I will be in Atlanta in December for a training. Then we have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to have some fun. Friday has been reserved for the Aquarium and for the World of Coke. Thursday afternoon we want to go shooting.
What else is there to do? We probably don’t want to see the zoo in December and we have absolutely no interest in sports. We like botanical gardens but would it be worth it to see it? Not much will be blooming.
Suggestions? We are also happy to rent a car and leave the city.
Oakwood Cemetery, but that’s just me. Or the Atlanta Underground. Or take your coworkers up to Norcross and show them Indian culture.
Walking Dead tour
Hunger Games tour
hike up Stone Mountain
Sounds like you’ll have better options than I will on a Monday-Thursday in March.
If I had three days to kill in Atlanta I would probably stay in the hotel and drink to excess.
If you need to go out, I would second the suggestion of Oakland Cemetery, as I always enjoy touring the bone orchards. Oakland is rated up there with Boston’s Mt Auburn, Brooklyn’s Green-Wood, and Philly’s Mt Laurel as a prime example of American Victorian-era Graveyard Beautiful. It’s a bit shy of celebrities – it’s got Margaret Mitchell, the guy who invented Coke, and a few thousand dead Confederate soldiers – but there are probably nice examples of memorial sculpture and architecture.
I would also travel out to Stone Mountain to marvel at the hideous colossal bas-relief of American traitors.
Fernbank Museum of Natural History is really cool if you like that sort of thing.
I enjoyed the MLK stuff quite a bit.
The Varsity restaurant is fun. Thevarsity.com
The food isn’t that great (but it’s not expensive),and it’s a pretty neat throwback. And you’ll find yourself saying “What’llya have? What’llya have?” afterwards.
I would agree that the hike/gondola ride up Stone Mountain is a lot of fun. The view from the top is worth it. I had fun in the Underground as a kid, not so much as I got older. I also enjoyed the Swan House.
Fat Matt’s BBQ was delicious.
Shame you’re too late for a Braves game, but maybe a Falcons game?
The aquarium was overrated, IMO, but I follow the Atlanta Zoo on social media and it looks great!
Another vote for the Martin Luther King, jr National Historic Site - very moving and powerful.
I also like going to the Presidentail Libraries, but Carter’s was just meh.
Stone Mountain Park, but that depends on the weather.
If you’re up for a dive bar/strip club, The Clermont Lounge. I’m not joking at all. It is a Destination within the city.
If there’s interest in shopping, got to Lenox Mall/Phipps Plaza. It will be the holiday season, so remember that it’s a mall.
If you’re staying downtown, hop on the streetcar, go to the Sweet Auburn Curb Market and then continue on after that to the MLK Jr historical site. The streetcar is free through this year. Wave at the Georgia State University buildings - I work in one of them.
Museums: Center for Puppetry Arts, Atlanta History Center, High Museum. I’d suggest theWaffle House Museum, but it may not be open when you’re here (I’ve never been, so I can’t say if it’s worth it)
I am not a fan of the GA Aquarium (I think it’s too focused on the entertainment side of edutainment, and still doesn’t do that well), but I see you’re going there, and it’s ok, I just prefer other aquariums. My favorite part of the world of coke was tasting the sodas from around the world at the end.
Foodwise: come out to Decatur (it’s on the blue Marta line): I’m a fan of the Brick Store Pub - great beer selections if you/those you’re with are beer fans, but good food too. Also Raging Burrito, Iberian Pig and more. If you want a wide variety of ethnic foods, check out places on Buford Highway
Krog Street Market, Ponce City Market, and the Atlanta Beltline (if the weather’s good) are some of the hot new things in town.
the center for puppetry arts looks interesting
I recommend the CNN Studio tour (buy your tickets ahead of time). My family and I did that this year the same day we did World of Coke and had a great time.
Go on a hike.
(scans preceding posts)
Christ on a crutch. If the top attractions are the World of Coke and a puppet museum, Atlanta is even worse than I thought.
Maybe you should look into the train fares to Macon…
Since it sounded like the OP was leaning touristy, I leaned that way in my recommendations. But by all means, please don’t come here. I’d rather you didn’t with that attitude.
Wouldn’t think of it!
No, seriously, I wouldn’t think of it.
The Waffle House Museum is only open once a month, and it’s really only worth it if you’re familiar with Waffle House.
Skip the World of Coke, it’s a giant tourist trap/Coca-Cola ad. The only thing that’s really worth the price of admission is the tasting room at the end.
If you’re a foodie, definitely come out to Decatur (my little town!). Lots and lots of good restaurants - the aforementioned Brick Store, which is a gastropub; Raging Burrito, which has the best patio in the city; Café Alsace, a tiny little Alsatian restaurant run by Mdme. Cooper, probably the only Alsatian restaurant in the South. Good food. Decatur is the oldest community in the Atlanta area - it predates the city by about a decade - and has a beautiful cemetery and some historic homes and buildings. I’d be happy to give you a tour.
Another good neighborhood for food is Inman Park. Barcelona Wine Bar, Parish, and Across The Street are the ones that stand out for me. The neighborhood is one of the oldest in Atlanta, and has a number of beautiful old homes, as well as our own homemade TARDIS.
If you like authentic Italian pizza - as in, made by a licensed pizziolo, out of buffola mozzarella and San Roma tomatoes, in a brick pizza oven - we’ve got three or four restaurants that qualify: Fritti, Antico, and Sapori di Napoli in Decatur.
We also have a large and diverse South Asian community, so if you want Indian food, you can find it. If you did eat Indian, I’d be very interested to hear your opinion of it. Since I think you’ve mentioned once or twice that you’re Indian? 
Depending on when you’re coming, you could catch a performance the Nutcracker, by the oldest continuously active ballet company in the nation. It’s at the Fox Theater, which is an experience in itself.
Atlanta Movie Tours is really fun. I went on the Walking Dead tour, which was guided by an extra who frequently works on the show, and had a blast - and I don’t even watch the show.
Second the High Museum - Ms. SMV and I were just at the Habsburg Splendor exhibition, which was fantastic.
I suppose I could just save us both some time and direct you to the ACVB’s website, for which I occasionally blog: www.atlanta.net.
Yet you’re happy to come into the thread to sneer. Yes, please stay in your little bubble of moral superiority; we have plenty of ignorant provincialism here already, we don’t need your contribution.
Hey, “Little bubble of moral superiority” is what the ITP is all about!