yearly concerts, including a series of outdoor concerts in the fall at Kiesel Park. Other musical series in Auburn include that of the Auburn Knights Orchestra, a big band jazz orchestra, and the Sundilla Acoustic Concert Series. The theatre is rumoured to be haunted by a ghost named Sydney, who the theatre department appeases before every performance with a package of M&Ms.

Recreational opportunities in Auburn include 16 parks, highlighted by Chewacla Park, a 700 acre (2.8 km²) park in the Appalachian foothills, Kiesel Park, a 200 acre (0.8 km²) "passive" park with numerous trails, and the Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve. The Donald E. Davis Arboretum showcases 150 different tree species native to Alabama and the Southeast. Auburn is also ringed by miles of multi-use trails and several lakes.