Planning Trip To DragonCon In Atlanta; any suggestions . . .

by Madame Quixote 5 Replies latest jw friends

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  Madame Quixote

  . . . appreciated regarding other Atlanta attractions that you've personally "endured" or enjoyed.

  After squandering yet another perfectly lovely holiday weekend glued to the computer, and doing housework and laundry, I've decided to plan a sojourn to Atlanta, Georgia for Labor Day weekend. My observations and experience of this city have been limited to airport layovers, and I never really thought about visiting.

  I'm excited about DragonCon, but even more excited about touring Atlanta for a weekend, especially after checking out its attractions via the internet. It looks like so much fun because I love metropolitan areas as much as I love the country.

  I am truly amazed by my ignorance of the place, as I live fairly close. For a southern city, it seems so metropolitan. Apparently, Atlanta has the 2nd highest rated public transit system in America (which might not be something to brag about, as American public transit, in my opinion, tends to suck, with the exception of MAJOR metropolitan cities).

  Anyhoo, I would love suggestions from people who've visited Atlanta or lived there about what to visit/avoid. I'm thinking of getting a City Pass. It seems like a great deal. I'd love to see the museum & aquarium. The museum is showing a few works from the Louvre from two of the Louis collections. I'm a huge fan of art (and other) museums, architecture, and wildlife . . . I'm very excited about the art museum, and considering the natural history museum as well . . . Hmmm, maybe I should go for a week?

  . . . any and all personal insights about Atlanta would be greatly appreciated. If you know of things that are "off the beaten path," and that are accessible with the public transit system there, I'd love to know. Also, I'm kinda' into gourmet/ethnic/organic food, so let me know what you know about that scene in Atlanta . . .

  Thanks so much! Well, I'm off to netsurfing on Atlanta.
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  MeneMene

  Riding the rails (MARTA) is fun if you are new to the city. Some of the train stations are quite unique. I would suggest that you take time to ride to the end of each line and see the stations and some of the surrounding areas.
  
  There are a lot of things to see if you exit at the Five Points Station which is where the East/West and North/South lines cross. Underground Atlanta is right there at the Five Points Station. It is worth a walk through. Above ground at Underground has been built up also and has some interesting shops.
  
  Atlanta has lots of water fountains & water falls. Keep an eye out for them.
  
  Centennial Olympic Park and the Aquarium are close together and within a few blocks of either the Five Points Station or the Peachtree Center Station. You should experience the escalators at the Peachtree Center Station. (I used to have nightmares of very tall & steep escalators until I worked at Peachtree Center. Once I got used to those elevators the nightmares went away. It is breathtaking. On some of the walls the way the tiles are positioned make you feel like you are falling. Anyway the ride is worth the fear.) Notice the rock walls in the Peachtree Center station. It was blasted out of solid granite.
  
  You can get your ticket online for the Aquarium. Check the calendar on their site to see how crowded it will be and try to choose a time to arrive that won't be too crowded. Labor Day weekend may be too crowded to really enjoy it.
  
  Fernbank Science Center is interesting. There are several different things to do there including an IMAX theatre.
  
  The Botanical Gardens at Piedmont Park are usually nice but at the end of a hot summer the flowers probably won't be too great outside. The greenhouse should be okay.
  
  If there is anyway you could get out to Stone Mountain at night you should see the laser light show. If you've never seen it - it's well worth the trip. As far as that goes, if you can get there you could spend the afternoon exploring the park & stay for the evening light show on the mountain.
  
  Have fun.
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  Jourles

  The big party scene is in Buckhead. There's even a few risque bars.

  My rental car got towed from there a few years back.
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  owenfieldreams

  The aquarium is neat, but you will need to make reservations if you plan on going there. Several big companies are headquartered there, and offer guided tours. Some that come to mind are the CNN Center and Coca-Cola. The Varsity is neat too.....
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  kid-A

  The big party scene is in Buckhead. There's even a few risque bars.

  I had heard that too, but I was at a huge conference in Atlanta last year and stayed in Buckhead....the place was dead, dead, dead! I have no idea where they moved the good clubs, but the only fun I had were at private house parties.
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  Madame Quixote

  Thank you for all the great suggestions. I will definitely keep these in mind; the aquarium does sound like a lot of fun. I guess visiting on a holiday weekend can be a bit of a drawback, but we'll still enjoy it, I am sure.

  Hope to get more replies on this one. Thanks again!