Mobile sits on Mobile Bay on the Alabama Gulf Coast, a port city with French, Spanish, and British roots. Founded in the early 1700s, it is one of the oldest cities on the Gulf Coast, and its downtown keeps iron balconies, oak-lined squares, and churches that show each chapter of that past. Mobile's Mardi Gras traditions run deep, with parades, balls, and the colorful throws that fill the streets each winter. The USS Alabama, a World War II battleship, sits in Battleship Memorial Park across the bay, and Bellingrath Gardens, just outside the city, offers azaleas and river views in spring.