Quick Link to:
Transportation
- MARTA: The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority is an amazing subway system that can take you from the airport to pretty much anywhere in the city. We bought a 3 day breeze pass for only $18 per person and it was hassle free. The subway is easy for any type of traveler. Also the security made you feel at ease majority of the time. It takes about 30-45 minutes to get from the airport to downtown Atlanta.
Accommodations
- Glenn Hotel: We stayed at the fabulous Glenn Hotel during our trip to Atlanta. The Glenn is apart of the Marriott’s Autograph Selection. This 4 star hotel offers beautiful views of Atlanta from each of its rooms. Our view was of the CNN Center and Centennial Olympic Park. The hotel has a rooftop deck lounge to enjoy beautiful city views and offers you to relax with a glass of wine after a long day exploring the city. The hotel gives a older vibe which makes it very charming and relaxing. The hotel is central to many of the city’s sights and close to public transportation to take you anywhere.
To-Do
If you want to really experience Atlanta, you need to get the Atlanta City Pass! This pass is good for 9 days and offers admission into over 5 different sights around downtown Atlanta. We will share with you some of the sights we visited during our adventure. We highly suggest getting this pass if you plan to stay multiple days in the city.
- CNN Studio Tour: Located inside the CNN Center, this was a fun experience that we think anyone would enjoy! We got to see how the media delivers breaking news to millions of people around the world. During the tour, we were able to see some live action broadcasts from multiple news rooms. The tour is guided and lasts about an hour. There are also many different photo opportunities during the tour.
- Georgia Aquarium: As one of the largest aquariums in the world, it has over 10 million gallons full of amazing sea creatures. They have many different sections where we saw fish from rivers here in America to exotic fish from Australia. They have huge Manta Rays and Whale Sharks that were very impressive. This is a must do when you come to Atlanta so dive in!
- World of Coca-Cola: If visiting in the summer like we did, it will probably be a hot day and what better way to quench your thirst then grabbing a fresh cold Coke from the factory of Coca-Cola. Take a tour and see the history of the famous soft drink. From the factory in which they make the taste that everyone knows worldwide to the memorabilia of the famous signs which displays Coca-Cola logo from the early 1900’s to present day. We even saw the vault where the top secret recipe is located! After we finished the self guided tour, we treated ourselves by taste testing 0ver 100 Coca-Cola soft drink products from around the world! We won’t spoil anything for you but you do have to try the Beverly from Italy.
- College Football Hall of Fame: If you love college sports you cannot miss this experience. Even if you are not crazy about sports this attraction is amazing for any fan, any age! Learn the history of college football inside the museum. You can also be the star and create your own football player! If you don’t have an arm like Peyton Manning don’t worry, you can try your luck as a college football announcer. We spent a couple hours here just having a good time.
- See a sports game: Atlanta has multiple sports teams that play in the metropolitan area. The NFL has the defending NFC Champions Atlanta Falcons who will be playing in the brand new Mercedes-Benz Stadium. They will share the stadium with the Atlanta United FC of MLS league. MLB has the Atlanta Braves who also changed venues and moved a little northwest of town to new SunTrust Park in Cumberland/Galleria, Georgia. The Atlanta Hawks still play in downtown Atlanta at Phillips Arena. We ended up watching the New York Mets vs. the Atlanta Braves.
Food
- McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood & Steaks: This is one place that will definitely make your mouth water and empty your wallet. We had a steak for dinner and it was one of the best outside my kitchen. They have some yummy desserts as well, so make sure to pick up a chocolate cake! This place is very nice and pretty expensive but it won’t hurt to splurge one night. McCormick & Schmick’s is located in downtown at the CNN Center.
- Glenn’s Kitchen: Before we started our day exploring this amazing city, we needed to get some energy with breakfast. This casual breakfast joint filled up us up! The orange juice was delicious, followed by the kitchen Omelet or the filling Glenn’s Breakfast meal. Glenn’s Kitchen is located inside the Glenn Hotel, in downtown. They serve lunch and dinner as well so make sure to mark this place down for at least one of your meals.
We had a great time in the city of Atlanta as there was so much to do for any type of traveler. It was a relaxing but exciting trip and was definitely one of our favorite domestic trips we have taken so far.
