Summit Blvd, Birmingham

Summit Blvd attaches directly onto Hwy 280. During the holidays it is very hard to travel. Some of the most luxurious shopping is located off of this street, to include but not limited to Saks Fifth Ave, Tommy Bahamas, Barnes and Noble, etc. If you travel on around you will find a few smaller shopping plazas. You are able to do anythingin this area from live, go to the movies, grocery shopping, nice restraunts, etc. The lights often break, so police are directing traffic, which normally slows travel. One of the better sections of town to be in though.

Summit Blvd. consists of the Summit, really, but it turns into another road just past it. there's a lot of good shopping that you can't find elsewhere, like Urban Outfitters. There's also good food, like P.F. Chang's, Zoe's Kitchen, and Ben & Jerry's. I almost always forget there's a Bruno's in the back too (even though you can get overcharged at Whole Foods down the road, only with better quality). Worth a look.

As you might imagine, Summit Blvd is named as such because, well, it's home to the great, wonderful, lovely Summit "mall". It is the center of all high-end retail in Birmingham these days. Boasting Saks Fifth Avenue, Coach, Bromberg's, Urban Outfitters, and much more, Summit Blvd is a heaven for those in need of some serious retail therapy.
Besides the great shops, there's also TONS of restaurants to choose from up there, but I will warn you that most of them are rather pricey. The only two cheap-ish places are Panera Bread and Zoe's Kitchen (which is really, really good!). If you're out for a special occasion, there are several great reservation-type places like Flemings and P.F. Chang's. There's also a movie theater and a grocery store, all of this packed into less than a mile!
If you're really brave and looking for a new apartment, there's actually a large apartment complex located directly around the Summit--in fact, the only access to these apartments is through Summit Blvd, if I'm not mistaken. They're pretty nice, but rather pricey and really, it would stink to live there during the holidays when traffic is, frankly, quite insane!