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Sightseeing Overview
Atlanta is more of a business center than a holiday destination. There are no beaches for sunbathing, no mountains for skiing and no cobble-stoned quaintness or soaring gothic cathedrals. However, Atlanta does have something to offer everyone, and the brand new Georgia Aquarium (the biggest indoor aquarium in the world), which opened at the end of 2005 (and welcomed one million visitors in its first three months), is certain to bring even more visitors to the city in the future.

Other popular attractions include the Atlanta Cyclorama, the CNN Center, Stone Mountain Park, the Martin Luther King Jr Historic District, Six Flags Over Georgia and Zoo Atlanta.

The city’s history helps to define Atlanta’s uniqueness. Underground Atlanta with its hidden delights, marks the birthplace of the city; a few MARTA stops away, the Fox Theater, an architectural riot of domes and minarets, reflects the excesses of the 1920s.

Sandwiched between business towers of the 1990s, less than a mile north on Peachtree Street, the recently restored Margaret Mitchell Home is a diminutive museum of life in the 1930s. Continuing north on Peachtree Street, the High Museum of Art glistens with sleek white porcelain panels in the sun.

Notices at street corners and on buildings (especially around the Virginia Highlands neighborhood), mark the sites of major battles and events in the Civil War. The Confederacy is also commemorated in several stately Southern homes, such as the Governor’s Mansion and the houses of Grant Park. The Martin Luther King Jr Historic District in Sweet Auburn chronicles the city’s more recent history.

The Downtown area near Centennial Olympic Park, the CNN Center and Five Points are the best places to explore by foot. Pedestrians really need to keep their wits about them in this vehicle-dominated city. Automobiles rule the roads and drivers expect obeisance from those on foot.

Tourist Information
Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau
Suite 100, 233 Peachtree Street Northeast
Tel: (404) 521 6600 or 1 800 285 2682/ATLANTA.
Website: www.atlanta.net 

Atlanta has four visitors centers at: Georgia Aquarium, 255 Baker Street, Downtown; Georgia World Congress Center, 285 Andrew Young International Boulevard, Downtown, although this is open only during GWCC events; Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, North Terminal; and Underground Atlanta, 65 Upper Alabama Street.

Passes
The Atlanta CityPass (website: www.citypass.com), valid for nine days, gives free entry to six out of eight attractions (Georgia Aquarium, New World of Coca Cola, High Museum of Art, Inside CNN Atlanta Studio Tour, Fernbank Museum of Natural Histoy or Atlanta Botanical Garden, and Atlanta History Center or Zoo Atlanta). Downtown Connects, a free booklet with discounts on attractions, shopping, dining, lodging services and entertainment is available at most concierge desks.

Key Attractions:

The Georgia Aquarium
Located in downtown Atlanta across from Centennial Olympic Park, the brand new Georgia Aquarium is the largest indoor aquarium in the world. It boasts an impressive 8 million gallons of fresh and marine water, over 505,000 sq ft, and features more than 100,000 freshwater and saltwater fish and mammals representing 500 species from around the globe, divided into 60 different habitats. The largest one holds 6.2 million gallons of water and was specially designed to house whale sharks alongside tens of thousands of other coral reef and open ocean creatures. Another striking feature of the aquarium is its 30m (100ft) long tunnel, one of the largest aquarium windows in the world with views into whale shark habitat. The second largest habitat (800,000 gallons) was specially designed to simulate the natural habitat of beluga whales. Facilities include shops, a café, a learning zone, a 4D theater, and meeting and conference facilities.

225 Baker Street, Downtown
Tel: (404) 581 4000.
Website: www.georgiaaquarium.org
Opening hours: Mon-Thurs 1000-1700; Fri-Sun 0900-1800; summer hours (25 May-11 Aug) Mon-Thurs 0800-1800; Fri-Sun 0800-1900.
Admission charge.

Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum
The Battle of Atlanta, which took place on 22 July, 1864, is vividly illustrated on the largest oil painting in the world. Completed in 1886, the 1,396 sq m (15,030 sq ft) panoramic painting in the round is 12.8m (42ft) high. With the aid of narrative music, lights, art, sound effects and a diorama, that fateful battle comes to life. This unusual exhibit makes a huge impact on its audience. Visitors should look for the inclusion of Clark Gable as Rhett Butler. An adjoining museum contains relics that commemorate the Confederate cause.

800 Cherokee Avenue Southeast, Grant Park
Tel: (404) 624 1071 or 658 7625.
Website: www.webguide.com/cyclorama.html
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0930-1630; private shows and receptions Mon.
Admission charge.

Atlanta History Center
Surrounded by 13 hectares (33 acres) of signposted trails and gardens, this complex of Atlanta’s past focuses on the human tragedy of the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement. Exhibits include the artistry of Southern needlework and handicrafts plus Bobby Jones, the famous 1920s golfer, memorabilia. A 1996 Atlanta Olympics exhibition opened in July 2006. Swan House, the elegant 1928 classical-style mansion named for the swan motif recurring throughout the interior, and the Tullie Smith Farm, an entire farm complex built in the 1840s moved intact from rural Georgia, are also part of the center.

130 West Paces Ferry Road Northwest, Buckhead
Tel: (404) 814 4000.
Website: www.atlantahistorycenter.com
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1030-1730; Sun 1200-1730.
Admission charge.

Centennial Olympic Park
Built for the 1996 Olympics, this popular gathering place features year-round entertainment. With sculptures, the much photographed Fountain of Rings and meandering paths, the 7-hectare (21-acre) park is a pleasant place to relax.

Marietta Street at International Boulevard
Tel: (404) 222 7275/PARK.
Website: www.centennialpark.com
Opening hours: Daily 0700-2300.
Free admission.

CNN Center
Get a behind-the-scenes look at CNN and Headline News on a 50-minute CNN tour. The tour offers a fascinating glimpse of how newscasts are put together and visitors see the real newsrooms. For an extra charge, visitors can don a newscaster’s jacket and tape a ‘special news bulletin.’ The center itself houses a mall with a food court, bank, post office and specialty shops such as the Atlanta Braves (baseball team) store and the Turner Broadcasting store. It also has the world’s longest freestanding escalator which rises 49m (160ft), or approximately eight storys.

1 CNN Drive
Tel: (404) 827 2300 or 1 877 4266 8687/4CNN TOUR.
Website: www.cnn.com/StudioTour
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1700 (tour every 10 minutes).
Admission charge.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History
Enter into the dramatic 26m- (86ft-) high Great Hall skylight and be surrounded by a spectacular wall of windows, a fossil-embedded limestone floor and a giant dinosaur. With fossils, plants, dinos and animals, the winding Walk through Time exhibit depicts the prehistory and history of Georgia up to 1838. The development of handicrafts is illustrated with ethnic weaving, pottery and jewelry from Asia. The facility also has an IMAX theater.

767 Clifton Road Northeast
Tel: (404) 929 6300.
Website: www.fernbank.edu
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-1700; Sun 1200-1700.
Admission charge.

Fernbank Science Center
With one of the country’s largest planetariums, an original Apollo capsule, space memorabilia, and moon rocks, this is paradise for those who look to the stars. On a clear night, the astronomer on duty guides visitors on a tour of the galaxy through the Observatory’s telescope.

156 Heaton Park Drive Northeast
Tel: (678) 874 7102.
Website: www.fernbank.edu
Opening hours: Mon-Wed 0830-1700; Thurs-Fri 0830-2200; Sat 1000-1700; Sun 1300-1700.
Free admission; charge for planetarium shows.

Governor’s Mansion
Early 19th-century paintings, porcelain and Federal-period furniture grace the 30-room Greek Revival-styled Governor’s home. You might think you are in Mississippi at a plantation house rather than in Georgia at an antebellum mansion. Located 1.5km (1 mile) east of the Atlanta History Center.

391 West Paces Ferry Road Northwest
Tel: (404) 261 1776.
Website: www.gov.state.ga.us/about_mansion
Opening hours: (Tours) Tues-Thurs 1000 and 1130.
Free admission.

