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Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta, Atlanta

Things to do guide

The best things to do in Atlanta

Updated 7 October 2026 · 16 things to do

Pictured: Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta

Atlanta doesn't do one big monument. It does stories. This is the city where Martin Luther King Jr. was born and is buried, where a pharmacist first stirred up Coca-Cola, where the 1996 Olympics left a park in the middle of Downtown and where Southern hip-hop found its voice. The sights are spread out under a canopy of trees so thick that the skyline seems to rise out of a forest.

Plan by neighbourhood and it all falls into place. Downtown holds the headline attractions around Centennial Olympic Park, Midtown has the museums and the best park, and the BeltLine, a railway line reborn as a walking trail, ties together the east side's markets, murals and patios. Bring an appetite. Atlanta feeds people very well.

Don't miss

  1. 1Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park
  2. 2Georgia Aquarium
  3. 3The Atlanta BeltLine
  4. 4Piedmont Park
  5. 5High Museum of Art

The big sights

Most of them sit around one park, a short walk from each other.

  1. Georgia Aquarium

    Wildlife

    A whale shark swimming at the Georgia Aquarium
    Photo: Zac Wolf, CC BY-SA 2.5

    One of the largest aquariums in the world, and the reason many families come to Atlanta at all. The star is the vast Ocean Voyager tank, where whale sharks and manta rays glide over an acrylic tunnel while you stand underneath, neck craned, trying to take it in. Elsewhere there are beluga whales, sea otters, penguins and a wall of jellyfish that could pass for modern art.

    Tip: Go first thing or late in the afternoon. The middle of the day, especially at weekends, is the busiest.

  2. World of Coca-Cola

    Museum

    The exterior of the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta
    Photo: PCN02WPS, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Coca-Cola was invented in Atlanta in 1886, and the company's museum next to the aquarium tells the tale with a wink: vintage adverts, a vault said to hold the secret formula and a tasting room where you can try Coke's drinks from around the world. Some are delicious. One or two are a dare. It is slick, sugary fun, and children love it.

  3. Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park

    Landmark

    The historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta
    Photo: Marc Merlin, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The most moving place in the city. In the Sweet Auburn district, east of Downtown, a few blocks hold the house where Dr King was born, Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he preached alongside his father, and the King Center, where he and Coretta Scott King are entombed beside a long reflecting pool.

    Walk it slowly. The visitor centre sets out the story of the civil rights movement, and the old church, restored to how it looked in the 1960s, plays recordings of his sermons to the empty pews.

    Tip: Start at the visitor centre, where rangers can tell you what is open that day. The birth home has at times been closed for restoration.

  4. National Center for Civil and Human Rights

    Museum

    The National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta
    Photo: Marco Correa, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Beside the aquarium and Coca-Cola, this museum links the American civil rights movement to struggles for human rights around the world today. It is thoughtful and hard-hitting, with a lunch-counter exhibit that puts you in the seat of a sit-in protester and a gallery of Dr King's own papers and letters. Pair it with the King sites for the full picture.

  5. Centennial Olympic Park

    Landmark

    The green heart of Downtown was laid out for the 1996 Summer Olympics and has been the city's front lawn ever since. Children run through the jets of the Fountain of Rings, shaped like the Olympic symbol, and the lawns give you the classic view of the skyline. The aquarium, World of Coca-Cola and the College Football Hall of Fame all stand around its edges.

Parks and the BeltLine

The city in a forest, seen on foot.

  1. The Atlanta BeltLine

    Activity

    The Eastside Trail of the Atlanta BeltLine at Inman Park
    Photo: John Phelan, CC BY 4.0

    An old railway corridor looping around the inner city is being turned, section by section, into a ribbon of trails and parks. The Eastside Trail is the one to walk first: a couple of miles of murals, sculpture, joggers and dog-walkers between Piedmont Park and Inman Park, lined with breweries and restaurant patios that fill up the moment the sun comes out.

    It is the best way to see how Atlantans actually spend a Saturday. Hire a bike or simply stroll, stopping at Ponce City Market and Krog Street Market on the way.

  2. Piedmont Park

    Nature

    The Midtown Atlanta skyline seen from Piedmont Park
    Photo: Thomson200, CC0

    Atlanta's answer to Central Park: a broad sweep of lawns, woods and playing fields in Midtown, with the towers of the city reflected in Lake Clara Meer. Come for a picnic, a run or one of the festivals that take it over through the year. The view of the skyline from the lakeside is one of the best in town, especially towards sunset.

  3. Atlanta Botanical Garden

    Nature

    The Fuqua Conservatory at the Atlanta Botanical Garden
    Photo: Daderot, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Tucked against the northern edge of Piedmont Park, the garden is a calm, beautifully kept escape, with a walkway through the treetops of an old hardwood forest, a glasshouse full of orchids and tropical plants, and giant living sculptures made of flowers and foliage. Garden lovers could lose half a day. Everyone else will be glad of the shade in summer.

