I've got three days in Atlanta, GA. What do I do with them?

In My Humble Opinion
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I will be in Atlanta from February 16 through 20. Feb 16 will be taken up with flying from Austin to ATL, then a concert at the Atlanta Symphony Hall (the purpose of the trip). We should have some time on that afternoon, but not a whole lot. We’ve got all day on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We fly back to Austin early on Sunday. At this time, I don’t know where we will be staying. Downtown looks awfully expensive, but any savings in the suburbs may be offset by increased transportation costs.

So, with a limited amount of time, what things should my wife and I do? We both love Coca-Cola. Do they have tours, etc? What about touring CNN? Is the State Capitol worth a look? I’m from Austin, which has, I am sure, the most beautiful State Capitol in the nation. :slight_smile: Would the Georgia capitol pale in comparison? Is the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum a good place to visit? Or is it too Plains?? (Hahahaha.)

What is public transportation like? Does Atlanta have a workable train system or would Uber/Lyft be a better choice? Do we need to pack in anticipation of snow or other really cold weather?

I’ve never been to Georgia. Please, sell me on the Peachtree State. I’m looking forward to our somewhat impromptu visit.

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For Coca-Cola you have two main options: the Dixie Coca-Cola Plant, the oldest existing building associated with the brand, and the World of Coca-Cola, the “official” museum of Coca-Cola. They’re not really walking distance apart.

They have an excellent aquarium. The only one outside of Asia you can see a whale shark. It is impressive (both the whale shark and the aquarium in general).

Olympic Park is nice.

If you’re into college football, the College Football Hall of Fame is there.

You can expect weather in the 50s-60s during the day. Snow is unlikely. Bring a sweatshirt at least.

As for public transportation, there is the much-maligned system known as MARTA. Its reputation is somewhat unfair, though the complaint it doesn’t really go anywhere useful is at least partly valid. Its utility is quite limited. You’ll probably want to Uber/Lyft most of the time.

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If you love Coca-Cola, you’ll probably enjoy a visit to the World of Coca-Cola. The Georgia Aquarium, the College Football Hall of Fame, SkyView Atlanta (our very own big-ass Ferris wheel) and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights are all also in the same area, in case one of them piques your interest. Literally a short walk between them all. While CNN is also right there, the last I heard is that they no longer give studio tours. We also have the Botanical Gardens, which is cool if you’re into that sort of thing.

Our rail system is pretty decent for commuters but has very limited stops, so it will probably not be particularly useful for you.

There are some pretty cool neighborhoods around town, and many excellent food choices, but without knowing you better, I wouldn’t know whether to steer you to Virginia Highlands, Little Five Points, the Beltline, Buckhead, Buford Highway, or many other places with interesting aspects.

If you happen to be a Porsche fan, their NA headquarters are also here and since they have their own test track setup, they offer quite a few different driving experience options (for a price).

Tell us things you enjoy and we can probably help.

PS Are you coming for Rick Springfield or Harry Potter?

Edit: I see @DCnDC made many of the same recommendations while I was typing, so apologies for some duplicate info.

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Thank you for the suggestions. I just booked a room at the Marriott Marquis downtown. That looks to be within walking distance of many of the attractions mentioned above. I got a pretty good deal – only $164 per night. The suburbs would be cheaper, but I figure we’ll make up the difference by saving money on transportation.

We’re in town for the Rick Springfield/Atlanta Symphony concert. My wife is a long-time Jessie’s Girl. We’ve gone to many of his shows, but this is the first we’ve seen him with an orchestra. I love stuff like that – a pop or rock band with a real orchestra or choir instead of just electronics. I didn’t think we’d be able to go, but the tickets are quite affordable and Southwest has some good fares right now. The hotel is, by far, the most expensive part of the trip.

We enjoy going to shows – music, theater, comedy, etc. We like things that are interactive, like the World of Coca Cola, etc. Museums are okay, but we don’t want to feel like we’re on a school field trip.

On the Coca Cola website, they advertise a CityPass. It gives admission to five attractions for one price. Two are Coca Cola and the Aquarium. The other options don’t sound that attractive, but I may get it because the two attractions still come in a bit less than buying them separately. Anyone have experience with this? Is it a good idea?

I think we’ll enjoy Olympic Park and maybe the Ferris wheel. Might check out the zoo. I’d probably like the Carter Library, but I’m into politics. My wife may be less enthused, unless there’s some sort of pop-culture angle with it.

What else should I do during a brief visit to Atlanta?

Georgia will be my 25th state visited, plus DC.

