Atlanta can be recognized as a city with a colorful past and a tremendous impact on the future. It is a city of transition, the birthplace of Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., and a political flashpoint in today’s national conversation. While its title as the “Hollywood of the South” has allowed the city to grow swiftly and in new ways, it is also surrounded by forest, with natural beauty interlaced into its urban setting. In recent years, there have been elegant hotel openings, superb shopping alternatives, and wonderfully constructed green areas.

The eating culture in Atlanta has over the years focused on local food options, represented in ranges from simple to elaborate. Atlanta offers a lot to do and hence to get the best out of the city, check out the best things to do in Atlanta.

1. Atlanta Beltline

This particular amusement started as a proposal for a thesis project at the Georgia Institute of Technology and has become one of the leading outdoor activities in Atlanta. Atlanta was some time ago called “Terminus” because of the railroads that joined the city before the Civil War. This project turns the old 22-mile railway circle around downtown into a concrete pathway with native greenery and public art. While only the Northside Trail, Westside Trail, Eastside Trail, and West End Trail are finished, the remaining parts are hike able. 

When completed (estimated in 2030). It would connect 45 in-town communities, contain 33 miles of multi-use paths and 2,000 acres of parks. Which becomes one of the largest and most comprehensive urban rehabilitation schemes in the United States.

If you have limited time, select an entrance point and a destination to create your shorter loop. For example, park in Ponce City Market and walk north to Piedmont Park before returning; the journey should take less than an hour at a leisurely pace.

2. Center for Civil and Human Rights

This recent addition to the downtown landscape opening in 2014 is dedicated to the martyrs of the American Civil Rights Movement as well as the Global Human Rights Movement. The bright, contemporary structure was created to stimulate positive activity through soaring architectural elements such as a transparent glass façade and two dramatic, curving walls. HOK and Perkins Will designed the project, inspired by Washington, D.C.’s National Mall, Cairo’s Tahrir Square, and Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. 

Inside the museum, there are three floors of galleries and event halls: A stroll through the American Civil Rights exhibit begins in the 1950s, demonstrating the impact of Jim Crow laws and legalized racism on America. It investigates communities’ struggles for equality and raises concerns about structures that Americans have yet to challenge.

3. Buford Highway

If “Atlanta is the cultural capital of the New South,” as Marian Liou, creator of We Love BuHi, often says, then “Buford Highway is its multicultural heart.” Vietnamese, Peruvian, Chinese, Malaysian, Korean, Cuban, and Mexican cuisine can all be found on this busy street. Lee’s Bakery—one of the few locations where you can get equally wonderful pho and banh mi in one dish—is a good spot to start your research. It’s typical of many of the treasures along the way: nothing showy, but very tasty.

We recommend getting the combination (half banh mi, half small pho) while you’re there—you can’t go wrong with the crispy French bread cooked daily and aromatic soup. If you’re yearning for anything from another area of the world, simply take a drive. Panahar serves Bangladeshi, Sushi Hayakawa serves some of Atlanta’s greatest sushi, and Sokongdong Tofu House serves Korean.

4. Ponce City Market

This Southeast’s biggest brick edifice, measuring 2.1 million square feet and housing major stores, small boutiques, gyms, and more than 20 diverse restaurants and food booths (including numerous James Beard Award-winning chefs). Ponce City Market is a place to have a good time. Whether it’s shopping in a small boutique, gallery, or larger store, or eating or drinking in the central food hall (which features three James Beard Award winners). 

Management does an excellent job of organizing enjoyable activities like culinary courses, painting and candle-making workshops, wine tastings, and more. You may also pay a little charge to take a freight elevator to the rooftop and play classic carnival games. Meanwhile enjoying some of the city’s greatest skyline views.

5. Atlanta Botanical Garden

Adjacent to Atlanta’s lush Piedmont Park, it’s easy to understand why this 30-acre refuge in the heart of Midtown attracts over 500,000 people every year. It nearly doubled in size in 2010 with the addition of the Canopy Walk. A 600-foot walkway hung in the treetops. Guests may explore the steaming orchid house, wander through the culinary garden of native plants (while they are edible, avoid the temptation!). Where hey have an elegant meal at Longleaf, one of the world’s few restaurants built in a botanical garden.

ABG is not just a peaceful location to promenade. But it also leads several nationally known conservation programs, such as the Orchid Conservation Institute. The Conservation Greenhouse for endangered plants, and a program to conserve rare frogs, so there is an educational component here as well. Explore more on this topic.

6. The Little Five Points

While there are a few sites in Atlanta where freak flags are flown with pride, Little Five Points is the most prominent. A microcosm of what makes L5P special is the Junkman’s Daughter, an emporium of novelties. The quirky neighborhood around the five-corner intersection of Euclid, Moreland, and McLendon Avenues on Atlanta’s east side.

It is home to the Variety Playhouse (their solid roster of indie concerts is the stuff of legends), alternative clothing boutiques, vintage record shops, and plenty of off-color restaurants. Gifts, apparel, and artwork for people of various tastes—from punk to hippy to goth—can be found there.

7. Zoo Atlanta

Zoo Atlanta was established in 1889 and therefore should be one of the city’s historic cultural institutions. In addition to being one of the oldest operating zoos in the country. The area called Grand Park is 40 acres inhabited by over 1,000 animals of more than 200 species. So there is always something to watch no matter if you like spending time in the open air or if you have children or prefer to watch certain kinds of animals. 

While there are unique ecosystems and traditional zoo residents (elephants, lions, giraffes, bears, alpacas, tortoises, and flamingos). It is most renowned for housing gigantic pandas and one of the biggest populations of great apes in North America.

8. Mercedes Benz Stadium

Atlanta was introduced to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the year 2017 and since this; this modern structure has become renowned. The distinctive roof design resembles a falcon wing (fitting considering the football home club), and the retractable roof turns in only a few minutes.

The facility is outstanding because of its magnificent windows. Which provide a fantastic view of the city as you drop and mount the escalators. You may attend a football game or a live music concert. What about the excitement of an Atlanta United soccer game (which normally takes place from February to October) is unrivaled.

9. The High Museum of Art

The High is ranked among the biggest and the most important museums in the southeast with a collection of pieces that amount to 17000. It has a distinctive campus in Midtown, which is Atlanta’s cultural district. Which is due to structures by architectural designers like Renzo Piano as well as Richard Meier. Inside, you’ll discover a mix of photography, ornamental arts, traditional European and American works, and Dawoud Bey’s pictures. It’s a good day. It also has a new collection which was contributed in the year 2019. That’s why you will never want to miss it.

The paintings shown at a gallery that bears the name of the couple belong to Doris and Shouky Shaheen Collection. The paintings are painted by Eugène Boudin, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Amadeo Modigliani, and Henri Matisse. If you have very limited time in your hands then this is absolutely one of the best galleries to visit.

10. Virginia Highland District

A visit to the Virginia-Highland area (called after the junction of Virginia and North Highland Avenues) is like taking a short city break within the city borders. Historic craftsman houses and cottages adorn the streets of this attractive area. Which is ideal for a morning or afternoon stroll. It is only ten minutes from downtown Atlanta. There’s also a thriving shopping sector that features Atlanta staples such as George’s. A pub founded in 1961, and brunch favorite Murphy’s.

Kinship Butcher & Sundry and Academy Coffee are two promising newcomers. The latter is noted for its cocktail-like coffee beverages (imagine lattes with bitters and fancy syrups). Other must-sees are Doughnut Dollies and Virginia Highland Books, an independent bookshop with a comfortable seating area. Where you can sit and read while sipping coffee.