World City Guide

Key Attractions

Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum
The Battle of Atlanta, which took place on 22 July, 1864, is vividly illustrated on the largest oil painting in the world. Completed in 1886, the 1,396 square metre (15,030 sq ft) panoramic painting in the round is 12.8m (42ft) high. With the aid of narrative music, lights, art, sound effects and a diorama, that fateful battle comes to life. This unusual exhibit makes a huge impact on its audience. Visitors should look for the inclusion of Clark Gable as Rhett Butler. An adjoining museum contains relics that commemorate the Confederate cause.

800 Cherokee Avenue SE, Grant Park
Tel: (404) 624 1071.
Website: www.webguide.com/cyclorama.html
Opening hours: Daily 0930-1630.
Admission charge.

Atlanta History Center
Surrounded by 13 hectares (33 acres) of signposted trails and gardens, this complex of Atlanta’s past focuses on the human tragedy of the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement. The artistry of Southern needlework and handicrafts plus Bobby Jones, the famous 1920s golfer, memorabilia are exhibited. A 1996 Atlanta Olympics exhibition opens in July 2006. Swan House, the elegant 1928 classical-style mansion named for the swan motif recurring throughout the interior, and the Tullie Smith Farm, an entire farm complex built in the 1840s moved intact from rural Georgia, are also part of the centre.

130 West Paces Ferry Road NW, Buckhead
Tel: (404) 814 4000.
Website: www.atlantahistorycenter.com
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-1730, Sun 1200-1730.
Admission charge.

Centennial Olympic Park
Built for the 1996 Olympics, this popular gathering place features year-round entertainment. With sculptures, the much photographed Fountain of Rings and meandering paths, the 7-hectare (21-acre) park is a pleasant place to relax.

Marietta Street at International Boulevard
Tel: (404) 222 PARK (7275).
Website: www.centennialpark.com
Opening hours: 0700-2300.
Free admission.

CNN Center
Get a behind the scenes look of CNN and Headline News on a 50-minute CNN tour. The tour offers a fascinating glimpse of how newscasts are put together and visitors see the real newsrooms. For an extra charge, visitors can don a newscaster’s jacket and tape a ‘special news bulletin.’ The centre itself houses a mall with a food court, bank, post office and speciality shops such as the Atlanta Braves (baseball team) store and the Turner Broadcasting store. It also has the world’s longest freestanding escalator which rises 49m (160ft), or approximately eight storeys.

1 CNN Drive
Tel: (404) 827 2300 or (877) 4CNNTOUR (426 68687).
Website: www.cnn.com/StudioTour
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1700 (tour every 10 minutes).
Admission charge.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History
Enter into the dramatic 26m-high (86ft) Great Hall skylight and be surrounded by a spectacular wall of windows, a fossil-embedded limestone floor and a giant dinosaur. With fossils, plants, dinos and animals, the winding Walk through Time exhibit depicts the prehistory and history of Georgia up to 1838. The development of handicrafts is illustrated with ethnic weaving, pottery and jewellery from Asia. The facility also has an IMAX theater.

767 Clifton Road NE
Tel: (404) 929 6300.
Website: www.fernbank.edu
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1200-1700.
Admission charge.

Fernbank Science Center
With one of the country’s largest planetariums, an original Apollo capsule, space memorabilia, and moon rocks, this is paradise for those who look to the stars. On a clear night, the astronomer on duty guides visitors on a tour of the galaxy through the Observatory’s telescope.

156 Heaton Park Drive NE
Tel: (678) 874 7102.
Website: www.fernbank.edu
Opening hours: Mon-Wed 0830-1700, Thurs-Fri 0830-2200, Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1300-1700.
Free admission; charge for planetarium shows.

Governor’s Mansion
Early 19th-century paintings, porcelain and Federal-period furniture grace the 30-room Greek Revival-styled Governor’s home. You might think you are in Mississippi at a plantation house rather than in Georgia at an antebellum mansion. Located 1.5km (1 mile) east of the Atlanta History Center.
391 West Paces Ferry Road NW
Tel: (404) 261 1776.
Website: www.gov.state.ga.us/about_mansion
Opening hours: (Tours) Tues and Thurs 1000-1130.
Free admission.

High Museum of Art
Located at the Woodruff Arts Center, High Museum of Art, this beautiful white, award-winning building, designed by Richard Meier, features modern, contemporary and decorative art mostly by American artists.

Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree Street
Tel: (404) 733 HIGH (4444) (Woodruff) or (404) 733 4400.
Website: www.high.org
Opening hours: Tues-Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1200-1700.
Admission charge.

Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta
Two to eight-year-olds will think this is hands-on heaven. The museum has fun things to explore like an obstacle course of simple machines, a creativity section where kids can dance, climb up to a treehouse, be on TV or mould waxed sand or ‘fish.’ There is even a small grocery store and kitchen.

