Best Tourist Attractions and Places to Visit in Atlanta

Ask someone if they’ve been to Atlanta and most people answer affirmatively – which usually they have passed through Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. But there’s much more to the city than runways and terminals. Atlanta and the state of Georgia offer a unique blend of Southern hospitality and urban sensibilities that provides plenty of options for a vacation.

Atlanta is more than a city. It is the center of a huge metropolitan region that covers more than 20 counties, stretching to Georgia’s borders with Alabama, Tennessee and the Carolinas. The capital city of Atlanta is the focal point of the area, surrounded by a series of neighborhoods in the largely urban areas of Fulton and DeKalb counties. Most of Atlanta’s growth in recent years has been north of the city in Gwinnett and Cobb counties, with more development in Clayton County south of the city around the airport.

In 2019, a record 9.3 million international tourists visitors came to Georgia each year. Most visitors come from Europe and the Americas, but a growing number are from Asia. Some visit the area for business and educational opportunities, while others are here strictly for relaxation and recreation.

Atlanta Area Attractions

You will probably need a car to explore the metro area. MARTA, the rapid transit system that includes rail and buses, only serves Fulton and DeKalb. Other counties have bus systems that link to MARTA, but it can be difficult for visitors to navigate the various systems. Your best bet for a family vacation to Atlanta is renting a car or driving your own.

Downtown Atlanta is a great place to start. The city’s newest attractions surround Centennial Olympic Park, which commemorates the 1996 Olympic Games. The Georgia Aquarium is the largest in the Western Hemisphere, with beluga whales, penguins, and other aquatic animals from around the world. The World of Coca-Cola contains memorabilia, exhibits and interactive displays related to the global beverage that started in Georgia. Nearby, the College Football Hall of Fame contains artifacts from players and teams across the nation. The newest attraction opened in 2019: The National Center for Civil and Human Rights, which is dedicated to the achievements of the U.S. civil rights movement in the United States and the broader global human rights movement.

The CNN Studio Tour across from Centennial Olympic Park provides an exciting behind-the-scenes peek at how a working newsroom operates. Mercedes-Benz Stadium and State Farm Arena are homes to the Atlanta Falcons NFL team and the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta has also grown into a major motion picture and television production center, hosting Tyler Perry Studios, filming for most of the Marvel movies, and “The Walking Dead” TV series.

Moving out into Atlanta’s neighborhoods, Zoo Atlanta in Grant Park features some 1,000 rare and exotic animals, headlined by the giant pandas. The life and legacy of Atlanta’s first Nobel Peace Prize winner are preserved at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in the Sweet Auburn district. Georgia’s most popular tourist attraction is Stone Mountain Park, a natural setting where the world’s largest relief carving hosts a nightly laser show. Theme park lovers will be drawn to Six Flags Over Georgia in Austell and the largest water park in the South, Six Flags White Water, in Marietta.

Exploring Georgia’s Great Outdoors

Beyond Atlanta, there are hundreds of exciting outdoor adventures and quaint small town treasures within a few hours’ drive of the metropolitan area. Outdoor enthusiasts can find white water rafting, zip lining, mountain hiking and biking, snow skiing, kayaking, horseback riding and boating – most located two to five hours from Atlanta in northern Georgia, or neighboring Tennessee, Alabama, and North and South Carolina. Others may prefer picking apples and strawberries fresh from the farm, panning for gold, visiting historic villages or shopping at outlet malls.

Whether tourists come to Atlanta to attend classes or take a vacation, they find a number of outdoor activities within a short drive from the city. Those opportunities include:

White water rafting: Only two hours north of Atlanta is the Chattooga River, which forms part of the border between Georgia and South Carolina. Three companies offer half-day and overnight rafting excursions on the federally-protected “wild and scenic river” through the Blue Ridge Mountains. Section III of the Chattooga is best for beginners, with mostly Class II and III rapids ending at the Class IV “Bull Sluice”. For greater thrills, Section IV offers faster-paced Class III and IV rapids. Drive another hour north and you can raft through national forests on Tennessee’s Ocoee River (site of the 1996 Olympics paddling competitions) or the Nantahala River in North Carolina. Or head two hours south to Columbus, Georgia, home of the longest urban whitewater rafting course in the world.

Kayaking and canoeing: There are thousands of miles of rivers and dozens of lakes where you can explore the water with a guide or on your own. Small outfitters, marinas and resorts such as Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain rent kayaks and canoes. The Altamaha River, one of the last unspoiled, undammed rivers in the country, is a popular padding destination about three hours southwest of Atlanta. The river -- one of the Nature Conservancy’s “75 Last Great Places on Earth” -- flows through secluded woodlands, marshes and preserves. The Ridges Resort Marina in Hiwassee rents boats and jet skis for excursions on Lake Chatuge. Or you can “shoot the ‘Hooch” –local slang floating on an inner tube down the Chattahoochee River in suburban Atlanta or near Helen in the northern mountains.

