New York may have its Empire State building, Paris, its Eiffel Tower, D.C. its Washington Monument, but Huntsville, Alabama can lay claim to the Saturn V Moon Rocket, an exact replica of the vessel that took man to the moon.

Huntsville is the largest city in northern Alabama in a region of a half-million people, and was named after its first settler, John Hunt, during the War of 1812. Since then, Huntsville has grown into a major city, and in 2009 was ranked by Kiplinger as the #1 “best city” in the United States, not only for its high-tech job growth, but for its intellectual and entrepreneurial energy.  This northern Alabama city is also critical to the nation's missile-defense and aerospace industries.

As for aerospace, Huntsville isn't called the Rocket City for nothing. A giant Saturn V rocket replica shadows the city of Huntsville, and is a constant reminder of Huntsville’s vital role in space exploration.  Huntsville is the site of the historic test launch of the Saturn V rocket, which put the U.S. one step closer to the moon. An original Saturn V rocket is housed at The U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, which hosts children from all over the world at its educational Space Camp program.  Huntsville is also home to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, which employs 2,500 scientists, many of whom are working on the next moon launch.

Huntsville is located in the beautiful North Alabama Mountain Lakes region and is nestled in the heart of the Tennessee River Valley.  Area attractions include:

• The U.S Space and Rocket Center & Space Camp
• NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
• Redstone Arsenal
• Cummings Research Park
• University of Alabama in Huntsville

• Huntsville Train Depot & Early Works Museum

• Hunsville Madison County Botanical Gardens
• Huntsville Museum of Art

• www.huntsvillealabamausa.com
• www.huntsville.org