Discover Atlanta, Georgia Under the Shade of Trees

The US city of Atlanta is situated in the South-Eastern state of Georgia, near the Southern end of the Appalachian Mountains.

Atlanta is the center of a sprawling metropolitan area of five and a half million people, and growing! Atlanta’s downtown is on the horizon, but the rest of the city is a little harder to see. It’s under all those trees!

Atlanta is blessed with such a thick, continuous canopy of greenery, it’s often referred to as, ‘the city in a forest!’

The Atlanta History Center

Journey through the city’s past at the Atlanta History Center; from the city’s beginnings as a railway terminal in 1837, and through the plantation era to the American Civil War when the city was almost completely burnt to the ground.

The museum holds one of the largest collections of Civil War memorabilia in the country, but it’s not all flags and cannons, many exhibits focus on the human cost of this terrible conflict.

The driving Atlanta City

Over time the city rebuilt and boomed. First, the freeways came, and then the Civil Rights era when Atlanta took the front seat in the drive towards racial equality, earning it the title, ‘the city too busy to hate’.

The Centennial Olympic Games

In 1996 the city lit up again, this time for the Centennial Olympic Games. Atlanta got all gussied-up and was presented to the world, and it just gets more graceful with every passing season.

CNN’s global headquarters

Atlanta today is a dynamic center of innovation and investment. Two of its leading corporations are also major tourist attractions. Go behind the scenes at CNN’s global headquarters by taking a guided tour through the television network which pioneered 24-hour news.

The World of Coca Cola

Nearby, you can learn some ~ but not all ~ of the secrets behind another little home-grown product. At the World of Coca Cola, travel along with with a bottling-line and though the 125-year history of a company that produces over a billion gallons of cola every year.

The Georgia Aquarium

Right next door and containing 10 million gallons of water, is the Georgia Aquarium ~ one of the world’s largest! The aquarium features six exhibits, from cold-water displays featuring Beluga Whales to touch-tanks featuring rays, crabs and starfish.

But by far the biggest attraction is a massive saltwater tank, the Ocean Voyager, where you can actually swim with Whale Sharks.

The Fabulous Fox

Atlanta is a city filled with architecture synonymous with Southern style and grace, but for a taste of pure 1920s indulgence, step into the Fabulous Fox! Like a vision from Arabian Nights, the Fox Theater features a ceiling embedded with more stars than a moonless night in Georgia.

Home of Margaret Mitchell

Atlanta has long been an arts-loving community. One of the world’s greatest stories ~ Gone With The Wind ~ was written and set here. Visit the humble apartment where novelist Margaret Mitchell once lived and worked before her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel set the world on fire.

The Martin Luther King Junior Historic Site

While Atlanta’s favorite novelist dreamed of bestsellers, one Atlanta son dared to voice the shared dream of millions of African Americans ~ equality! The Martin Luther King Junior Historic Site celebrates the journey of one of history’s most inspiring men.

The Baptist Church

Visit the civil rights leader’s humble birthplace, the museum dedicated to Martin Luther King Junior achievements, and the Baptist Church where he once preached, and now lays at eternal rest.

The Fernburg Museum of Natural History and the adjacent Science Center

Step a little further back in time at the Fernburg Museum of Natural History and the adjacent Science Center, which examines history and science from the Big Bang to more contemporary times.

Zoo Atlanta

If you prefer your animals a little more active, head over to Zoo Atlanta where a fabulous collection of Giant Pandas, Gorillas, Giraffes, and Rhinos awaits. For a different kind of wildlife, spend an hour or two exploring the vintage emporiums and bars in Little Five Points, one of Atlanta’s many diverse neighborhoods.