Atlanta Travel Answers

I can give you plenty of information on Atlanta since I had an assignment there for 12 weeks last year at Coca-Cola. 1) The Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola and CNN are all within blocks of each other. There are a number of hotels in the area. I stayed some nights at the Embassy Suites. From there you can walk to all those sights. The only downside to the Embassy Suites is the28 parking fee each night. 2) I don't think there is a train out to Stone Mountain. I drove out there from the airport when I arrived early one Sunday. There is a10 admission per car. 3) I had a car most of the times, but used MARTA several times to visit another VT member in Decatur, Georgia. 4) If you click on my name and then go to my travel pages you will see a number of restaurants that I reviewed and went to on my stay in town. For a nice Italian dinner I would recommend Sotto Sotto. Their phone # is 404 523 6678. Reservations are a must. This is in the Poncey Highlands area of Atlanta. Another one which I see I haven't reviewed yet is Two Urban Licks. A big place, good food, but a little on the noisy side. 5) You can also get to Decatur, Georiga (really just an extension of Atlanta and 10 minutes from downtown) by MARTA and have dinner in a number of nice restaurants. One I would highly recommend is Cafe Alsace (closed on Sundays). A small place with fantastic French food and the desserts are really really good (honey lavender ice cream). The NCAA basketball tournament is in town this weekend, so I would be sure to call for reservations for any restaurant in Atlanta just to be sure.

Here is the link to my review of Cafe Alsace. Cafe Alsace: "Friendly and Warm" - Decatur Restaurant Tip by riorich55

> Q1. Should we rent a car or take the train to go to Stone Mountain? There is no train to Stone Mountain. The closest a MARTA train comes is in Decatur. > Q2.Also is it worth going to the Stone Mountain? I don't think so, but there's not a ton else to do in Atlanta. I think you would be better of driving a little further to Athens. > Q3.Should we rent a car for our whole trip or can we tarvel to downtown tourist area by MARTA? If you're only there for a few days, you should be okay. MARTA has limited service and it costs2 per ride no matter how far you go, which I always found really annoying. When I lived there last year, I would take it quite a bit on weekends, particularly when I went Downtown. The Downtown attractions, Decatur, Little Five Points, Midtown, Buckhead, and the airport are all easily accessible places of interest on MARTA. Two things with MARTA: absolutely do not get off at a random station and just walk around because there are some really dangerous parts of Atlanta that it goes through; and don't rely heavily on the schedule because it's almost unreliable by design. > Secondly I want to know some nice restaurants we can go eat. We will be staying at hyaat near the airport and will be travelling to downtown by MARTA. The good restaurants are in Decatur, Ponce-Highlands, Virginia-Highlands, Midtown, Buckhead and near Perimeter Mall. Honestly, I had very few good food experiences inside the city, so I'll have to defer the question. Realize also that you can't walk between the Hyatt and the MARTA station at the airport. The station is at the entrance to the terminal. You'll have to use the hotel's shuttle each time.

Colin, Sounds like you didn't really care for Atlanta much. I would disagree with your assessment of Stone Mountain. I spent an afternoon there, walking to the top of Stone Mountain and spent some time around the lake walking and taking pictures. They also had a Highland Games festival the weekend I was there. If they have a car they should head out there and then hit the restaurant I mentioned in Decatur. I agree you just don't want to hop off a MARTA train anywhere in Atlanta without knowing where you are going. When I took MARTA it was from the Georgia Tech area to either Buckhead or Decatur.2 really isn't a lot for transportation even if it is a one way trip. Of course I'm used to the "L" trains in Chicago where the price is the same. I also never had any problems with their time schedule the 4 or 5 times I used it.

As you probably know, the World of Coca-Cola, Aquarium and CNN Center are all close to Centennial Park and you can easily walk from any one of them to the others. It is an easy walk from the 5 Points MATRA station (maybe ½ mile). The questions about Stone Mountain are good ones. You cannot get there by train and the MARTA buses will only get you to the city of Stone Mountain, about a half mile from the entrance to the park itself. There used to be trams inside the park that covered the whole thing but I can find nothing on their website so don’t know if they still have them. Based on what I know and can find, I would encourage you to forget Stone Mountain unless you decide to rent a car. Other ideas: The High Museum of Art is a pretty good one and now has a nice exhibit, “Picasso to Warhol.” It is easily reached by train – just take the northbound from either the airport or 5 points and exit at the Arts Center Station. The Atlanta Botanical Garden is a really good one and everything here is in full bloom. You can take the train directly from the airport to the Lindburgh Station, then bus #27 southbound to the garden. The bus stops right at the main entrance. The Martin Luther King Center is, in my opinion, well worth a visit and is near downtown Atlanta. You can close on the MARTA train eastbound from 5 Points, but there is a walk of at least ½ mile from the King Memorial station. Alternatively a taxi from downtown would not be terribly expensive. I see Rich has beaten me to recommending Cafe Alsace in Decatur which is my favorite. If you decide to go there, you need to know that they are open for lunch and dinner Friday, dinner only on Saturday and brunch only on Sunday. There are lots of good eating options in Decatur and I will give them if you want. One place we enjoy taking guests to in downtown Atlanta is the Sundial atop the Westin Peachtree. It is not terribly expensive and the restaurant revolves so that you get views of a lot of the area. It is open for lunch and dinner and there is also a bar if you just want a drink and a view. You can check them out at: http://www.sundialrestaurant.com/ Hope some of this helps. If you have any questions I might answer, don’t hesitate to post again or e-mail me. Welcome to Atlanta, Y’all!