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I was going to recommend the CityPass. My family has always enjoyed the Fernbank Museum. You should check to see what is the featured exhibition for your time of stay. The Zoo is not the greatest, but not the worst. The Atlanta History Center has a nice section on the Olympics. The Center for the Puppetry Arts has an awesome Jim Henson section. Check the website for the Carter Center to see what is on exhibition. Take a picnic to Stone Mountain and climb up the walking trail. If you are a Hunger Games fan, tour the Swan House at the Atlanta History Center (President Snow’s mansion).

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When I visited Atlanta, I was surprised to find the Center for Puppetry Arts was located there, and really enjoyed my visit there. It is fairly interactive, and covers more than the Muppets.

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I’ve only spent a very small amount of time in Atlanta, but high on my list of things to do was go to Varasano’s pizza. It was pretty darn good.

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If you’re near it and you’ve never been, you need to stop and eat at The Varsity.

It’s fast food, and it’s fairly average in almost every respect, but it’s an Atlanta/Georgia institution and just one of those dumb “have-to-do-checklist” kind of things. It’s a real cheap lunch at the very least. Get a paper hat. Note the odd prices on the menu, which appear to be set so they come out even with tax for drunk college students. LOL

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While Varasano’s is indeed pretty tasty pizza, it’s a bit of a road trip from where they are staying. Antico is in the same league in my opinion, and a very short Uber/Lyft (about 2.5 miles) from the Marriott Marquis. I could probably eat their Diavola for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a month and still enjoy it.

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Opened the thread to make sure the Center for Puppetry Arts was mentioned – and glad to see it’s gotten two mentions so far. Much more than the Muppets, although the Jim Henson/Muppets section alone would be worth the price of admission.

This is the kind of place that sometimes people aren’t sure about initially: “Is it just for kids?” “Probably not my kind of thing.” “I mean … what’s there to see besides the Muppet stuff?”

Then they visit – with or without kids – and end up considering it one of the highlights of their trip. If nothing else, it’s an amazing nostalgia trip through broad swaths of American pop culture (and again, not just Muppets). There are also many exhibits that introduce visitors to the puppetry arts of other countries and cultures worldwide.

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If you like Shakespeare, check out a show at the Shakespeare Tavern. They’re quite good, and, as the name suggests, you can eat and drink during the show.

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I highly recommend the Center for Civil and Human Rights. It’s near the World of Coca Cola and the Aquarium. It’s fantastic and well worth visiting even if you didn’t do the other two places.

Come out to Decatur for some food! We’re a quick run on the blue line train, or an easy uber/lyft. My recommendations in Decatur for food are Leon’s Full Service, Iberian Pig, or Brick Store - but there are a lot of other options too!

The Varsity is terrible. Really, it is. People say go there for the experience, and that’s fine, but the experience isn’t all that IMO.

Since you’ll be downtown on a couple of weekdays, walk over to Broad Street - there are a variety of food places along there and Peachtree Street just nearby. A lot of them close in the evening because they mostly cater to downtown employees and the (largely commuter) students of Georgia State University. Places I like along there include:

Taqueria on Broad [Google Maps]( reference for everything on here)
Naan Stap
Dua Vietnamese
AZN
Blossom Tree (Korean - faces on to Peachtree Street)
Anatolia (also faces onto Peachtree - and unlike the others, is open into the evening)
Avoid the Moe’s in this area. It’s terrible, even for chain burrito restaurants.

You’re also right near Georgia State University (well, essentially in the campus if you’re on broad street) so wave at me!

The State Capitol is…not all that. I can see it from my office. If you’re into state capitols, visit, but eh.

Edit to fix link

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Our trip is TOMORROW! We’ll be leaving our house around 3:00am to make our flight out of Austin. I expect to be at the hotel before lunchtime. We’re hoping to get an early check-in since we have such an early morning. We also will explore the immediate neighborhood, too.

Wednesday night is the Rick Springfield / Atlanta Symphony Concert. Looks like we’ll need a Lyft for that one.

Thursday has rain forecast, so we may stay in and do a couples massage at the hotel spa, maybe a trip to a nearby attraction, either World of Coke or the Civil Rights museum.

Friday will likely be something like the Aquarium.

Saturday is supposed be sunny but a bit cool. Might be a good day for Olympic Park and whatever attractions we have missed, like the giant Ferris wheel.

Our flight back to Austin in early Sunday morning.

Thanks everyone for your advice. We’re very much looking forward to the trip.

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I hope you enjoyed the concert and your trip!

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We did enjoy the trip. I thought I’d post a chronological review here so that anyone searching Atlanta in the SDMB would have something useful.

ATL: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is very large and busy, but we did not have trouble finding our way. The Plane Train (chuckle) was useful and swift. Make sure to hang on, though – the train doesn’t mess around. The airport wasn’t as attractive as some I’ve seen, but it was fine.

