Things to Do in Atlanta: Attractions and Places to Visit in the Capital of Georgia

After many trips in the United States we decide to visit Georgia, a state of the south (the name derives from the English king, George II), one of the first thirteen colonies, with its beaches looking out onto the Atlantic Ocean, colonial villas, fields of cotton and its most famous city, Atlanta. What can you see in the city made famous by the Olympics and Coca Cola?

A city famous for the Olympics

The 1996 Atlanta Olympics played a significant role and, as is always the case, brought prestige to the host city. Three years earlier, an Olympic stadium called Centennial Olympic Stadium (755 Hank Aaron Dr. SE) was built, was later used as a baseball stadium and renamed Turner Field, and finally closed for good in 2016.

Another symbol linked to the Olympics is Centennial Olympic Park (265 Park Avenue Dr. NW), a large green area in downtown. Inside it is the Fountain of the Rings, the world’s largest interactive fountain. It doesn’t have the classic shape you’d expect because it reproduces the five Olympic circles positioned on the floor where, four times a day, jets of water shoot out of the rings, all with music playing in the background. The more tolerant parents let their children jump around in the water sprays.

Remaining in the area and always on topic, the Philips Arena (1 Philips Dr.) is the ideal place to watch important sporting events such as the games of the Atlanta Hawks, the local NBA team.

Things to Do in Atlanta

In Atlanta there are so many things to see for all ages. It is no surprise, therefore, that in 2010 it was the seventh most visited city in the United States. Our tour of the center city includes a stop at the State Capitol (206 Washington St. SW), the building in neo-classic style that is the center of the Georgian government. It can be recognized by its golden dome topped by a statue nicknamed Miss Freedom.

Although the Capitol may not be a must-see for some visitors, when the sky is clear and the dome stands out against the blue, the visual-photographic impact is remarkable. Inside, there are statues of famous Georgian figures, portraits of governors, historic flags, and a museum. Next to the State Capitol is City Hall (68 Mitchell St. S-W), a tall, neo-Gothic building.

The headquarters of Coca-Cola: history of the drink created by mistake

The museum par excellence in Atlanta, which is both amusing and original, is the World of Coca-Cola (121 Baker St. NW). Perhaps not everyone knows that Coca-Cola, the best-known beverage in the world, was created by chance on May 8, 1886 thanks to an error of the pharmacist John Stith Pemberton who was intending to create a syrup painkiller. The result was not a medicine, but the most consumed drink on the face of the earth, without its creator ever imagining what mass phenomenon would be created around that product.

World of Coca-Cola Tickets

In the building, you can follow the historical path of the drink: there are glasses, trays, paintings, posters, and much more, you can observe the bottling process, take a picture with the big, smiling polar bear, symbol of the brand and even taste various Coca Cola branded drinks from around the world for free. The gift store is always crowded with customers looking for interesting items, new or vintage styles.

CNN – Coca Cola Combination Tour Info

The CNN Center: a tour of the center of the news

This city has much to offer, such as places of interest that attract thousands of people from all over the world, starting with the CNN Center (190 Marietta St. NW), the complex belonging to one of the most famous American television networks. A guided walking tour of 50 minutes starts at the CNN (Cable News Network) every 20 minutes, during which it is explained how and from where the programs are transmitted: in addition to this, you can listen to stories about the history of the television channel. In its lobby, there are stores, including one dedicated to the CNN channel and another to souvenirs of the city.

CNN Studio Tour Info

As you know, in the States, there are always stores attached to the places to visit! At the CNN Center, there is also a food court, a refreshment area where you can choose between different types of food, a room to organize events and you can even stay in the CNN Center complex, at the Omni Hotel, with its modern rooms and suites overlooking the CNN lobby or downtown.