Sorry Rex, but just in case you weren't on VT today and they are heading for Atlanta tomorrow I wanted to make sure Cafe Alsace was on their restaurant list! By the way nice pictures of your garden on FB. Everything up north is blooming 3 to 4 weeks ahead of schedule. Fertilized my lawn 2 weeks ago and I need to cut, but my lawn mower is in the shop. I'll have to borrow my neighbors.

I'm a little late to this party and don't have much more to add, other that I have quite a few tips among my ATL pages, if it might help. Atlanta has been developing quite a bit as a foodie city, there are restaurants to meet any budget. Look for a copy of a free local Culture/food/music, etc newspaper called Creative Loafing for suggestions as well. I agree it's unfortunate you will be staying at the Hyatt for the whole time since you have to take the hotel's shuttle to get to MARTA and I think they only run every 30 mins, so there's a potential for losing a lot time waiting for the shuttle.

Thanks so much. This was very helpful. I will rent a car for Sunday to visit stone mountain. The restaurants suggestions are great. Also will look into visiting the Martin Luther kings centre and High art place if time permits. I will let you how my trip went. Thanks again.

The Varsity for lunch one day Pittypat's Porch has good southern food as well as Mary Mac's Tea Room.

Funny, I stayed in Atlanta, near the CDC, for 9.5 months in 1995 and went back for a month in 2008 and at neither time bothered with the Aquarium, World of Coca Cola, CNN studio.. But then I HATE being a tourist where I live (even for 3 months - my shortest overseas stint!). And I didn't care much for Stone Mountain either :( But the day trip to Washington, GA? Those beautiful antebellum homes we visited? Wow! But then this was organised by the Pastors at the Villa International, Atlanta, where I stayed (and you could stay, too, if you don't mind something basic?). The second time round I was taken out to lunch at Atlantic Station and Cafe Intermezzo by @balfor and a lovely older Atlantan couple who live in the Emory Area, where the CDC is located (which is close to Decatur). Now, I just can't recall the name of the park we went to on another day trip, not too far from Atlanta. I would give my thumbs up for Litte Five Points - in was my weekend haunt in 1995 and I went back there in 2008 to find the same cafe selling my favourite baklava still there! Yummy! ;-) Last but not least, to quote Atlantans I met in 1995 - Atlanta is nice city to live in, not to visit i.e. for tourist.. But you can still enjoy it! :-)

Piedmont Park is centrally located and a fun walk with great views of the city--- There is a really good Pub right across the street, and also there is the brewery/restaurant at the corner of 10th St and Monroe.....(SE corner of the Park)

Hey VT Friends Thanks for all the info. I will rent a car for Sunday and go to Stone Mountain. My husband's birthday will be this Sunday. So I was wondering anything other nice place we can visit Sunday since we will have a car. Any other nice scenic place even if it is involves a bit off a drive we are okay with that. Thanks

Can you give us some of his likes/dislikes?

@dustmon it wasn't Piedmont Park. It was during a day trip out of Atlanta. I recall it had a butterfly garden.. @Sonia I also recall a day trip to FDR's summer home where he did his rehabilitation in the swimming pool..

FDR's place was in Warm Springs, Georgia.

Butterfly Gardens are are Callaway Gardens callawaygardens.com/resort/t...

Right! Thanks @RioRich! :-)

I don't suggest taking MARTA. The people are rude and can't act right and the service does not extend to a lot of sweet spots. GA aquarium wasn't what I expected and is nothing short of a disorganized mess and I haven't been to Stone mountain yet. I hear its fun so I will be taking the kiddies soon. You may want to check out Kennesaw Mountain although I've never been. The aUnderground is popular but I'm still not sure what goes on there..seems like a city beneath the city which has to he sweet.