High Museum of Art
Located at the Woodruff Arts Center, High Museum of Art, this beautiful white, award-winning building designed by Richard Meier features modern, contemporary and decorative art mostly by American artists. A new facility, designed by Renzo Piano, has doubled the size of the museum. It now showcases a three year exhibit that features collections from the Musée du Louvre in Paris.

Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree Street Northeast
Tel: (404) 733 4444/HIGH(Woodruff) or (404) 733 4400.
Website: www.high.org
Opening hours: Tues-Wed, Fri-Sat 1000-1700; Thurs 1000-2000; Sun 1200-1700.
Admission charge.

Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta
Two to eight-year-olds will think this is hands-on heaven. The museum has fun things to explore like an obstacle course of simple machines, a creativity section where kids can dance, climb up to a treehouse, be on TV or mould waxed sand or ‘fish.’ There is even a small grocery store and kitchen.

275 Centennial Olympic Park Drive
Tel: (404) 659 5437/KIDS.
Website: www.imagineit-cma.org
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 1000-1600; Sat-Sun 1000-1700.
Admission charge.

Jimmy Carter Library and Museum
This presidential library and museum examines the early life, political career and accomplishments of President Jimmy Carter. Presidents that preceded Carter are also honored. In a replica of the Oval Office, a Carter recording reviews his White House years (January 1977 to January 1981). Significant topics like the Middle East Peace (Camp David Accords), the Panama Canal, the nuclear threat and the Iran hostages are examined more closely in another section of the museum. On permanent display are Carter’s Nobel Prize for Peace, photographs, memorabilia and gifts of state. Lovely gardens and a great view of Atlanta’s skyline surround the facility.

441 Freedom Parkway
Tel: (404) 865 7100.
Website: www.jimmycarterlibrary.org
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0900-1645; Sun 1200-1645.
Admission charge.

Margaret Mitchell House and Museum
Margaret Mitchell and her husband, John Marsh, shared Apartment 1 at this corner property on Peachtree Street. It was in this turn-of-the-century building that she wrote her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gone with the Wind. Through the years, the structure suffered from vandalism, fire and neglect. It is now open to the public and restored to look like it did when Ms Mitchell occupied it. Personal memorabilia, pictures and even her typewriter are on display. Across the street, the Gone with the Wind Museum displays posters, a life-size portrait of Scarlett O’Hara, costumes and the original front door of Tara. A must for GWTW fans.

990 Peachtree Street
Tel: (404) 249 7015.
Website: www.gwtw.org
Opening hours: Daily 0930-1700.
Admission charge.

Martin Luther King Jr Historic District
The 13-hectare (33-acre) Historic District in Sweet Auburn is a potent reminder of Atlanta’s tumultuous past. Most moving is the recording of King’s ‘I have a Dream’ speech which can be heard at the Visitor Center. The National Park Service maintains his birthplace home, Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he succeeded his father and grandfather as pastor in 1960, and Fire Station No. 6, the first fire station in Atlanta to be integrated. The nearby Martin Luther King Jr Center for Nonviolent Social Change pays tribute to King’s Nobel Prize-winning work for equality via civil disobedience and non-violent marches.

450 Auburn Avenue (Visitor Center)
Tel: (404) 331 5190.
Website: www.nps.gov/malu
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1700 (winter); 0900-1800 (summer).
Free admission.

The Museums in the 1400 Spring Street Area
The Center for Puppetry Arts, the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum and the National Museum of Patriotism are across from one another. Each is unique.

Center For Puppetry Arts
This center houses puppets from all over the world as well as puppet-making workshops. In the theater are puppet performances for both children and adults.

1404 Spring Street
Tel: (404) 873 3089 or 3391.
Website: www.puppet.org
Opening hours: Wed-Sat 0900-1700; Sun 1100-1700 (museum). Check performance and workshop schedule times in advance.
Admission charge.