Martin Luther King Sites

Speaking about Atlanta we cannot forget about Martin Luther King Jr, probably its most famous citizen at world level, minister of the Baptist church who died at the young age of 39 years in Memphis, Tennessee. In a circumscribed area of the city, in the district of Sweet Auburn, you will be able to visit the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park that includes some of the most important buildings and monuments linked to him, including:

• his Birthplace (501 Auburn Ave. NE): a two-story Queen Anne-style home with a porch.
• Ebenezer Baptist Church (101 Jackson St. NE) where he was pastor.
• his tomb (449 Auburn Ave NE) set within a large pool of clear water.

One of the best ways to begin the visit of this zone of Atlanta is to start from the Visitor Center (450 Auburn Ave NE) where you will find an interactive exhibition on the history of Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement. Here you will be able to gather all the information that you need to continue the visit autonomously. You can reach it through the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.

If you are interested in African-American art and culture, you can go downtown to 155 Auburn Ave and visit the African American Panoramic Experience (APEX) museum.

Center for Civil & Human Rights

For those who want to learn more about the history of the battles for the civil rights of African Americans, go to the Center for Civil & Human Rights (100 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd). It is located in an entirely different area of the city than the places described above, the museum is located between the World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium. The entrance ticket costs about 20$ and will allow you to enter, more than inside a museum, a real time machine that will allow you to experience what it meant to be an African American in the American South during the 60s, through the use of testimonies, documents, and interactive simulations.

The main exhibition is located on the second floor of the museum and is entitled Rolls Down Like Water: The American Civil Rights Movement. Here, the most engaging moment is the simulation of a so-called “Lunch Counter”, that is a small diner-like restaurant we all know, where you will sit down, put on headphones and hear firsthand how an African American of the time was reprimanded if they dared to sit in a white restaurant. In some moments, the chair will even start vibrating, simulating the action of a person who kicked you. All of this is to make you participate in the courage that those who participated in these sit-in protests inside places that did not allow people of color to enter.

Tickets for the Center for Civil & Human Rights

Midtown Neighborhood

Within the lovely Midtown neighborhood, you can visit the Botanical Gardens (1345 Piedmont Ave. N-E). Among the palm trees, colorful flowers, and aquatic and tropical plants you will find the largest concentration of orchids in the United States. From February to April there is the Orchid Daze, the celebration of this beautiful flower. The botanical garden also features turtles, sculptures, and fountains. A well-maintained Japanese garden completes a visit to the park.

At Piedmont Park (400 Park Dr. N-E) you can relax, play sports, and fish in the lake while the kids will enjoy the recreation area. There is also a picnic area where you can enjoy food brought from home or you can take advantage of the on-site food booths. This city park is also the scene of many events.

Atlanta has a museum: The Center for Puppetry Arts (1404 Spring St. N-W), especially for the youngest visitors. Opened in 1987, it accommodates the greatest organization devoted to the art of the marionettes and the puppets divided into the sectors of exhibitions, education, and museum. It is an irresistible attraction for children and families to attend performances of classic and new stories adapted to puppets and marionettes.

Another noteworthy character is writer Margaret Mitchell, who won the Pulitzer Prize for her book Gone with the Wind, based on which the world-famous film of the same name was made. Her home, the Margaret Mitchell House & Museum (979 Crescent Ave. NE) is a three-story Tudor Revival style home. During the daily tours, the author’s motivation for writing her best seller is explained and the life she led with her husband in 1920s Atlanta is recounted.

The true nostalgics of Gone with the Wind can also travel for around 30-40 minutes by car to Marietta where the Gone with the Wind Museum is located (18 Whitlock Ave. N-W), and then to Covington to the Twelve Oaks B&B (2176 Monticello St. S-W). The building gave inspiration to the writer and was cited in her novel.

The Georgia Aquarium and Zoo

At Grant Park (800 Cherokee Ave. S-E), the oldest park in Atlanta, surrounded by the historic district of the same name, we find the zoo. Animal lovers will find their heaven here, with the possibility of feeding the giraffes, watching great shows of birds, and admiring the giant panda. This is one of four U.S. zoos lucky enough to host one. There are also children’s recreation areas, dining options, stores, and a little train on which you can enjoy a leisurely tour of the area. If you’re visiting the zoo outside of the summer seasons, make sure before you buy your ticket that you know how many and which animals you’ll actually get to see.