275 Centennial Olympic Park Drive
Tel: (404) 659 KIDS (5437).
Website: www.imagineit-cma.org
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10-1600, Sat-Sun 1000-1700.
Admission charge.

Jimmy Carter Library and Museum
This presidential library and museum examine the early life, political career and accomplishments of President Jimmy Carter. Presidents that preceded Carter are also honoured. A recording of Carter talking about various issues during his White House years (January 1977 to January 1981) plays in the replica of the Oval Office. Significant topics like the Middle East Peace (Camp David Accords), the Panama Canal, the nuclear threat and the Iran hostages are examined more closely. On permanent display are Carter’s Nobel Prize for Peace as well as photographs, memorabilia and gifts of state. Lovely gardens and a great view of Atlanta’s skyline surround the facility.

441 Freedom Parkway
Tel: (404) 865 7100.
Website: www.jimmycarterlibrary.org
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0900-1645, Sun 1200-1645.
Admission charge.

Margaret Mitchell House and Museum
Margaret Mitchell and her husband, John Marsh, shared Apartment 1 here. In this turn-of-the-century building, she wrote her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gone with the Wind. Through the years, the building suffered from vandalism, fires and neglect. It opened to the public in 1997 - restored to look like it did when she occupied it. Personal memorabilia, pictures and even her typewriter are on display. Across the street, the Gone with the Wind Museum displays posters, a life-size portrait of Scarlett O’Hara, costumes and even the original front door of Tara. A must for GWTW fans.

990 Peachtree Street
Tel: (404) 249 7015.
Website: www.gwtw.org
Opening hours: Daily 0930-1700.
Admission charge.

Martin Luther King Jr Historic District
The 13-hectare (33-acre) Historic District in Sweet Auburn is a potent reminder of Atlanta’s tumultuous past. Most moving is the recording of King’s ‘I have a Dream’ speech which can be heard at the Visitor Center. The National Park Service maintains his birthplace home, Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he succeeded his father and grandfather as pastor in 1960, and Fire Station No. 6, the first fire station in Atlanta to be integrated. The nearby Martin Luther King Jr Center for Nonviolent Social Change pays tribute to King’s Nobel Prize-winning work for equality via civil disobedience and non-violent marches.

450 Auburn Avenue (Visitor Center)
Tel: (404) 331 5190.
Website: www.nps.gov/malu
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1700 (winter); 0900-1800 (summer).
Free admission.

The Museums in the 1400 Spring Street Area
The Center for Puppetry Arts, the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum and the National Museum of Patriotism are across from one another. Each is unique.

Center For Puppetry Arts
This centre houses puppets from all over the world as well as puppet-making workshops. In the theatre are puppet performances for both children and adults.

1404 Spring Street
Tel: (404) 873 3391.
Website: www.puppet.org
Opening hours: Tues-Sat 0900-1700, Sun 1100-1700 (museum). Check in advance performance and workshop schedule times.
Admission charge.

The National Museum of Patriotism
This venue dwells on aspects of American patriotism. Exhibits include American nationalistic symbols and a sweetheart jewellery collection of patriotic gifts. There is a section on tributes to the armed forces. Visitors are invited to send a free video to a serviceman.

1405 Spring Street
Tel: (404) 875 0691.
Website: www.museumofpatriotism.org
Opening hours: Tues-Fri 1000-1600, Sat 1100-1700. Sun 1300-1700.
Admission charge, but military, police, firemen and EMTs (emergency medical technicians) free.

William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum
Focusing on the Holocaust and Atlanta Jewish Heritage, exhibits include TV monitors with Holocaust survivor stories. Issues that have affected Atlanta Jews like Civil Rights and a temple bombing are also highlighted.

1440 Spring Street NW
Tel: (678) 222 3700.
Website: www.thebreman.org
Opening hours: Mon-Thurs 1000-1700, Fri 1000-1500, Sun 1300-1700.
Admission charge.

World of Coca-Cola
Unless you are a Coca-holic, this three-storey Coke sales pitch and the ‘Everything Coca-Cola’ store is a bit much. It’s ultratacky – but Coca-Cola is an integral part of Atlanta and its financial success.

55 Martin Luther King Jr Drive
Tel: (404) 676 5151 or (800) 676 COKE.
Website: www.woccatlanta.com
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0900-1700, Sun 1100-1700 (Sep to May), Mon-Sat 0900-1800 and Sun 1100-1700 (Jun to Aug).
Admission charge.

Zoo Atlanta
Zoo Atlanta is one of the oldest zoos in the USA. A key attraction is the two giant pandas from Chengdu in the Republic of China. The zoo’s over 250 animal species include gorillas, orangutans, tigers, lions, giraffes, elephants and so on in their natural habitats.

Grant Park, 800 Cherokee Avenue SE
Tel: (404) 624 5600 or (888) 945 5432.
Website: www.zooatlanta.org
Opening hours: Daily 0930-1730.
Admission charge.