Zip lining: The world’s longest and largest zip line eco-canopy tour course is at Historic Banning Mills in Whitesburg, some 45 minutes west of Atlanta. Banning Mills has more than nine miles of zip lines, towers, sky bridges and other challenges up to 300 feet in the air. The centerpiece is the half-mile Screaming Eagle over Snake Creek Gorge. Nestled in 1,200 acres of preserved woodlands, Banning Mills also boasts the tallest freestanding climbing wall in the world. Prefer a less challenging course? Try North Georgia Canopy Tours in Lula; Chattooga Ridge Canopy Tours in Long Creek, South Carolina; or Foxfire Mountain Adventures near Sevierville, Tennessee.

Hiking, biking and skiing: National forests cover much of northern Georgia, eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, providing plenty of opportunities for mountain hiking in the Blue Ridge and other mountain ranges. The Appalachian Trail begins at Springer Mountain, Georgia, and climbs more than 2,000 miles to Maine. The trail passes through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina, providing breathtaking vistas of snow-capped peaks, deep wilderness forests, roaring creeks and cascading waterfalls. Miles of hiking trails wind through north Georgia at Tallulah Gorge State Park (a two-mile canyon more than 1,000 feet deep); Amicalola Falls and Anna Ruby Falls. Mountain biking trails are also found throughout the area, along with conventional biking paths such as the Discovery Trail at Callaway Gardens and the Riverwalk in Chattanooga, Tennessee. While Georgia does not have its own ski resort, it is less than four hours’ drive from Atlanta to the slopes at Ober Gatlinburg in Tennessee, or Cataloochee, Sugar, Beech, Sapphire Valley and other lodges in North Carolina.

Historic Small Towns and Shopping Destinations

In the rural areas surrounding Atlanta, there are hundreds of small towns with their own unique histories and modern stories. The American Revolution and the Civil War were both fought on Georgia soil, leaving battlefields, museums and other sites paying tribute to those conflicts. You can pan for gold at Dahlonega (site of the first gold rush in the United States); trace the steps of Native Americans along the 300-mile Chieftains Trail; explore the Etowah Indian Mounds in Cartersville; or enjoy Oktoberfest at the alpine village of Helen. Many towns also feature a variety of shopping experiences in a less hectic atmosphere, from Scott’s Bookstore in Newnan to High Country Art & Antiques in Blue Ridge. Most areas also host annual fairs and festivals where local arts, crafts and jewelry are displayed and sold.

Bargain hunters will enjoy the many outlets malls near Atlanta. North Georgia Premium Outlets in Dawsonville and the Tanger outlets in Commerce and Locust Grove are only an hour away. The lineup of traditional shopping malls is headlined by Lenox Square in Atlanta (the first enclosed mall in the southeastern United States) and adjacent Phipps Plaza.

Wine-tasting is another relaxing weekend endeavor. The Georgia winery industry has grown dramatically over the last decade, with dozens of new wineries opening and winning awards. The North Georgia Wine Trail links eight established wineries in the mountains, including Crane Creek Vineyards in Young Harris, Three Sisters Vineyards in Dahlonega, Habersham Winery in Helen and Tiger Mountain Vineyards in Tiger. Just 40 miles from Atlanta is Chateau Elan in Braselton, a full-service resort with an inn, spa, cooking classes, golf, tennis, winery tours and wine tastings. The state is also home to a growing stable of craft breweries and distilleries.

Wineries are only one of the many agricultural products that are grown across Georgia, where agriculture is the top industry (followed by tourism). Gilmer County produces more than 600,000 bushels of apples each year, with eight apple producers featured along “Apple Orchard Alley” near Ellijay. During the growing season at Mercier Orchards, you can take a tractor tour of the farm and pick your own apples, strawberries, and blueberries. Lane Southern Orchards in Fort Valley has more than 4,000 acres of pecans and peaches. You can see corn and wheat being ground on grindstones at Nora’s Mill in Helen and Logan Turnpike Mill near Blairsville 

Seventy miles north of Atlanta in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Athens is a historic Southern city with a hip college town vibe. The University of Georgia (chartered in 1785 as America’s first state college) is surrounded by Victorian-era buildings, funky shops, contemporary art galleries, classic record stores, progressive culinary experiences, and eclectic nightlife. Athens is also known to international music lovers as the “Liverpool of the South” for its role as a global center of independent music and the birthplace of New Wave music, spawning R.E.M., Widespread Panic, and the B-52s.

For a long weekend, drive five hours to reach the lush gardens of historic Savannah and the sparking Atlanta beaches of Tybee Island. Golfers will be drawn to Augusta, home of the Master’s PGA Tournament. The beaches of northern Florida are less than six hours from Atlanta, including historic St. Augustine on the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico resorts of Panama City, Destin, Seaside and Pensacola.

However – aside from the ocean – you can find mountains, forests, streams and every other type of natural setting within a two-hour drive of Atlanta.  To learn more about what you can see and do in Georgia, visit www.exploregeorgia.org. 

If you have questions about visiting or moving to the Atlanta area, please email Michael at michael@visasupply.com.