Amazing Atlanta

Atlanta is the capital of the U.S. state of Georgia. It played an important role in both the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. The city had the honor of hosting the 1996 Olympics.

The World of Coca-Cola is a fun museum that lets you take a look at Coca-Cola all through the years. You’ll learn about how it was developed and see lots of memorabilia and Coca-Cola artifacts. There is a 4D theater that celebrates the experiences of people with Coca-Cola all over the world.

The Georgia Aquarium is home to 120,000 marine animals including California sea lions and dolphins. The marine animals have ten million gallons of water to swim in. You can see rare albino alligators and watch trainers interact with California sea lions. Visitors can even dive or snorkel in a tank with sharks. To participate you must have a SCUBA diving certification. There is an impressive acrylic tunnel to walk through and view fish all around you. The aquarium also has a 4D theater, a restaurant and offers “behind the sea” tours about how the aquarium operates.

Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site celebrates the life and achievements of well-known civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. This national historic monument takes up several blocks just east of downtown Atlanta. There is a visitors center which offers information and a map of the site. There are exhibits that focus on racial segregation and violence that occurred in America and were the basis of King’s work.

The High Museum is an impressive modern building and is known for its world-leading art exhibitions. It was designed by architect Richard Meier and enlarged with three new buildings designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano. It is known for its artwork by 19th-century French artists and there’s an extensive collection of 19th and 20th-century American art. Visitors can also delight in European paintings, decorative art, modern and contemporary art, photography and African art. The museum also hosts an annual film series that features foreign, independent and classic cinema.

The Centennial Olympic Park was built for the 1996 Summer Olympics hosted by Atlanta. It is now a popular public park The highlight of the park is the Fountain of Rings. Four times during each day the amazing water feature “plays”.

The Center for Civil and Human Rights was added to the park in 2014. It pays tribute to both the American Civil Rights and human rights movements all over the world. One memorable part of the museum shows a powerful simulation of what being a protestor at Woolworth’s Lunch Counter was like in the 1960s.

Next to the park, you’ll find The Children’s Museum of Atlanta. This is a museum built as a “museum without walls” and takes up 30,000 square feet of space. Children love it and there are different interactive exhibits.

The College Football Hall of Fame features college football which is a vital part of American culture. It has three floors, lots to see and an interactive experience based on which team you support and an attempt to kick a 20-yard field goal.

The Fox Theater in Midtown is both an iconic landmark and a venue for the performing arts. It offers entertainment like operas, ballet, rock concerts and movies. It was built in the 1920s as the Yaarab Temple Shrine Mosque with an Arabian-themed design. It has a prominent place on the National Register of Historic Places. Inside the 1929 appearance has been preserved. The theater also has two ballrooms – the Egyptian Ballroom and the Grand Salon. Both are available for special events. Visitors can get a tour of the theater, exploring ten different locations including the orchestra pit and the largest working organ of its kind in the world.

Stone Mountain Park is one of the most popular places to visit near Atlanta. It is located 16 miles east of the city center in DeKalb County. At the heart of the park is an 863-foot-high mass of exposed granite with a circumference of five miles. On the east side of the hill is a relief of the three Confederate leaders – President Jefferson Davis and his two generals, Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee. Visitors can climb to the top of the hill or take a cable car. Around the hill runs a 1940s locomotive on a five-mile circuit through the park. You can enjoy endurance courses of suspended rope walks and bridges through the treetops, a petting farm for small children, a land/lake tour on a 1940s Army DUKW that includes some local history, a restored antebellum plantation and a museum with Native American artifacts and exhibits.

The CNN Center is the headquarters of CNN. There are several news programs filmed in the building. The best thing here is the studio tour which lets visitors see how news is broadcast and meet some of the stars of the morning news broadcasts. You’ll find the world’s largest and longest freestanding escalator here with a model of the earth at the top.

