Experience Atlanta

By: Samuel Bank Click author's name for more of his/her articles

Atlanta is the capital of the state of Georgia and the ‘New South’ and exudes southern hospitality despite its growing size. It is also the birth place of the Civil Rights movement, and this history forms an integral part of its culture. It its importance in US black history is captured accurately at Martin Luther King Jr’s house.

This historic site encompasses his birth home, his church and memorial tomb where he is buried and the exhibits in these buildings give you an insight into the life of this Nobel-prize winning campaigner.

The city was also involved in the revolution and you can learn more about this bleak past at the Atlanta History Centre. Here you will find the Tullie Smith House. It has been relocated from outside the city limits to the beautiful gardens on the museum. It was one of the few homes that survived the ‘March to the Sea’ when in 1864 General William Sherman destroyed most of Atlanta. There are also several other historic buildings onsite which give you an insight into slave culture as well as the cotton industry which once dominated the region.

The Georgia Aquarium is ideal place for kids, has over 100,000 animals in its huge tanks. This is the largest aquarium in the US, and you can see animals from the tropics to the arctic. To see what the animals get up to at night, you can arrange a ‘sleepover’ by calling the aquarium direct.

Atlanta’s has its own brand of hip hop music, ‘crunk’ as well as a popular jazz scene and each summer it hosts America’s largest free jazz festival at various locations throughout the city.

Shopping in Atlanta is a shopaholic’s paradise. For the best department stores head to Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza. Here you’ll find two of the city’s biggest malls and you will be spoilt for choice with stores like Bloomingdale’s, Nieman Marcus and Macy’s, as well as Jimmy Choo and Armani all fighting for your buck.

For vintage and second-hand products head to the smaller, trendier boutiques head in Buckhead, Virginia-Highland and Little Five Points. You can also pick up clothes from local Atlanta designers.

The people of the southern states just love their food and it usually comes in fried or barbequed form. Even in the up-market restaurants you will still find barbecued ribs and battered and fried chicken are usually on the menu. For good-tasting, honestly-priced southern fare head to Mary Mac’s on Ponce de Leon Avenue and for simply outstanding and might large steak you must visit Bone’s – now an Atlanta institution.