Dora Hotel Company – Vision Hotel Partners

Known across the South as the “City that Has It All”, Columbus offers a getaway that packs more into every day – and every evening – thanks to an inviting selection of accommodations including historic B&Bs. This is a city that has always offered kindness and hospitality: In fact, many historians agree that the nation’s first Memorial Day may have been born here, when the ladies of Columbus generously decorated the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers in the days just after the Civil War. Today, at beautifully evocative Friendship Cemetery, you may just be greeted by an “apparition” from the past – at least if you arrive during the festivities of Spring Pilgrimage.

Now in its 76th year, Spring Pilgrimage draws visitors from across the nation and around the world eager to experience the 16-day celebration of history, culture and cuisine, highlighted by one of the South’s most significant collections of historic homes. And talk about grand openers, Pilgrimage’s opening event, Catfish in the Alley, replete with catfish cooking and sensational blues performances, is a true show stopper, celebrating the city’s rich African American culture that thrived on “Catfish Alley” in Historic Downtown Columbus.