Things to do · Atlanta · United States
18 best things to do in Atlanta
18 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Schatzim, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
The essential sights in Atlanta are Georgia Aquarium, Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park and National Center for Civil and Human Rights. Of the 18 picks below, 5 are free, 10 work on a rainy day and 9 suit children. Allow about 3 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- Georgia Aquarium
- Free sights
- 5
- Good on a rainy day
- Georgia Aquarium
- Time to see the highlights
- 3 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia Aquarium | Downtown | 3 hours | Expensive |
| Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park | Sweet Auburn | 2–3 hours | Free |
| National Center for Civil and Human Rights | Downtown | 2 hours | Mid-priced |
| World of Coca-Cola | Downtown | 1.5–2 hours | Mid-priced |
| BeltLine Eastside Trail | Old Fourth Ward | 2–3 hours | Free |
| Ponce City Market | Old Fourth Ward | 1.5–2 hours | Low cost |
| Piedmont Park | Midtown | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Atlanta Botanical Garden | Midtown | 2–3 hours | Mid-priced |
| High Museum of Art | Midtown | 2 hours | Mid-priced |
| Fox Theatre | Midtown | 1 hour tour or an evening show | Mid-priced |
| Fernbank Museum of Natural History | Druid Hills | 2–3 hours | Mid-priced |
| Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum | Poncey-Highland | 1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Oakland Cemetery | Grant Park | 1 hour | Free |
| Centennial Olympic Park | Downtown | 30–60 minutes | Free |
| College Football Hall of Fame | Downtown | 2 hours | Mid-priced |
| Zoo Atlanta | Grant Park | 3 hours | Mid-priced |
| Atlanta History Center | Buckhead | 3 hours | Mid-priced |
| Center for Puppetry Arts | Midtown | 2 hours | Mid-priced |
The 18 best things to do
Aquarium · Downtown
1.Georgia Aquarium
One of the largest aquariums in the world, built around the Ocean Voyager tank where whale sharks and manta rays glide over an underwater tunnel. Other galleries hold beluga whales, sea otters, African penguins and a dolphin presentation, all under one roof beside Centennial Olympic Park.
Go straight to Ocean Voyager at opening, then circle back through the smaller galleries as school groups arrive.
- Time needed
- 3 hours
- Cost
- Expensive
- Book ahead
- Timed tickets are cheaper and easier to secure online; weekends and school holidays sell out.
- Iconic
- Kids
- Rainy day
Historic site · Sweet Auburn
2.Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park
A short stretch of Auburn Avenue holds Dr. King's restored birth home, Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church where he and his father preached, and the King Center, where he and Coretta Scott King are buried beside a reflecting pool. The National Park Service visitor centre has exhibits on the movement and a rose garden.
Start at the visitor centre for the free exhibits and current information on birth-home access, then walk the street eastward.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- History
- Free
Museum · Downtown
3.National Center for Civil and Human Rights
This museum next to Centennial Olympic Park covers the American civil rights movement and global human rights struggles today. Its best-known exhibit is a lunch-counter simulation that puts you in the place of 1960 sit-in protesters, and it holds rotating displays of Dr. King's papers.
Allow time to recover after the lunch-counter exhibit; it is intense and many visitors find it emotional.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Rainy day
Museum · Downtown
4.World of Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola was invented in Atlanta in 1886, and the company's museum covers its history, advertising and the vault said to hold the secret formula. The highlight for most visitors is the tasting room, with dozens of Coca-Cola drinks sold around the world.
Save the tasting room for last and try the bitter Italian aperitif-style drink everyone talks about.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Food
Street · Old Fourth Ward
5.BeltLine Eastside Trail
The BeltLine turns a ring of old railway lines into trails and parks; its Eastside Trail runs about 5 km from Piedmont Park past Ponce City Market and Historic Fourth Ward Park to Krog Street Market and Inman Park. Murals, restaurant patios and street performers line the route, and it is where much of the city goes walking on weekends.
Walk it from north to south in the late afternoon, ending with dinner around Krog Street Market.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Art
- Food
- Active
Market · Old Fourth Ward
6.Ponce City Market
The huge 1926 Sears, Roebuck & Co. building on Ponce de Leon Avenue now holds a food hall, shops and offices, with direct access to the BeltLine. On the roof, Skyline Park has mini golf and carnival games beside one of the best views of the Midtown and downtown skylines.
Eat in the food hall, then buy a rooftop ticket around sunset for the skyline view.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Food
- Shopping
- Views
- Rainy day
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Park · Midtown
7.Piedmont Park
Atlanta's central park covers about 80 hectares of lawns, trails, dog parks and ball fields, with the classic view of the Midtown skyline across Lake Clara Meer. It hosts many of the city's festivals, from the Dogwood Festival in spring to Atlanta Pride in autumn.
Enter from the BeltLine at the park's north-east corner and walk to the Lake Clara Meer dock for the skyline photo.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Kids
- Views
Garden · Midtown
8.Atlanta Botanical Garden
Next to Piedmont Park, the garden has an orchid house, a children's garden, large plant sculptures and the Kendeda Canopy Walk, a skywalk through the treetops of Storza Woods. In winter its Garden Lights, Holiday Nights show covers the grounds in light displays.