Staying with the wildlife theme, a must-see attraction is definitely the Georgia Aquarium (225 Barker St. N-W), the largest aquarium in the Western Hemisphere, where, among other things, you can also swim or dive with whales, sharks, and manta rays. You’ll also find, of course, exhibits and shows in a 4D cinema.

Georgia Aquarium Tickets

A short walk from the aquarium is the Children’s Museum (275 Centennial Olympic Park Dr. N-W). This creative, interactive, and educational museum was created with the aim of giving free rein to the creativity of its young guests. Activities include dance and singing, a building workshop, cooking classes, science shows, an art studio, and reading time. If you’re traveling with children, it might be a good idea to combine a visit to the aquarium with a visit to this particular museum.

Jimmy Carter Presidential Library

The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum (441 Freedom Pkwy) is a museum dedicated to the life and political career of the thirty-ninth American President, a Georgia native and 2002 Nobel Prize winner, for finding peaceful solutions to international conflicts, supporting democracy and human rights, and promoting economic and social development through his work at the Carter Center (453 Freedom Pkwy N-E), a nonprofit organization. In this center’s museum, in addition to an exhibit tracing the president’s personal and political history, there is also a replica of the “Oval Office” at the White House in Washington.

The tones are understandably a little self-celebratory (as is the case with all Presidential Libraries), but American history buffs will certainly find the visit enjoyable, thanks also to the well-kept park inside which the entire structure was built.

Stone Mountain Park

Surely one of the most beautiful parks, that is particular and at the same time controversial, in Atlanta and the whole of Georgia (it is in fact the most visited attraction in the state). Particularly because this park is dominated by an enormous rock (in jargon monadnock) that looms 1600 feet over the surrounding territory. Controversial because on the huge wall of this rock the world’s largest bas-relief was carved depicting three of the Southern leaders of the War of Secession (Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and Stonewall Jackson).

Once inside this park, you can undertake many activities, including reaching the top of the same Stone Mountain either in comfort, by cable car, or by walking up the trail. In addition to this, it is certainly worth visiting the Historic Square, a large area located within the park where a typical Georgia village of the 1800s has been reconstructed, also using original buildings from the time.

It is a good idea to visit this park because of the many activities (there is also a Luna Park and a theme park dedicated to dinosaurs) if you want to spend a day outdoors combining history and fun. The entry is at a fee and the price is determined by the number of activities that you want to undertake. To calculate this, refer to the park’s official site, where you will find an overview of all the prices and options.

The amusement parks of Atlanta: including Lego and Rollercoasters

In the north area of Atlanta known as North Buckhead, we find the Legoland Discovery Center (3500 Peachtree Rd NE), naturally a world all made of Lego where it is possible to wander around the 4D theater, go on a tour of the factory where the famous bricks are produced, visit Miniland (a city built with almost a million and half pieces), play in an interactive area on a vessel, save a princess in a castle and visit the room containing Merlin’s magic potions. Before visiting, bear in mind that adults must be accompanied by at least one child to enter.

To the west of Atlanta, the amusement park Six Flags Over Georgia (275 Riverside Pkwy S-W) is located, belonging to the chain Six Flags present also in other American cities. This park is famous for its spectacular and reckless rollercoaster. Whoever is without means of transport can reach it by a local MARTA bus.

Theaters in Atlanta

For lovers of the shows and the events, we recommend Fox Theater (660 Peachtree St. NE) in midtown Atlanta. It is a beautiful theater in Moorish style that opened in 1929, also known as the Fabulous Fox. It was previously a cinema. The inside deserves a visit even if you don’t watch a show. You can also stroll around the historical district that accommodates it.

Music lovers will appreciate the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performances that mainly take place at the Woodruff Arts Center (1280 Peachtree St. NE).

The Atlanta CityPass

The Atlanta City Pass is a good way to save money considering that it includes entry to the following attractions:

• Georgia Aquarium with skip-the-line option
• World of Coca-Cola
• CNN studio tour
• A choice of admission to the Center for Civil and Human Rights or the Zoo
• Admission to the Fernbank Museum of Natural History or the College Football Hall of Fame.