In the center of the city is Grant Park which is home to Zoo Atlanta with tigers, elephants and flamingos. Its most popular residents are the panda cubs. A huge mural on the southern edge of the park depicts the Battle of Atlanta.

The Turner Field Baseball Stadium is an iconic landmark and home of the Atlanta Braves. It opened in 1997 and is one of the most state-of-the-art baseball stadiums in the U.S. Tours are available.

The Atlanta History Center is located in the historic area of Buckhead. It portrays the history of the city.

This large complex includes:

The Atlanta History Museum, the Centennial Olympic Games Museum, Swan House, Smith Family Farm and the Kenan Research Center as well as a number of historic gardens.

Swan House is the former home of Emily and Edward Inman. This mansion was built in the neo-Classical style and is one of the finest period homes in the city. There is a double stairway leading up to the house, separated by a cascading water feature. This is an open house with costumed performers.

Nearby is the Margaret Mitchell House with the apartment where Mitchell wrote “Gone With the Wind”. Guided tours include a look at this room and a brief film and exhibition on Mitchell.

There are six historic gardens. The Frank A. Smith Rhododendron Garden is the loveliest in the spring when rhododendrons and azaleas bloom.

There is also the Tullie Smith Farm with an 1860s-style garden.

The Botanical Gardens include formal flower beds and majestic trees. Some of the highlights here are the Orchid Display House, the Winter Garden, the Japanese Garden, the Conservation Garden and the Desert House. Two of the major specialties are the Rose Garden and the hydrangeas. There is a special garden for children and an elevated boardwalk that gives visitors tree-top views of the forest below. You can see tortoises and frogs in natural environments.

The First Ebenezer Baptist Church is the church where Martin Luther King Jr. was the pastor as well as his father and grandfather before him. This is also the church where is mother was murdered by a gunman as she sat at the organ. It has been preserved in the style of the 1960s.

The New Ebenezer Church just across the street holds Sunday services.

The Carter Center features the history of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. There is a Japanese-style garden with butterflies.

The Oakland Cemetery is located about a mile from downtown Atlanta. It is the final resting place of some of the city’s most important residents. Tours are available on the weekends. You can find the final resting places of Bobby Jones and Margaret Mitchell. The cemetery was declared a National Historic Landmark. There is also parkland with gardens, sculptures and wildlife. Here you’ll also find a Visitor Center and Museum shop.

Piedmont Park is the oldest and largest park in the Atlanta metro area. The grounds were the site of the Battle at Peachtree Creek during the Civil War. In the park, you can find walking and running trails as well as off-leash dog parks, gardens, sports fields, a lake with a fishing pier, playgrounds for children, a swimming pool at the Piedmont Park Aquatic Center and a splash pad for children at the Legacy Fountain.

On Saturdays, local farmers and artisans gather for the Green Market where you can purchase most anything. From 11 AM to noon are chef demonstrations. On Saturday mornings from April through November, there are free guided walking tours available and on the first Saturday of every month, special bird walks, exploring the many different habitats in the park. The park plays host to different events, from musical entertainment to fitness programs.

Varsity is a modern-day Atlanta icon. It is a fast food chain serving classic American food like burgers and hot dogs. The flagship restaurant downtown is the largest drive-in burger joint in the country and has room for 600 cars. It is most popular with students at Georgia Tech especially when football games are held.

Six Flags Over Georgia is a Six Flags theme park. It is the most popular family attraction in Atlanta. In 2016 a virtual reality rollercoaster was added. There are thrill rides like Superman: Ultimate Flight and the Great American Scream Machine.

The Museum of Design is the only museum in the southwest of the U.S. dedicated to the appreciation and history of design. Exhibits change regularly. Children enjoy the Lego workshops that teach the fundamentals of design.

The Center for Puppetry is one of the few museums dedicated to puppetry art. The museum teaches visitors about the beginnings of puppetry through interactive exhibits and shows them how entertaining puppet shows can be.