Tourism in Atlanta

[
Sweet Auburn district is preserved as the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site.]

Atlanta features the world's largest aquarium, the Georgia Aquarium, which officially opened to the public on November 23, 2005. The aquarium features more aquatic life than can be found in any other aquarium, in tanks holding approximately eight million gallons of water. [cite web | title = Georgia Aquarium | publisher = Georgia Aquarium | url = http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/ | accessdate=2007-09-28] Adjacent is the World of Coca-Cola which opened in May 2007, featuring the history of the world famous soft drink brand and its well-known advertising. Pemberton Place, the 20 acre site which houses the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca-Cola is within walking distance of Centennial Olympic Park, the Georgia Dome, Philips Arena, the CNN Center and other downtown Atlanta tourist attractions. Underground Atlanta, a historic shopping and entertainment complex is situated under the streets of downtown Atlanta. In addition Atlantic Station, a huge new urban renewal project on the northwestern edge of Midtown Atlanta, officially opened in October 2005. While not a museum per se, The Varsity is the main branch of the long-lived fast food chain, featured as the world's largest drive-in restaurant. [cite web | title = The Varsity: What'll Ya Have | url = http://www.thevarsity.com/ | publisher = The Varsity | accessdate = 2007-07-07 ]

The arts are represented by several theaters and museums, including the Fox Theatre. The Woodruff Arts Center is home to the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony, and High Museum of Art. The Atlanta Contemporary Art Center is the city's home for challenging contemporary art and education geared toward working artists and collectors of art. Museums geared specifically towards children include the Fernbank Science Center and Imagine It! Atlanta's Children's Museum. The High Museum of Art is the city's major fine/visual arts venue, with a significant permanent collection and an assortment of traveling exhibitions. The Michael C. Carlos Museum, located at Emory University, houses the Southeast's largest collections from ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Near East, and the ancient Americas. The Atlanta Opera, which was founded in 1979 by members of two struggling local companies, is now one of the fastest growing opera companies in the nation and garners attention from audiences around the world. [cite web | last = Cason | first = Caroline | title = Atlanta Opera | work = Internet Encyclopedia | publisher = The New Georgia Encyclopedia | date = 2005-09-30 | url = http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2702 | accessdate = 2007-07-07 ]

Atlanta hosts a variety of museums on subjects ranging from history to fine arts, the Olympics, natural history, and beverages. History museums and attractions include the Atlanta History Center; the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, which contains the preserved home of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as King's final resting place; the Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum, a huge painting and diorama in-the-round, with a rotating central audience platform, that depicts the Battle of Atlanta in the Civil War; the Carter Center and Presidential Library; historic house museum Rhodes Hall; the Wren's Nest, former home of Brer Rabbit author Joel Chandler-Harris; and the Margaret Mitchell House and Museum.

Piedmont Park hosts many of Atlanta's festivals and cultural events. In 1887, a group of prominent Atlantans purchased convert|189|acre|km2|2|abbr=on of farmland to build a horse racing track, later developed into the site of the Cotton States International Exposition of 1895.cite web | title = Park History | publisher = Piedmont Park Conservancy | url = http://www.piedmontpark.org/history/history.html | accessdate = 2007-07-07 ] In 1904, the city council purchased the land for US$98,000, [cite web | title = PIEDMONT PARK APARTMENTS | publisher = City of Atlanta | url = http://www.atlantaga.gov/government/urbandesign_piedmontapts.aspx | accessdate = 2007-07-07 ] and today it is the largest park in metro Atlanta, with more than 2.5 million visitors each year. [cite web | title = Piedmont Park - Great Public Places | url = http://www.pps.org/great_public_spaces/one?public_place_id=596 | publisher = Project for Public Spaces, Inc | accessdate = 2007-07-07 ] The grounds were part of the Battle of Peachtree Creek – a Confederate division occupied the northern edge on July 20, 1864 as part of the outer defense line against Sherman's approach. Next to the park is the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Zoo Atlanta, with a panda exhibit, is in Grant Park.

Stone Mountain is the largest piece of exposed granite in the world.cite web | last = Stewart | first = Bruce E. | title = Stone Mountain | work = The New Georgia Encyclopedia | publisher = Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press | date = 2004-05-14 | url = http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2145 | accessdate = 2007-09-28 ] On its face are giant carvings of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson. It is also the site of laser shows in the summer. A few miles west of Atlanta on I-20 is the Six Flags Over Georgia Theme Park, which opened near the city in 1967, and was the second theme park in the Six Flags chain.

ites of interest

*AIDS Memorial Quilt
*APEX Museum
*Atlanta Botanical Garden
*Atlanta Civic Center
*Atlanta Cyclorama
*Atlanta History Center
*Atlanta Preservation Center
*CNN Center
*Callanwolde Center for Fine Arts
*Carter Center
*Centennial Olympic Park
*Center for Puppetry Arts
*Chastain Park Amphitheatre
*Children's Museum of Atlanta
*Fernbank Museum of Natural History
*Fox Theatre
*Georgia Aquarium
*Georgia Dome
*Georgia World Congress Center
*Grant Park
*Hammonds House
*Herndon Home
*High Museum of Art
*Lakewood Amphitheatre
*Margaret Mitchell House
*Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic Site
*National Museum of Patriotism
*Oakland Cemetery
*Philips Arena
*Piedmont Park
*Silverback Stadium
*Six Flags Over Georgia
*Stone Mountain
*Sweet Auburn Curb Market
*The Varsity
*Turner Field
*Underground Atlanta
*Woodruff Arts Center
*World of Coca-Cola
*Zoo Atlanta

Festivals and events

*Atlanta Dogwood Festival, a Spring arts and crafts festival at Piedmont Park
*Screen on the Green, outdoor classic movies in June in Piedmont Park
*Atlanta Pride, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgendered Pride event
*Atlanta Jazz Festival, largest free jazz festival in the USA
*Sweet Auburn SpringFest
*Inman Park Festival
*Virginia-Highlands Summerfest
*Georgia Renaissance Festival
*Greek Festival
*JapanFest Atlanta [ [http://www.japanfest.org JapanFest Atlanta] ]
*Dragon Con, a science fiction and fantasy convention that is the largest of its type
*Anime Weekend Atlanta
*Momocon, two-day free admission anime/gaming/comics convention at Georgia Tech
*Furry Weekend Atlanta, the fourth largest furry convention

References

External links

* [http://www.atlantaga.gov/visitors/attractions.aspx?section=Residents City of Atlanta attractions]