If you are planning to spend some time in Atlanta visiting it in depth, it is a solution to absolutely consider.

About Atlanta City Pass

The most famous events in Atlanta

You may think about visiting Atlanta when an event is taking place. In the city, there are many of these. People “of color” from around the world gather here in February for the Black History Month Parade. A parade in costume, to celebrate Black History Month. The route starts at Centennial Olympic Park drive and ends at Baker St. Also in February, for the wilder ones among you, there is the Mardi Gras Streetcar Adventure.

It consists of an afternoon of adventure and exploration, you get on the streetcar and make eleven stops between attractions, bars, and restaurants. Participation in carnival costumes is welcome. In July it’s time for the Ice Cream Festival at Piedmont park (521 Park Dr.). Activities include a three-mile walk to promote the fight against cancer, jump ropes, Frisbee tossing, wellness activities, and even a free health screening. There’s also a hula hoop contest and ice cream gobbling endurance.

The Children’s Christmas Parade which takes place in December along Peachtree St. is the largest Christmas parade in the American Southeast and is Atlanta’s most beloved Christmas tradition. The parade of children and young people is cheered on by great balloons inflated with helium representing puppets and characters, bands and so much festive spirit. The event is also filmed by the WSB-TV channel. The parade helps raise money for the children’s healthcare hospital in Atlanta. Before the parade, many children and their families have breakfast at the nearby Four Seasons Hotel (7514 14th St. NE, downtown) where they meet Santa Claus.

There is no shortage of ethnic holidays that celebrate the city’s multiculturalism. In March the St. Patrick Day Parade (midtown), in May the Caribbean Festival in Central park (400 Merritts Ave. N-E, downtown), in August the Latin Peachtree Festival in Piedmont park (521 Park Dr. NE, midtown) and finally in September the Greek Festival near the Byzantine-style Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation (2500 Clairmont Rd., district of Clairmont).

Best Places to Stay in Atlanta: useful suggestions

There are many possibilities for overnight stays in Atlanta. Here are some of them.

• The Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel (210 Peachtree St. N-W, downtown), with elegant rooms and suites offering sweeping views of the city from its floor-to-ceiling windows. A complimentary copy of the USA Today newspaper is available each morning. In the rooms. There is also a kennel for possible “four-legged” friends. Inside there is a gift store and the famous Starbucks coffee shop. The highlights of this hotel are the Sun Dial, a restaurant with American cuisine (on the 71st floor) and the panoramic bar with its cocktails and excellent menu (on the 73rd floor). The restaurant has a slow rotation movement to allow customers to enjoy the city view from the windows. Panoramic view also from the 72nd floor where there is an observatory. Really beautiful and romantic especially at sunset on a clear day. We also recommend two nice B&Bs where you can stay overnight in a completely different atmosphere.
• Stonehurst Place (923 Piedmont Ave. N-E, midtown) is a historic property with rooms and suites in different styles where white, cream, beige and dark wood predominate. A piano room, a dining room and a porch ideal during warm weather complete the building.

All available accommodations in Atlanta

How to get around Atlanta

Anyone without their own means of transport to get around the city can use the already cited network of buses, trains and subway denominated MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) that connects the central and peripheral districts of the metropolitan area of Atlanta, while the city Streetcar completes a run of twelve stops between Centennial Olympic Park, the Martin Luther King Jr Site and the districts to the east of the city. Anyone wanting to travel away from the metropolitan area of Atlanta can use the Amtrak railroad station at 168 Peachtree St. N-W.

Atlanta’s airport is Hartsfield-Jackson, situated between the districts of College Park and Hapeville. Transportation to and from the airport is provided by MARTA services. Enjoy the innumerable possibilities that the city offers to its visitors, of all ages and with the most varied tastes. Enjoy Atlanta!

If, after having read what the city of Atlanta offers, you want to discover something more about the attractions of this state in the South of the United States read our article on the best things to do in Georgia.