Atlanta Marriott Marquis: Check-in time is 4:00pm, but we arrived around 10:00am. The staff was friendly and got us into a room right away on the 21st floor. I found the architecture of the place to be very interesting. The atrium is 50 stories high and has lots of curves and bridges. It is dizzying. We got a “couple’s massage” at the spa and enjoyed that very much. The downside to the hotel was that it was just kind of run down. All the furniture showed serious signs of age and wear. The colors and patterns were quite dated. The carpets were stained in places. A general update and a coat of paint could make this place really spectacular.

Hard Rock Cafe: Hey, it’s a Hard Rock. I have a collection of glasses from all over, so it’s a must-do when we’re in a city with HRC. It was about as expected. Very friendly people.

Lyft: Like everywhere, Lyft was hit or miss. Some drivers were great; others less so. Some of the cars we rode in had exterior body damage. One driver took us thirty minutes out of the way. Lyft charged us for the extra time, but when I complained, the app returned the over charge immediately. I didn’t think we should have to pay for the driver’s wandering around.

Rick Springfield/ASO/Symphony Hall I won’t go into a concert review, but we enjoyed the show. The concert hall was smaller than I expected. Personally, I don’t care for the off-white color scheme; I prefer a darker theater experience. We met very nice people sitting around us and had a nice time. Atlanta folks seem to be a very friendly, talkative bunch. We enjoyed their company.

Georgia Aquarium: Certainly lived up to the recommendations from so many people. We were initially lukewarm to the idea, but ended up having a whale of a good time. I’m glad we went.

Centennial Olympic Park: The weather was sort of gloomy, so it wasn’t the greatest day for a visit to a park. Still, we enjoyed looking at the “quilts” and found the memorial to the bombing to be moving and appropriate.

CNN Center: Where is everyone? We went in to grab a late lunch at the food court. Half of the restaurants were closed and the ones that were open were just kind of … blah. The place was really empty for being the middle of a Thursday afternoon. Still, it was nice to see public TVs that did NOT show FoxNews.

National Center for Civil and Human Rights: Whenever I see something like this, I am amazed at how invested so many people were in something so stunningly stupid (racism). Jim Crow was so hard to create and enforce, yet people worked so incredibly hard to do it. It’s just so stupid. However, regarding the exhibits themselves, we found them to be informative and engaging. I really would have liked to see more about civil rights other than the black/white divide in the United States. What about women’s suffrage? What about LGBTQ rights? Those and other topics were included, but the VAST majority of the museum was dominated by the struggle up to and including the 1960s. There is more to civil rights than just MLK.

World of Coca-Cola: This is one of those places that is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was pleasant and I’m glad we went, but I don’t have any need to go there again. Of course, the highlight of the visit is the tasting room. Be sure to sample Beverly, from Italy. Yum.

Bottlecap Cafe: This is a food stand in the middle of Pemberton Place. Do NOT go here. I cannot stress that enough. Go hungry. The food is limited, expensive, not good, and extremely slow in being prepared. Don’t waste your time or money on this place.

Comedy: We attended a stand-up comedy show at the Wylie Hotel on Ponce de Leon Avenue. The small boutique hotel was beautiful and the people very friendly. The drinks were potent, though a bit expensive. The comedy show took place in the “sun room” and was fun. The comedians had us in stitches. We again met some very friendly locals and had a wonderful time. On another night, we went to an improv theater (that I am choosing not to name). Improv is tough and this little troupe needs a bit more work. Maybe we just got them on a bad night. Improv cannot simply be “make it up as you go along.” It actually requires planning and either they failed to plan or the plan did not go as expected.

Metro Cafe: We enjoyed this place. Very loud and crowded, but affordable and quick. It was within walking distance of the hotel and we ate there twice. Busy place.

Shopping: We enjoyed Ponce City Market, though the thing we were searching for wasn’t there. We had a wonderful lunch at a hamburger place in the food hall. Unfortunately, we left frustrated. We were there for an arts and crafts fair that was advertised on Facebook. After searching the place for two hours, we concluded that it must have been canceled.

Back to ATL: Y’all have got to do something about the TSA people there. They were rude and unprofessional. Verbal instructions conflicted with posted signs. Agents’ verbal instructions even conflicted with other agents’ instructions. Rather than clarifying instructions, we were peppered with words like, “Get going! We don’t have all day!” So, the last taste we had of Atlanta was people literally yelling at us. That is unfortunate.

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I genuinely like Beverly! It reminds me of tonic water. I like bitter flavors. I’m glad you enjoyed the trip and had a safe journey home.