Atlanta. The ATL. HOTlanta, if you will. Home to John Mayer, Emily GIffin, T.I., and a whole slew of other people since its population is close to 500k. The city’s huge, so when you vaca there, it can be overwhelming to choose what’s worth seeing and doing—and what’s not.
Here’s a list of seven solid to-dos that could easily fill your getaway weekend.
Eat at Ponce City Market.
Ponce City Market is located in the historic Sears, Roebuck & Co. building. The market has shops, offices, and, most importantly, a very large market named Central Food Hall where you can find about any type of food your heart—or stomach—desires. I’d suggest trying Marrakesh if you like Mediterranean, Ton Ton for Ramen, and King of Pops for some fun popsicles.
See a Braves game at SunTrust Park.
SunTrust Park opened in April 2017, and wow can you tell it’s new. The stadium itself is really impressive, and there’s a village-like area outside the stadium with restaurants and hangout spots. For the actual game in the stadium, you might consider getting seats with the glass railing in front of you for a really awesome view.
Go to an event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
It’s where the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC play, but they have concerts here all the time, too. Taylor Swift devoted two nights here on her Reputation tour. It has a retractable roof, so you don’t have to worry about the weather, but the crowd is a different story. Like every other stadium, this one packs a ton of people inside—80,000 at top capacity.
Take pictures in front of wall murals.
These are all over Atlanta. This particular one is on Atlanta’s Beltline, and if you see much of the Beltline, you’ll run into a few others. It’s easy to research these and see if there’s one that will be near the part of town you plan to spend most of your time. It’s worth catching a photo in front of one if you see you’ll be close!
Walk, run, or ride on the Beltline.
The Beltline is basically a large paved sidewalk that winds its way through residential areas. But don’t be fooled by all the apartment complexes; you’ll see restaurants, stretches of greenery, and street art. There are various trails on the Beltline, but if you visit Ponce City Market, you can head out their backdoors and step right on it. And if you’d rather not foot it, you’ll find scooters (like Bird) lying around the sidewalk you can pay to ride—and trust me, they’re worth it. Download the app, plug in your info, and away you’ll go!
Tour the College Football Hall of Fame.
This museum is interactive, informational, and downright fun. The College Football Hall of Fame is located right downtown, but even if you aren’t staying downtown it’s pretty easy to get to. When you enter, you’ll get a badge and choose a college football team, then a computer will link your team to that badge. As you walk through the museum, the interactive stations will connect to your badge and register your team, so you can read, watch, and see all the info about the team you choose. But you aren’t tied to them only; you can check out any team you want—and you’ve got 750 to choose from. There’s a theater, an indoor playing field, and tons of interactive stations, some of which get you moving and others that make it seem like you’re moving. You don’t have to be a football fan to love this museum, but from one football fan to another, this one’s highly recommended.
Hang out at Avalon.
Imagine an upscale open-air mall with wide sidewalks, restaurant patios, and turf lawns. Then imagine it as cleaner, newer, and finer. Avalon is a perfect place for a lunch get together, a dinner outing, or an afternoon hangout. Sometimes it’s hard to find places to just hang out. You pretty much have to go to a restaurant or an activity venue (bowling, Top Golf, whatever) to get together with friends. But Avalon gives you all kinds of spaces to just meet up. So whether you’ve got time to kill, need some food, or want to shop, Avalon’s your place.
Because Atlanta is so huge, you should expect a lot of cars on the highway. And by “a lot,” I mean an overwhelming amount. But don’t let the traffic run you off. There’s too many things worth seeing and doing there!
In the words of Ludacris, “Welcome to Atlanta.”