Top 9 Places Visited in Atlanta

Have you visited Atlanta? Or plan to visit Atlanta? For me this is the first city that I saw when I reached USA. My visit in the city was not for leisure trip but a business reason. But, I still tried to explore the city even my first 10 days has been raining. I still tried to explore this city at the south. And during my exploration, I enjoyed discovering Atlanta.

Below are rank of the places that I visited. What are yours?

Top 1 – World of Coca-Cola

What I like about this museum is the secret formula of the famous soda itself. Seeing the vault made me excited and felt that the secret itself is real.

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Top 2 – The Fabulous Fox

One of the things that I dream to get inside of is the classic theater of the Fox. And I realized this dream when I got a chance to watch Shaping Sound contemporary dance artist.

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Top 3 – Margaret Mitchell’s House

When I learned about the movie “Gone With the Wind” and the author of the famous movie of all time has museum in Atlanta which was her former house and exhibits most about her, I felt excited as I got a chance to discover more about her and about the movie.

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Top 4 – Center for Civil and Human Rights

The museum made me cry as I felt in my heart the persecution that African-American experienced during the decades of sufferings, a part of USA history that I learned.

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Top 5 – Georgia Aquarium

The former largest aquarium in the world reminded me again how diverse our water world and how amazing their ecosystem.

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Top 6 – Centennial Olympic Park

A historical park that made Atlanta historic in the world.

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Top 7 – Pemberton Place

The home of famous museums that will make every visitor enjoys the city just in one place.

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Top 8 – Peachtree Street (Part 1, Part 2, & Part 5)

The name of the street itself is famous in Atlanta. And don’t be surprised if you will encounter lots of streets with the name “Peachtree”. It has its own reason, because it has historical significance in the city.

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Top 9 – Underground Atlanta

This historical city beneath the city has its historical part in Atlanta and an enjoyable place to explore the city if you are into shopping.

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Six (6) Atlanta City Walks

When the weather in Atlanta becomes better, I took my chance to walk in some part of the city during my last weekend and last Friday in the metropolis. I grouped my walk in six major places as listed below. The order of these places that I saw in my leisure walk  around the city are not necessarily based on how I presented it here, but I used north (Midtown) to south (Downtown) direction to tell the story of the places that I had seen in the city.

1. Peachtree St NE (Midtown)

This is the part of the walk where the following places can be found : Margaret Mitchell House, Fabulous Fox and Georgian Terrace.

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2. Peachtree Street NE (Downtown)

Here the following buildings can be found : Bank of America Plaza, Emory University Hospital, SunTrust Plaza and Hyatt Regency. Hardy Ivy Park can also be seen along this street.

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3. Pemberton Place

It is the home of World of Coca-Cola, Georgia Aquarium and Center for Civil and Human Rights.

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4. Centennial Olympic Park

A place where you can enjoy a walk with Atlanta Skyline view and not far from it you can decide to ride Skyview Atlanta.

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5. Peachtree Street NW (Downtown)

The walk in this part of Peachtree Street NW can enjoy Margaret Mitchell Square, Flatiron Building and Woodruff Park.

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6. Underground

This is the place where you can enjoy the oldest streets of Atlanta and understand why it was called city beneath the city.

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Strolling at Underground Atlanta (The City Beneath the City – Atlanta Walk Part 6)

When I reached Woodruff Park and as I walked along Peachtree St NW, I found another place that caught my interest to have a leisure walk and that was Underground. I first heard Underground place from my colleague at work based in Atlanta. And he recommended me to go there and have some time to look around. When I saw its name from a distance, I felt excited then I walked towards it. Next thing that I saw was the Peachtree Fountain Plaza and the 138-feet tower where the New Year’s Eve Peach Drop happens every year, the 138 feet of the tower symbolizes the 138 miles of the railroad run from Downtown Atlanta to Chattanooga Tennessee, an interesting facts that I learned somewhere. At Peachtree Fountain Plaza is where usually people of Atlanta celebrates the switching of year from old to new.

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Peachtree Fountain Plaza

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138-feet tower of lights where Peach Drop happens every year

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I walked towards Lower Alabama Street and I walked inside Underground. First thing that I saw were kiosks of small retail stores lined along the street. Its kind of discovering a part of Atlanta.

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Then, I saw an area where you can take photos of yourself. I was not able to take mine because I was not really good in taking selfie pictures. But it looks like it is a photo booth where you will pay for photos but if it closed at night, I guess you can take photos for free and if you have friends with you can even have a groupie photos.