William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum
Focusing on the Holocaust and Atlanta Jewish Heritage, exhibits include TV monitors with Holocaust survivor stories. Issues that have affected Atlanta Jews like Civil Rights and a temple bombing are also highlighted.

1440 Spring Street Northwest (at 18th Street)
Tel: (678) 222 3700.
Website: www.thebreman.org
Opening hours: Mon-Thurs 1000-1700; Fri 1000-1500; Sun 1300-1700.
Admission charge.

The National Museum of Patriotism
This venue dwells on aspects of American patriotism. Exhibits include American nationalistic symbols and a sweetheart jewelry collection of patriotic gifts. There is a section on tributes to the armed forces. Visitors are invited to send a free video to a serviceman.

1405 Spring Street
Tel: (404) 875 0691.
Website: www.museumofpatriotism.org
Opening hours: Tues-Fri 1000-1600; Sat 1100-1700; Sun 1300-1700.
Admission charge.

NEW World of Coca-Cola
Unless you are a Coca-holic, this newly-opened, two-story Coke sales pitch is a bit much. Visitors are greeted by an 8.3m (27ft) frosted model of a Coke bottle. Go inside and find Coca-Cola everything - artifacts, a bottling factory, 4D theater, pop culture gallery, ads and of course, the Coca-Cola souvenir shop. It is ultra tacky - but then Coca-Cola is an integral part of Atlanta and its financial success.

121 Baker Street
Tel: (404) 676 5151 or 1 800 676 2653/COKE.
Website: www.woccatlanta.com
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1700; Jun-Aug 0800-1800.
Admission charge.

Zoo Atlanta
Zoo Atlanta is one of the oldest zoos in the USA. A key attraction is the two giant pandas from Chengdu in the Republic of China. The zoo keeps over 250 animal species include gorillas, orangutans, tigers, lions, giraffes, elephants and so on in their natural habitats.
                                                                                  
Grant Park, 800 Cherokee Avenue Southeast
Tel: (404) 624 9453/WILD.
Website: www.zooatlanta.org
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0930-1730; Sat-Sun 0930-1830.
Admission charge.

Further Distractions:

Atlanta Botanical Garden
While away some pleasant hours amid sculptures and English and Japanese gardens. Tropical, desert and endangered plants are shown year round in the Fuqua Conservatory. Located 5km (3 miles) from Downtown.

1345 Piedmont Avenue Northeast
Tel: (404) 876 5859.
Website: www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0900-1900 (Apr-Oct); Tues-Sun 0900-1700 (Nov-Mar).
Admission charge.

Michael C Carlos Museum
Part of Emory University, this museum of ancient art seeks to share the stories of civilization -tales of love, beauty, power, faith and glory. Its Asian Art collection highlights Hinduism and Buddhism, while Ancient Egypt stresses the afterlife. The Roman and Greek galleries focus on warfare, private life and theater. Other exhibits include African and pre-Columbian art.

571 South Kilgo Circle
Tel: (404) 727 4282.
Website: http://carlos.emory.edu
Opening hours: Tues-Sat 1000-1700; Sun 1200-1700.
Admission charge.

National Archives Southeast Region
This Southeast branch of the National Archives (the main branch is in Washington, DC) has original documents like family histories, penitentiary files and naturalization papers that date back to 1716. There is an interesting exhibit of draft cards (selective service cards) of famous people such as Harry Houdini, Babe Ruth and James Cagney.

5780 Jonesboro Road, Morrow (close to Hartsfield-Jackson Airport)
Tel: (770) 968 2100.
Website: www.archives.gov/southeast
Opening hours: Tues-Sat 0830-1700.
Free admission.

Underground Atlanta
Constructed on the underpinnings of early Atlanta, this one time railroad gulch (ravine) is now a marketplace, featuring restaurants, specialty shops, street vendors, entertainment emporiums and guided or unguided history tours. It appeals primarily to tourists.

Corner of Peachtree and Alabama Streets
Tel: (404) 523 2311.
Website: www.underground-atlanta.com
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-2100; Sun 1100-1800.
Free admission.

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Georgia Aquarium