Book the holiday light show well ahead; weekend evenings in December sell out.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Outdoors
- Couples
- Kids
- Nature
Museum · Midtown
1.High Museum of Art
The Southeast's leading art museum occupies a white Richard Meier building with Renzo Piano extensions at the Woodruff Arts Center on Peachtree Street. It is especially strong in American art, photography and Southern folk and self-taught art, and stages major touring exhibitions.
Check which special exhibition is on; they often require a separate timed ticket.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Rainy day
- Architecture
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Architecture · Midtown
2.Fox Theatre
A 1929 movie palace on Peachtree Street with Moorish and Egyptian-style interiors and a ceiling of twinkling stars and drifting clouds above the auditorium. Saved from demolition in the 1970s, it now hosts touring Broadway shows and concerts, and guided tours show the building by day.
Even a cheap seat for a concert gets you the full interior; arrive early to look around.
- Time needed
- 1 hour tour or an evening show
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Architecture
- After dark
- Couples
- History
Museum · Druid Hills
3.Fernbank Museum of Natural History
Fernbank's atrium holds an Argentinosaurus, one of the largest dinosaurs ever found, among other giant skeletons. Behind the museum, WildWoods has elevated walkways and trails through Fernbank Forest, one of the largest old-growth urban forests in the region.
Combine the indoor dinosaurs with the outdoor WildWoods trails for children who need to run around.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Nature
Museum · Poncey-Highland
4.Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum
Set on a hill between downtown and Virginia-Highland, the museum covers Jimmy Carter's presidency and his later humanitarian work through the Carter Center, with a full-size replica of the Oval Office. A Japanese garden and lakeside paths look across to the downtown skyline.
Walk the garden paths after the museum for one of the quieter skyline views in the city.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
- Views
Historic site · Grant Park
5.Oakland Cemetery
Founded in 1850, Oakland is a Victorian garden cemetery with ornate mausoleums, gardens and old oaks framing the downtown skyline. Gone with the Wind author Margaret Mitchell and golfer Bobby Jones are buried here, and guided tours explain the city's history through its graves.
Pick up a map at the visitor centre; Margaret Mitchell's modest grave is easy to miss.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Off the beaten path
- Photo spot
Park · Downtown
6.Centennial Olympic Park
Built for the 1996 Summer Olympics, the park's lawns connect the aquarium, World of Coca-Cola and the civil rights centre. Its Fountain of Rings, shaped like the Olympic rings, is an interactive splash fountain where children cool off in summer, and it puts on short water-and-light shows.
Bring a change of clothes for young children on hot days; the fountain is hard to resist.
- Time needed
- 30–60 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Outdoors
Museum · Downtown
7.College Football Hall of Fame
A hands-on museum of American college football, with a wall of helmets from hundreds of schools, interactive exhibits on the sport's traditions and an indoor field where visitors can try kicking field goals and running drills.
Register your favourite team at the entrance so the interactive screens personalise the visit.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Active
Zoo · Grant Park
8.Zoo Atlanta
Set in historic Grant Park, Zoo Atlanta is known for its gorilla troops in the Ford African Rain Forest, along with orangutans, elephants, giraffes and a reptile house. It is compact enough for a half-day with young children.
Visit in the morning before summer heat sends the animals into the shade, and walk to Grant Park's cafés afterwards.
- Time needed
- 3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Nature
Museum · Buckhead
9.Atlanta History Center
A large campus in Buckhead with museum galleries on the city's history, the restored 1880s Cyclorama painting of the Battle of Atlanta displayed in the round, the 1928 Swan House mansion and the Smith Family Farm, an 1860s farmhouse with gardens.
See the Cyclorama presentation first; it gives context for the rest of the campus.
- Time needed
- 3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Architecture
- Rainy day
Museum · Midtown
10.Center for Puppetry Arts
A museum and theatre dedicated to puppetry, with a large Jim Henson collection including original Muppets and characters from Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock, plus puppets from many world traditions. Its family shows and workshops are aimed at young children.
Book a family show and workshop together; children make a puppet to take home.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Art
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | National Center for Civil and Human Rights, World of Coca-Cola, BeltLine Eastside Trail and High Museum of Art |
| History | Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, National Center for Civil and Human Rights, Fox Theatre and Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum |
| Views | Ponce City Market, Piedmont Park and Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum |
| Outdoors and nature | BeltLine Eastside Trail, Piedmont Park, Atlanta Botanical Garden and Fernbank Museum of Natural History |
| Food and markets | World of Coca-Cola, BeltLine Eastside Trail and Ponce City Market |
| After dark | Fox Theatre |
| With children | Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola, Piedmont Park and Atlanta Botanical Garden |
| On a rainy day | Georgia Aquarium, National Center for Civil and Human Rights, World of Coca-Cola and Ponce City Market |
What to book ahead
- Georgia Aquarium: Timed tickets are cheaper and easier to secure online; weekends and school holidays sell out.
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Atlanta?
Georgia Aquarium. One of the largest aquariums in the world, built around the Ocean Voyager tank where whale sharks and manta rays glide over an underwater tunnel.
+What can you do for free in Atlanta?
Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, BeltLine Eastside Trail, Piedmont Park, Oakland Cemetery and Centennial Olympic Park. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Atlanta when it rains?
Head indoors to Georgia Aquarium, National Center for Civil and Human Rights, World of Coca-Cola and Ponce City Market.
+What is there to do in Atlanta at night?
Fox Theatre are best after dark.