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Photo booth

While wandering inside the Underground, I found some information boards where it tells a historical piece of facts that is worth to know. One of the things that I found were about Architectural Cast Iron which used in buildings after Civil War, then it followed by Gate City Bank in 1885, where there were still remnants of stonework of original buildings that still visible at the time of my visit, the Block Building of 1882, the Pryor Street Railroad Crossing, the Humbug Square and Packing House Row.

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Architectural Cast Iron

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Gate City Bank

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Block Building (Coca-Cola ads)

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Pryor Street Railroad Crossing

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Humbug Square

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Alabama and Pryor Street

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Packing House Row

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Wandering along the streets of Underground I reached the other end of it which is at Central Avenue SW. Here I found some small exhibits and pieces of information about Underground with a matching of train station platform. It also explained why the Underground exist at all which kind of a solution that people thought at earlier years to resolve the problem between automobiles and trains in busy and crowded roadways through building a viaducts. And that was exactly happened why we have such Undergound in Atlanta.

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After enjoying sometime at the Courtesy Station of Underground, I walked back and continued enjoying my walk along Lower Alabama Street. On my way, I found additional carriage stone, a stone for gentry to step on to when people come out of their carriages. And finally, I finished my walking adventure and walks towards reach Five Points MARTA station which located at the start of my walk just below Peachtree Street SW.

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End of Lower Alabama Street

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Carriage Stones

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At Five Points Station

And that’s how I end my walking adventure in Atlanta that day, until then.

Notes:
1. Plan to visit Underground Atlanta ? – Please check latest information here
2. Entrance Fee – Walking in the city is totally free
3. Public Transportation Ticket – Use MARTA Breese Card,  here’s the official website, here’s alternative site for the card
4. Directions to Underground Atlanta using train :
If you will ride within Red Line or Gold Line regardless which station you will come from, just remember to get-off at Five Points Station.
If you will ride in any of Blue or Green Line, you are required to transfer at Five Points Station and take Red or Gold Line and get off at Five Points Station.
From Five Points Station, there is direct exit towards Undeground Atlanta.

Discovery : Carriage Stone – Underground Atlanta

Discovery (Post#34) : Carriage Stone – Underground Atlanta

Walking inside the streets of Underground such as Lower Alabama Street and Lower Pryor Street has some benefits in rediscovering history of Atlanta. One of the reminders of the old city are the carriages stones that still exist at the front of the stores along the street. Honestly, I didn’t knew the carriages stones means something until I read historical facts about its uses. It is used as step for the people who alighted from horse-drawn carriages so that their feet will not get dirty specially if the street became muddy. These photos are part of Atlanta Walks Photo Collection November 2015.

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Chromatic Outlook : Humbug Square Sights – Underground Atlanta

Chromatic Outlook (Post#43) : Humbug Square Sights – Underground Atlanta

While walking along Lower Alabama Street, I found a man and a bear sculpture which represents the common sights during the pioneering days of Atlanta along the said street from Peachtree Street and Pryor Street. The common sights show trained bears together with its master to show some entertainment to the public. These photos are part of Atlanta Walks Photo Collection November 2015.

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Colors : Lower Pryor Street – Underground Atlanta

Colors (Post#10) : Lower Pryor Street – Underground Atlanta

When I entered the Underground, I walked along Lower Alabama Street and then the road that it crossed is the Lower Pryor Street. Once famous street and a rail road crossing which serves over 100 trains per day with direct service between Atlanta and New York City; Cincinnati, Ohio; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Knoxville, Tennessee; Augusta, Georgia; Macon, Georgia; and Columbus, Georgia. These photos are part of Atlanta Walks Photo Collection November 2015.

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Discovery : 138-Foot Tower (Peach Drop) – Underground Atlanta

Discovery (Post#33) : 138-Foot Tower (Peach Drop) – Underground Atlanta

When I walked towards Underground and when I passed the Peachtree Fountain Plaza, I saw a 138-foot tower. I didn’t knew at first if its significant in the area, the tower used where a huge like peach is drop as part of New Year’s Celebration in the city. Then, when I learned about Peach Drop, I realized the function of the tower. And then,  while I was looking for information about Underground, I discovered something about the reasoning behind the 138-Foot Tower. The 138 Foot symbolizes the 138 miles of the railroad run from Downtown Atlanta to Chattanooga Tennessee. These photos are part of Atlanta Walks Photo Collection November 2015.

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Name Of The Place : Underground Atlanta

Name Of The Place (Post#40) : Underground Atlanta

They call Underground as the “Original Streets” in Atlanta and “City beneath the city”. Underground is a shopping and entertainment all in one near in Five Points. This historical place has been going on its ups and downs for the past century and up to this point Underground still struggling to survive. The photos that I captured was taken year of 2015 so I am not sure if the things that I saw that time will be the same as of now. These photos are part of Atlanta Walks Photo Collection November 2015.

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