Atlanta is a huge city with a population of 5.5 million people and the capital in the state of Georgia. The city is dynamic and extremely modern, yet it manages to preserve its charm, elegance and historical roots.

Attractions in Atlanta are located all over the city, but all the efforts you take to reach them will definitely pay off. If you are visiting Atlanta for just a couple days, renting a car will ensure you waste no time in public transportation.

We have come up with 3 major blocks of activities you can do in Atlanta. Enjoy your trip to the official capital of Georgia and the unofficial "Capital of the New South"!

Check out local attractions and entertainment venues

Fox Theater

Fox Theater is one of Fox's chic theater venues that operate in various states. This one, located in Atlanta, was built in 1929. It is of interest to note that at first this building was planned as a temple. You can evaluate the level of the theater by comparing it with the Fox Theater located in Detroit.

Underground Atlanta

This place has six underground neighborhoods with fast food, shops, nightlife, and restaurants. If you can’t imagine your life without all this, you are welcome to check it out.

Legoland

The Legolend Discovery Center, which is located in Atlanta, is, in fact, a whole playground where both children and adults can have fun. There you can ride on a carousel, shoot a laser pistol, watch a cartoon in 4D format and, of course, find out how good you are in building from Lego. This entertainment venue is located in the Buckhead district, which is famous for its shopping centers, high-rise buildings, hotels, and beautiful fireworks during Independence Day celebrations.

White Water Waterpark

Six Flags White Water Atlanta - is a water park located in the northwest of the city. Just like the “Six Flags Over Georgia” amusement park, this park has everything you need for an excellent pastime on the water as there are water attractions like slides and fountains. The park is surrounded by a "lazy river" (tubing), in the central part there is a large pool equipped with an artificial wave pumping system. This park was opened in 1984, and in 1999 it became one of the institutions of the Six Flags network. The park has twenty-two attractions, most of which are represented by water slides, each of which has its own designation of the degree of fear. So you can immediately determine whether you should try it or not.

Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta

Various automobile and motorcycle competitions take place on this track. It is located in the town of Braselton, the travel time from Atlanta is about one hour in the northeast direction.

Book a rental car in Atlanta and head to explore Braselton and other places outside of the city.

Centennial Olympic park

Centennial Olympic Park is located in the central part of Atlanta and is one of its main attractions. The centennial of the modern Olympic movement, in general, was one of the topics at the 1996 Summer Olympics held in this city. Interestingly, there are not so many Olympic venues left in Atlanta. Some sports arenas were built temporarily, part of the competition was held in other cities of the same state and even in other states. The building of the Omni Coliseum - designated for the Olympic Volleyball Tournament - has been demolished in 1997.

Therefore, the Centennial Olympic Park is a rather unique attraction. It is located in the area of eighty-five thousand square meters. Its main feature is the Fountain of Rings which is controlled by a computer that synchronizes the flow of water, music, and light. The park's website has a schedule and a show program that takes place at the fountain. Around the fountain, there are the flags of the countries that took part in the XXVI Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Feel closer to nature without leaving the city

Well, you can always combine visiting the city with exploring some more off the beaten path places in Georgia and stay in St. Simons Island, for example. If you can’t really leave the city this time around, you’d enjoy the following nature-related activities.

Piedmont park

This park is located near the downtown area and is the main public park of the city. This is a beautiful place with playgrounds, places for picnics, dog walking areas, a pond, tennis courts, and other sites. Piedmont Park organizes various public events, festivals, and concerts every year.

Georgia Aquarium

To see the marine inhabitants firsthand, you will have to pay $26 for an adult admission ticket, $21 for a child.

Georgia Aquarium is a phenomenal structure, an aquarium that holds at least 31,000 cubic meters of seawater where 120 thousand exotic marine inhabitants feel just great. In order to imagine the scale of this unique structure, think about the fact that killer whales and beluga whales are very comfortable there, not to mention a large number of dolphins. Over the 9 years of its existence, this unique aquarium has been visited by about 20 million visitors. None of this would have happened if it were not for the native of this area, businessman Bernard Marcus, who donated $250 million for the construction of this miraculous object.

Atlanta Zoo

Admission for adults is $17; children under three years old can visit for free.

Atlanta Zoo is the oldest zoo in the USA (1889), with 1300 animals collected from all over the world. Particular pride of the locals is the largest family of orangutans and gorillas. There are a lot of rare animals here including all-time favorites – pandas who always attract an incredible number of tourists and local residents. However, the pandas are not the property of the zoo, since in their home country – China, they are declared a national treasure and therefore in the United States pandas are just in a “lease”.

Atlanta Botanical Garden

Admission for adults is $19, and for children from 3 up to 12 years old – $13.

Another attraction of the city is the botanical garden with an area of 12 hectares. A Huge collection of magnificent and charming orchids, as well as outlandish flowers growing in Japanese gardens, are especially popular with tourists and locals. The Rainforest is always crowded as well. A magnificent Rose Garden is located near the main areas of the botanical garden.

Visit one of the numerous museums

Coca-Cola Museum

Admission for adults is $16 and free for kids.

Coca Cola Plz NW – this is the address of one and only museum in the world, the museum of the world's most popular drink and the most hyped brand in the world - Coca-Cola. It in Atlanta, back in 1886, when Coca-Cola began his triumphal procession.

In the halls of the museum, you can find out the detailed history of the drink, see a variety of bottles used in the old days. Well, of course, Coca-Cola tasting is available too as in one of the halls, they offer to try Coca-Cola produced in different countries and the taste varies! An interesting fact from history: at the beginning of its journey, this divine drink was considered a cure for a headache!

Margaret Mitchell’s House and Museum

To get inside the museum, you will have to pay $13.

There will probably be few people in the world who have not read, or at least watched, a famous melodrama called Gone With the Wind. In Atlanta, you can visit the house where the famous American writer Margaret Mitchell lived and created her immortal work. Admirers of her talent can visit the grave of the writer, which is located in the Auckland cemetery.

The High Museum of Art

Admission for adults is $13, for children free.

The most popular museum in the city has moved into a building at 1280 Peachtree Street, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30309 back in 1983. Paintings by famous American and European painters who lived in the 18th - 20th centuries are placed in the area of 12.5 square kilometers. By the way, the building was built on the money Coca-Cola Company owner Robert Woodruff. The museum exhibits more than 11 thousand artworks. Among them, are famous works by Dorothea Lange, Claude Monet, and Chuck Close. There is also an exposition called "Shadow" by sculptor Rodin. Admission for adults is $13, for children free.

CNN Headquarters

The head office of a major television company is located in downtown, near the Olympic Park. You will be able to take a 55-minute walk through the office, see the main production facilities and watch a live broadcast being conducted.

Martin Luther King Museum

The places associated with the birth and life of Martin Luther King are located in the central part of Atlanta, on Auburn Avenue. Martin Luther King was a famous advocate of the rights of black citizens of America. Here, the house he lived in, the museum, the memorial, his grave and the Baptist church where he preached are located next to each other.