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Atlanta Attractions and Things to See

Atlanta is the capital and biggest city in the state of Georgia, and the third biggest in the southeastern United States. It is a top business city and the main transportation hub of the southeast, in railroad, highway and air, with the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport becoming the world's busiest airport since 1998. The city has gained a national reputation as a city of trees since there are so many, and they cover about 36% of the city's streets, with oaks, southern pines, dogwoods and magnolias, making it the highest city of trees in the country, that helps filter out pollutants and cools the buildings and sidewalks of this marvelous city. It is however, being constantly barraged by man and the elements, losing about 12% of its magnificent trees since 1974, that would result in a one-third increase in the amount of stormwater runoff, causing the city officials to begin a tree planting and preserving program, creating a non-profit called Trees Atlanta.

Since the coverage is so abundant, it creates a wonderful area for outdoor activities, especially coupled with the excellent weather that also abounds here. The city hosts the Dogwood Festival, the yearly arts and crafts event that is held on a weekend in early April, since the native trees are blossoming, as well as the Centennial Olympic Park marathon that is the starting point and finish line for the Georgia Marathon that runs through the heart of the city and Decatur suburbs, the business area and prominent schools of higher learning like Emory University, Georgia Tech, Georgia State University and Agnes Scott College.

The city contains a good number of trails, parks and gardens, like Grant Park and Piedmont Park, the Atlanta Botanical Garden, where the Canopy Walk is held, the BeltLine a 22 mile loop through the cities' central neighborhoods, the Inman Park, Westside Park and the Historic Fourth Ward Park. PATH takes care of a network of walking and biking trails in the Metro area, with one going by the Carter Center and another through Freedom Park.

The city's abundant cultural events and venues is enough to draw many visitors and others to it, with a classical music scene that includes the Atlanta ballet, opera and orchestra, Gwinnett Ballet Theater, New Trinity Baroque, the Georgia Boy Choir, the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Boy Choir and the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra. Other fabulous venues include the Fox Theater, the Variety Playhouse, the Star Community Bar, the EARL, the Tabernacle and the Masquerade. They have an outstanding theater community that includes the Alliance Theater, Seven Stages Theater, the Shakespeare Tavern, the internationally renown Center for Puppetry Arts, the Horizon Theater Company, the improv Dad's Garage, Actor's Express, and the Theatrical Outfit. It has grown into a major center for the marching arts, home of the Spirit Drum and Bugle Corps, the CorpsVets Drum and Bugle Corps and the Alliance Drum and Bugle Corps. It is also one of the leading tourist destinations, not only for visitors coming here from outside the nation, but also for those living in it. By 2010, it was the seventh-most visited city in the country welcoming more than 35 million people each year.

Atlanta has the biggest indoor aquarium in the world, called the Georgia Aquarium, that houses more animals than any other aquarium, kept in 8 million gallons of water, with over sixty displays and a dolphin exhibit. American Style Magazine has ranked it as the 9th best city of the arts, since it contains so many excellent art museums and galleries, like the High Museum of Art that is considered to be the finest in the south, and one of the most visited in the world. And the list goes on and on, encouraging lovers of the finer things in life, as well as the intellectual, to visit here as often as they can, if not enticing them to move here. Their history museums are outstanding, their cuisine is famous, and its outdoor events and attractions will offer and provide any family coming here, from any place in the world, the most amazing, exciting and interesting vacation or visit in their lives. Come on down, the weather is fine, and the sights just keep getting better.  There is one more very important item to mention about the city, that is perhaps one of the most significant to many visitors and that is the places to worship, which is no problem for this metropolitan city since it contains more than 1,000 churches and synagogues.