Museums and culture

  1. High Museum of Art

    Museum

    The white Richard Meier building of the High Museum of Art
    Photo: Marc Merlin, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The leading art museum in the American South, in a gleaming white building by Richard Meier with later wings by Renzo Piano. Inside, a ramp spirals up through a light-filled atrium past European paintings, American art, African works and a strong collection of folk and self-taught art from the South. It anchors Midtown's arts campus, with the symphony and theatre next door.

  2. Fox Theatre

    Landmark

    A 1920s picture palace on Peachtree Street, dressed up as a Moorish fantasy of minarets and onion domes outside and an Arabian courtyard under a twinkling night sky inside. It was nearly knocked down in the 1970s before the city rallied to save it. Today it hosts touring Broadway shows and concerts. See whatever is on, just to sit in that auditorium.

  3. Atlanta History Center

    Museum

    The entrance front of the Swan House at the Atlanta History Center
    Photo: Marc Merlin, CC BY-SA 4.0

    In leafy Buckhead, this is far more than a museum. The grounds take in woodland gardens, a 19th-century farm and the Swan House, an elegant 1920s mansion. Indoors, the centrepiece is the Cyclorama, an enormous circular painting of the Battle of Atlanta from the Civil War, restored and displayed so that you stand in the middle of it. Allow a good few hours.

  4. Fernbank Museum

    Museum

    The dinosaur plaza at the entrance to Fernbank Museum
    Photo: Daniel Mayer, CC BY-SA 3.0

    The natural history museum east of Midtown greets you with the skeletons of some of the largest dinosaurs ever found, posed mid-chase in the atrium. Beyond are galleries on Georgia's landscapes, a giant-screen cinema and trails through a stretch of old-growth forest behind the building. It is the best rainy-day answer in the city for anyone travelling with children.

Neighbourhoods, food and drink

  1. Ponce City Market

    Market

    The brick former Sears building that houses Ponce City Market
    Photo: JJonahJackalope, CC BY-SA 4.0

    A colossal 1920s Sears warehouse on the BeltLine, converted into the city's favourite place to graze. The central food hall runs from fried chicken and burgers to ramen and Indian street food, with shops and flats above and an old-fashioned amusement park on the roof, complete with mini golf and a skyline view. It gets busy at weekends, which is half the fun.

  2. Little Five Points

    Neighbourhood

    Atlanta's bohemian corner, a few blocks of record shops, vintage clothing stores, tattoo parlours and dive bars east of Downtown. The murals are loud, the people-watching is excellent and nobody is in a hurry. Neighbouring Inman Park, all Victorian houses and porches, makes a pretty contrast, and both are an easy detour from the Eastside Trail.

  3. Southern cooking

    Food

    You are in the capital of the South, so eat like it. That means fried chicken with a crackling crust, buttery biscuits, shrimp and grits, collard greens, macaroni cheese treated as a vegetable and peach cobbler to finish, washed down with iced tea sweet enough to make your teeth hum. Old-school meat-and-three diners serve it straight; a newer wave of chefs gives it polish.

    Tip: The Varsity, a vast drive-in near Georgia Tech, has been serving chilli dogs and onion rings for generations. It's an institution rather than fine dining.

  4. The Battery and Truist Park

    Activity

    A Braves baseball game at Truist Park
    Photo: TarheelBornBred, CC0

    The Atlanta Braves play baseball at Truist Park, north-west of the city, and the Battery district wrapped around it means there is something going on whether or not there's a game. On match days the bars, restaurants and plaza fill with fans hours before the first pitch. Even if you don't know the rules, an evening at the ballpark is a very American pleasure.

Where to stay in Atlanta

Not sure which area suits you? Read our guide: Where to stay in Atlanta →

Getting around

The MARTA rail line runs from the airport through Downtown, Midtown and Buckhead, which covers most of what visitors want to see. The BeltLine and its markets are best reached by taxi or on foot from Midtown. For the Battery, the History Center and the suburbs, a car or taxi is easier, though traffic at rush hour is famously slow.

When to go

Spring and autumn are the best seasons, mild and bright, with the dogwoods and azaleas in bloom in spring. Summers are hot and humid, with afternoon thunderstorms, so plan museums for the middle of the day. Winters are generally mild.

Questions about visiting Atlanta

What is Atlanta best known for?
Atlanta is known as the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. and a centre of the civil rights movement, as the home of Coca-Cola, for hosting the 1996 Olympics and for the Georgia Aquarium, one of the largest in the world.
Is Atlanta worth visiting?
Yes. The King historic sites, the aquarium, the High Museum and the BeltLine make a full and varied city break, and the food, from Southern classics to modern restaurants, is a reason to come on its own.
What is there to do in Atlanta with kids?
The Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola and the fountains of Centennial Olympic Park are all together Downtown. Fernbank Museum has dinosaurs and forest trails, and the rooftop at Ponce City Market has games and mini golf.
How many days do you need in Atlanta?
Three days is about right: one for Downtown and the King sites, one for Midtown, Piedmont Park and the BeltLine, and one for Buckhead, the History Center or a Braves game.
Do you need a car in Atlanta?
Not if you stay in Downtown, Midtown or Buckhead, which are linked by the MARTA train. A car or taxis are useful for the suburbs and for sights away from the rail line.

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