Atlanta, Georgia

Next time you have a conference in Atlanta make the most of your time, and experience Atlanta to the fullest. Use this guide to get an overview of all of the attractions, dining options, sporting venues and more.

Attractions: (categories listed in alphabetical order)

  1. Atlanta City Pass - includes Admission to 5 attractions at a discounted rate

    1. Georgia Aquarium

    2. World of Coca-Cola 

    3. Zoo Atlanta

    4. Plus 2 of the following:

      1. Fernbank Museum of Natural History

      2. College Football Hall of Fame

      3. National Center for Civil and Human Rights 

  2. Festivals

    1. Atlanta Dogwood Festival - celebrates the arrival of spring

    2. Atlanta Film Festival

    3. Atlanta Food and Wine Festival

    4. Atlanta Jazz Festival - Memorial Day Weekend

  3. Museums and Tours

    1. Atlanta History Center - one of the attractions is the Swan House - the backdrop for The Hunger Games

    2. The Bremen - Jewish Heritage Museum

    3. CDC Science Public Health Museum

    4. Children’s Museum of Atlanta

    5. College Football Hall of Fame ($30.25, open 10-5 daily, plan for 2 hours)

    6. Delta Flight Museum

    7. Federal Reserve Bank of America Tours

    8. Fernbank Museum of Natural History 

      1. Home to the world’s largest dinosaurs, Atlanta’s biggest movie screen and one of the largest assemblages of urban Piedmont forest in the United States, Fernbank brings science to life. 

      2. $25.95/adult for admission, plan for 2 hrs, open 10-5 daily

      3. Check out the After Dark activity on the 2nd Friday of every month from 7-11 with live music, drinks, and access to the museum. 

    9. Georgia Aquarium (price will depend on day of the week, and if you select a time)

      1. Plan for 3-4 hours, hours vary by day. 

      2. It’s the largest Aquarium in the US, and the 4th largest in the world.

    10. High Museum of Art

    11. Jimmy Carter Presidential Library

    12. Michael C Carlos Museum - has a cool mummy display

    13. Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA)

    14. National Center for Civil and Human Rights ($21.77, open 12-5 daily, plan for 2 hours)

    15. Oakland and Westview Cemetery Tours

    16. Porsche Experience Center Atlanta - drive a porsche and head to the launch center

    17. Trap Music Museum - find out why Atlanta is the Hip Hop Capital.

    18. World of Coca-Cola ($22.87, open 10 am to 6 pm. Plan for 2 hours)

    19. Zoo Atlanta ($34.25, $28.95 if you select day and time. Only open until 3:30 every day except 4:30 on Saturdays and Sundays. Plan for 3 hours. They have giant pandas).

    20. There are a multitude of bus tours, segway tours ($69/person for 2.5 hours), wine tours, food tasting tours etc

    21. Historic Home Tours

      1. 44th and 3rd Bookseller

      2. Hammonds House Museum

      3. The Wren’s Nest

  4. Nightlife

    1. Piano Bars

      1. Park Bench Battery - check this place out. Looks like they have a great mix of nightly entertainment - often related to dueling pianos.They do a lot of events before and after Brave’s games.

      2. Parker’s on Ponce - steakhouse with live music.

      3. Andrews Brothers Dueling Piano

        1. Look at the calendar of events on the website to know where they’re playing each night. Very interactive. 

        2. This website has the nightlife listed by neighborhood.

  5. Parks

    1. The Atlanta BeltLine

      1. The Atlanta BeltLine is a network of multi-use trails and parks that encircle the city’s core, providing a safe and accessible space for pedestrians, cyclists, and joggers to enjoy. It is also home to a wide range of murals and sculptures that reflect Atlanta’s diverse cultural heritage. 

        1. Check out this website to see all of the other trail systems.

      2. Path 400 connects to the Beltline - it’s a popular Buckhead trail connecting parks, neighborhoods and a bee habitat.

    2. Atlanta Botanical Gardens

      1. Open 9 am - 8 pm Tuesday through Sunday, plan for 2 hours

      2. You can purchase online or at the door (admission not guaranteed, but no processing fees this way).

    3. Centennial Olympic Park

      1. 22 acre green space with a lot of water features, built for the 1996 Summer Games. Get a picture of the Olympic Rings.

      2. Ride the SkyView Atlanta Ferris Wheel - gondolas with glass floors.

      3. Head to the Visitor’s Center to start a scavenger hunt to find 3 of the 20+ 7 inch doors and murals.

    4. Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area - just outside of the city with hiking, fishing, ziplining, and river recreation.  

    5. Millennium Gate Museum and Park - has a 100 foot arch

    6. MLK Jr National Historic Park

    7. Piedmont Park

      1. Big green space, walking trails, public pool

    8. Amusement Parks and Active Adventure

      1. Andretti Indoor GoKarts

      2. FunSpot America Atlanta

      3. Indoor Skydiving at iFlyAtlanta

      4. LegoLand Discovery Center

      5. Six Flags Over Georgia and Six Flags White Water 

      6. Skyline Park at Ponce City Market for carnival games, mini golf, swings etc

      7. Top Golf Atlanta

  6. Restaurants

    1. The Varsity - the world’s largest drive in restaurant.

    2. Buford Highway - offers more than 1000 ethnic food options (25 minutes from downtown).

      1. Check out this website for info on the restaurants (it has great descriptions, and shows where they’re located on the map)

