Atlanta a True Original
Atlanta, GA -Atlanta is a true original, hailed as the capital of the South and known for its diversity…from southern charm to metropolis surroundings, ashes of the Civil War to the birth of the Civil rights, Atlanta offers endless possibilities…all with a big helping of Southern hospitality!
Atlanta’s architecture is equally diverse. Downtown Atlanta is one of the most stunning testaments to modern architecture in the country… building after building erected with clean lines and endless sheets of glass or shining mirrors that reflect the modern neighborhood. From urban splendor, it is only a short drive into Midtown, where giant oaks sprawl over stately antebellum homes and dogwoods bloom in profusion. There’s “green” everywhere throughout the city, neighborhoods are filled with trees, shrubs and plants of every description and flowers bloom throughout the year. Piedmont Park is Atlanta’s largest park with 189 acres of “green” that is visited by more than 2.5 million people each year.
If
art’s your thing, the gallery scene in Atlanta is first rate
and a trip to Atlanta wouldn’t be complete without a visit
to the Fay Gold Gallery in Miami Circle or Lowe’s Art Gallery
on Bennett Street.
Atlanta is also a city of year ‘round festivals. The Cherry Blossom Festival and Dogwood Festival in the spring…Midtown Music festival in the summer and it seems like just about everything happens in the Fall. The Atlanta Falcons begin their quest for the Super Bowl and Turner field is an exciting trip for just about anyone. Stone Mountain hosts several great festivals this time of year…the Yellow Daisy Festival and JapanFest, to name a few. A Taste of Atlanta is a “must-do” event for any gourmand and Atlanta’s rivals any Bavarian celebration. Six Flags get into the Act with its very own Fright Fest and the Pow Wow Indian Festival is yet another terrific festival at Stone Mountain Park. Runners and “half runners, if you will, all line up for the Atlanta Marathon and Half Marathon in November and come Christmas, this Southern town is decked out from one end of town to the other…and the best part of all is the perfectly ideal temperature of this peach of a city! New Year’s is celebrated by the now famous “peach drop” and New Year’s in this Metropolis is a highly coveted destination!
But Just about everyone comes to Atlanta to shop in its nationally known department stores and scores of off-beat and very unique boutiques! While Lenox Square Mall and Phipps Plaza are the indisputable centers of retail shopping in the city, many families hit the Mall of Georgia on Buford Drive! Midtown also has much to offer with its well-known “warehouse district” off Howell Mill Road and Little Five Points is a fun destination filled with wonderful, one-of-a-kind shops!
If art’s your thing, the gallery scene in Atlanta is first rate and a trip to Atlanta wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Fay Gold Gallery in Miami Circle or Lowe’s Art Gallery on Bennett Street. Art is everywhere in Atlanta… and, luckily, most of it is for sale!
When you’re hungry, there’s nothing like southern food, and Atlanta's restaurants win rave reviews from critics world-wide. Of course, you can find the very best fried chicken, homemade vegetables and peach cobbler in several excellent restaurants, but some of Atlanta’s most famous restaurants are a far cry from home cookin’! An exhilarating 85-second ride in a scenic glass elevator will carry you all the way to the top of The Westin Peachtree Plaza and the Sun Dial Restaurant. Nikolai’s Roof is another elegant restaurant perched high atop Hilton Atlanta. Oscar’s is one of the best in trendy College Park and Tamarind offers brilliant Thai cuisine right on 14th Street, Midtown.
Looking for something to do? The High Museum of Art was designed by famed architect, Richard Meier and its stunning…the porcelain-enameled building is rivaled only by the art inside. Zoo Atlanta is one of the country’s oldest Zoos and its two panda bears from China continually delight the crowds. Finally, Centennial Olympic Park, built for the ’96 Olympics, and its “fountain of rings” is the perfect refuge for an afternoon picnic anytime of year.
And then there’s the nightlife! Clubbing in Atlanta will keep you dancing and on your toes until the wee hours of the morning! Compound is where Atlanta’s beautiful people are hanging out, and Vision’s nightclub is the largest in the city with a Miami influence. Backstreet and Bulldogs cater beautifully to Atlanta’s super hip gay crowd, but if you’re looking for a live band or concert, the Tabernacle, an old converted church, is the place to find ambience and Shout, with its deluxe private seating is truly one of the most original clubs and restaurants in Midtown! Cosmo Lava, Luxe and Halo also offer “edgy” nighttime diversions that only this Southern Metropolis could offer!
Day or night, Atlanta is a wonderful city
to visit! Its Southern hospitality is evident in any season and its
theaters, both large and small, are always filled with captivating entertainment.
The city’s many different neighborhoods provide hours of diversion
and Downtown enthralls with its tall, modern buildings, CNN and Coca
Cola at its core… Midtown has grown into a hip epicenter of the “now
culture” with colorful outdoor cafes and bars enticing crowds
day and night. Buckhead still has its own exciting nightlife and elite
shopping centers… the list goes on and on…Little Five Points,
Virginia Highlands, Ansley Park-each with their own distinct personality.
If you extend a warm handshake to Atlanta and its citizens…you’re
sure to be welcomed and richly rewarded. 
