Atlanta Attractions

Metro Atlanta offers an array of exciting entertainment options for the entire family. The following are just a few of the highlights. Check out www.atlanta.net for a complete list of attractions in the Atlanta area.

Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1345 Piedmont Avenue, 404.876.5859, www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org.  This 15-acre oasis bordering Piedmont Park features one of the world’s largest permanent displays of tropical orchids and the Fuqua Conservatory, home to rare and endangered tropical and desert plants.

Centennial Olympic Park, 265 Park Ave. West, 404.223.4499, www.centennialpark.com. The park is a 21-acre legacy from the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. Visit the Fountain of Rings, the world’s largest fountain utilizing the Olympic Symbol of five interconnecting rings with 25 water jets.

CNN Studios, One CNN Center, 404.827.2491, www.cnn.com/studiotour. CNN Center is the global headquarters of Turner Broadcasting System, plus the studios and newsrooms for CNN’s international networks. With more than $5.5 million in recent additions and upgrades, Inside CNN Atlanta includes a 50-minute guided walking tour during which visitors get a look inside the world’s leader in television news.

Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St., 404.881.2100, www.foxtheatre.org. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this 1929 Moorish/Egyptian/Art Deco fantasy hosts a wide range of live performances (Broadway shows, concerts, operas and ballets), a summer movie series, and is home to “Mighty Mo,” the second-largest theater organ in the world.

Georgia Aquarium, 225 Baker St., 404.581.4000, www.georgiaaquarium.org. Open since Nov. 2005, at eight million gallons and 505,000 square feet, and with more than 100,000 freshwater and saltwater fish and mammals and 500 species, the Georgia Aquarium is the largest in the world.

High Museum of Art, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St., 404.733.4400, www.high.org.
The premier art museum in the South, the High Museum of Art attracts more than half a million visitors each year, hosts world-renowned exhibits with works by Van Gogh, Norman Rockwell and Michelangelo, and has a permanent collection of more than 11,000 works of art. The High recently opened expanded facilities that double the museum in size and, in fall of 2006 the High will begin a three-year partnership with the Louvre.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, 450 Auburn Ave, 404.331.5190, www.nps.gov/malu. Visit the King Center site and Dr. King’s grave, birth home, visitor center and Ebenezer Baptist Church. 

Underground Atlanta, 50 Upper Alabama St., 404.523.2311, www.underground-atlanta.com.
Six city blocks in the heart of downtown Atlanta that have been transformed into an urban market with shops, restaurants, nightlife and activities for the whole family.

World of Coca-Cola, 55 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, 404.676.5151, www.woccatlanta.com.
The story of Coca-Cola, from its birth in Atlanta in 1886 to its present success, is told through fascinating exhibits, memorabilia, classic radio and television advertisements, a fanciful representation of the bottling process, a futuristic soda fountain and a shop featuring a large selection of Coca-Cola merchandise.

Zoo Atlanta, 800 Cherokee Ave., 404.624.5600, www.zooatlanta.org.  Visitors enjoy seeing Giant Pandas, gorillas, orangutans, tigers, lions, giraffes, elephants, birds and more in natural habitats.