      2. Machu Picchu Restaurant for traditional Peruvian

      3. Havana Sandwich Shop for Cuban

      4. Roc South Cuisine for soul food

      5. Bismillah Cafe for Bangladeshi dishes

      6. Plaza Fiesta for a huge Mexican/Venezuelan food court and a farmer’s market. 

      7. Nam Phuong for Vietnamese

      8. Continent Restaurant for afro-caribbean inspired food

      9. Northern China Eatery for dumplings

      10. LanZhou for ramen and potstickers

      11. Literally every ethnicity you can think of - malaysian, vietnamese, chinese, bbq etc.

    3. Buckhead (northern Atlanta) - fine dining and steakhouses 

    4. Southwest Atlanta - southern dining

    5. Westside and Eastside have food halls - Chattahoochee Food Works (upper west side) and Ponce City Food Market (east side)

    6. Recommended by friends:

      1. The Busy Bee Cafe for Soul Food

      2. Rumi’s Kitchen Colony Square for Persian Food

      3. Lyla Lila for Southern European food

      4. Ray’s in the city for Seafood

    7. Downtown near the hotel district:

      1. The Food Shoppe for Creole food

      2. Baraka Shawarma Mediterranean Grill (***the wait was long, but the food was delicious)

      3. Mediterranean Grill 

      4. Tin Lizzy’s Cantina for Mexican food 

      5. Amalfi Cucina for Italian 

      6. Alma Cocina for fancy Mexican

      7. Meehan’s Public House for Irish food

      8. Ali Baba Turkish Restaurant for counter serve gyros 

      9. New South Kitchen for southern soul food

      10. Binky’s Eatery for soul food 

      11. Taqueria on Broad for counter serve Mexican

      12. Blossom Tree for Korean/Asian food

      13. The Yard - Milkshake Bar with speciality shakes. 

      14. Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint (***we loved the music, and the food was great) - live music at 7 pm every night with a soul food menu. A per person $5 entertainment fee will be applied to your bill.

    8. Dining by Cuisine: https://discoveratlanta.com/dining/by-cuisine/

    9. Dining by Neighborhood: https://discoveratlanta.com/dining/by-neighborhood/

  7. Shopping/Neighborhoods

    1. Krog Street District (east of downtown) - for lots of shops and restaurant options. Lots of cool ethnic options here - middle eastern, cuban, soul food, vietnamese etc. (***The dumplings at Giu’s were the best we’ve ever had).

      1. Lots of cool murals and street art on the Beltline as you walk towards the Krog Street Tunnel. 

    2. Ponce City Market is one of Atlanta’s most popular attractions located in the historic Sears, Roebuck & Co. building, the market features a variety of restaurants, shops, and entertainment options including a rooftop amusement park. The Roof features a variety of activities including mini-golf, carnival games, and a slide ($15/person entrance).

      1. Botiwalla for Indian street food 

      2. Bibi for Persian.  

      3. El Superpan is the best Cuban sandwich in town.

      4. Ton Ton for ramen 

      5. 9 Mile Station for rooftop seating and great views. Lots of good menu options, but try the shrimp and grits with andouille sausage.

      6. Minero for burritos 

    3. Buckhead Village District - eclectic group of shops and restaurants with cobblestone streets along Peachtree Corridor. Lots of mansions and historic buildings.

    4. Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza - luxury shopping and culinary markets 

    5. Sweet Auburn Avenue - hip bars, street eats, and check out the Municipal Market which has 10 of the most popular eateries in Atlanta.

    6. Midtown - Atlanta’s Heart of the Arts

      1. Less than a mile north Centennial Olympic Park. Walkable stretch of the city, lots of nightlife (Opera, Nightclubs etc), shopping, entertainment (Atlantic Station), and Georgia Institute of Technology. 

    7. Downtown - Aquarium, College Football Hall of Fame, Centennial Olympic Park etc. Lots of hotels and restaurants.

    8. Marietta Square

  8. Sports

    1. Check out the schedule for the Atlanta Braves (baseball), Atlanta Falcons (NFL), Atlanta Hawks (Basketball), Atlanta United FC (soccer) 

  9. Theaters

    1. Fox Theatre

    2. Alliance Theatre

    3. Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

    4. Center for Puppetry Arts

    5. The Illuminarium features 4k interactive projection, 360 audio, in floor vibration and scent systems

    6. Plaza Theatre - Atlanta’s oldest operating cinema.

    7. Starlight Drive-In

    8. State Farm Arena often has concerts

  10. Transportation - MARTA

    1. Everything connects to the Five Points Station downtown. 

    2. MARTA’s airport rail station is connected to the airport, adjacent to baggage claim. From the Airport Station, board a northbound train (Doraville or North Springs) to travel to downtown Atlanta. At Five Points Station, you can transfer to an east or westbound train based on your destination. When traveling to the airport, board a southbound train (Airport). From Five Points station the approximate travel time to the airport is 15 minutes. 

    3. Use the MARTA Plan A Trip tool to see what steps to take:

    4. To purchase tickets: 

      1. Trains - purchase your ticket at the station vending machines. Then tap your Breeze Card or ticket to the target on the gates before entering the station.

      2. Streetcar - purchase fare directly from a Streetcar vending machine using a credit card or use the Breeze Card.

      3. Buses - tap card on the fare box by the driver or place the correct amount of cash in the box. 

    5. Streetcars: Current route connects the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site to the east and the Centennial Olympic Park area to the west, with 10 other stops in between. Purchase fare on platform vending machines or with exact cash onboard. $1/ride.   

  11. Notes on Atlanta

    1. Atlanta is the “City of Trees”

    2. There are more than 70 streets that have Peachtree as part of the name. 

    3. Check out this website for tons of great info on Atlanta. Make sure to check out the events calendar link.ink. Atlanta. Make sure to check out the events calendar link.