Eighteen things, and what each one is for.

Everything here has been done by someone writing it. Each one carries how long it takes, roughly what it costs, which base puts it at your door, and whether we would do it again.

Civil rights · Sweet Auburn Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park The birth home, Ebenezer Baptist, the crypt and the visitor centre, inside four blocks. The single most important thing to do in the city and it costs nothing. Birth home tours are same-day and limited — be at the desk early. Read the full page ↗ Sleep in Sweet Auburn Go Half a day Free

Outdoors · Old Fourth Ward The Eastside BeltLine, end to end Two and a half paved miles of old railway between Krog Street and Piedmont Park, with food halls at both ends. The thing that changed how Atlanta feels. Before 10:00 or after 18:00. Saturday afternoons are a parade. Read the full page ↗ Sleep in Old Fourth Ward Go 2–5 hours Free

Outdoors · Midtown Piedmont Park at golden hour Two hundred acres with the skyline directly behind it. Come in from the 10th Street gate an hour before sunset and sit on the meadow slope. The Botanical Garden inside it is a separate ticket and a separate afternoon. Read the full page ↗ Sleep in Piedmont Park Go 1–2 hours Free

Rainy day · Midtown The High Museum of Art Meier’s white ramps, a serious folk and self-taught collection, and the best two hours in the city when it is raining or 95 degrees. Second-floor folk galleries first, before the touring show. Read the full page ↗ Sleep in Midtown Go 2–3 hours Ticketed

With kids · Downtown Georgia Aquarium Enormous, expensive, and genuinely good with children. Book a timed entry and go at opening or after three, never at noon. Combined passes with the neighbouring attractions rarely pay off unless you do three. Read the full page ↗ Sleep in Downtown If you have time Half a day Ticketed

Civil rights · Downtown Center for Civil and Human Rights The lunch-counter simulator alone justifies the ticket. Pair it with the King park rather than with the aquarium — it deserves a quiet afternoon. Heavy going with young children. Read the full page ↗ Sleep in Downtown Go 2 hours Ticketed

Eating · Old Fourth Ward Ponce City Market A Sears warehouse turned food hall on the trail. Excellent in parts, unbearable at weekend lunchtime, and the paid roof is only worth it at dusk. Go before 11:00 and eat in the hall, not on the terrace. Read the full page ↗ Sleep in Old Fourth Ward If you have time 1–2 hours $12–25 a plate

Eating · Inman Park Krog Street Market and the tunnel The smaller, better food hall for actually eating, with the repainted graffiti tunnel a hundred metres south. Cars use the tunnel too — stay on the pavement. Read the full page ↗ Sleep in Inman Park Go 1 hour $8–18 a plate

Weekend · Grant Park Sunday at Grant Park farmers market The best of the city markets: prepared food, produce, dogs, a brass band as often as not. Breakfast here and walk the park afterwards. Sunday mornings, year round. Arrive before 11:00. Read the full page ↗ Sleep in Grant Park Go 2 hours Free entry

Drinking · Adair Park Lee + White brewery row A warehouse strip of breweries, a cidery and a distillery on the Westside Trail, ten minutes’ walk from a rail station. The best afternoon on the loop’s south-west. Walk or take the train — do not drive this one. Read the full page ↗ Sleep in Adair Park Go 2–3 hours $7–10 a pour

Night · Midtown Fox Theatre, whatever is on A 1929 Moorish picture palace with a ceiling of stars. The room is the reason to go; the show is almost secondary. Cheap upper seats have a perfectly good view of the ceiling. Read the full page ↗ Sleep in Midtown Go An evening Gig prices

Night · Little Five Points A night in Little Five Points Record shops, the Variety Playhouse, and the loudest street corner in the city. Loud into the small hours, which is either the point or the problem. No rail. Walk from Inman Park in twelve minutes or take a rideshare home. Read the full page ↗ Sleep in Little Five Points Go An evening Bar prices

Sport · Downtown Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium Seventy thousand people and a genuinely loud supporters’ end, walkable from Downtown and Castleberry Hill and one stop from Midtown. Walk or take the train. Parking near the stadium is a trap. Read the full page ↗ Sleep in Downtown Go An evening Ticketed

Sport · Cobb County A Braves game at Truist Park Good ballpark, good surrounding development, and fifteen miles out of town with no rail line at all. Only if you are going to the baseball. Budget for a car or a long rideshare each way. Read the full page ↗ Only if Half a day Ticketed

Outdoors · Grant Park Oakland Cemetery, on foot Forty-eight acres of Victorian burial ground beside the trail, with the skyline behind the magnolias. The quietest good hour in the city. Free to walk; the guided tours are worth the small fee. Read the full page ↗ Sleep in Grant Park Go 1–2 hours Free

Eating · Doraville Buford Highway, an eating afternoon Six miles of Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Mexican and Ethiopian strip-mall restaurants. The best eating in the metro and not remotely walkable. Bus or rideshare. Pick two places, not five. Read the full page ↗ Go Half a day $10–20 a plate

Day trip · East metro Stone Mountain A granite dome with a mile-long walk-up trail and a view over the whole metro — and a Confederate carving the park has never resolved. Go for the rock, read the history first. No rail. Car or rideshare, and the trail is busy by 10:00. Read the full page ↗ If you have time Half a day Parking fee

Outdoors · West End Westside Trail and the Southside stretch The quieter half of the loop, paved and still stitching together. Fewer crowds, fewer places to stop, and a clearer view of what the BeltLine is doing to the city. Daylight only — these stretches empty out fast after dark. Read the full page ↗ Sleep in West End If you have time 2 hours Free

Prices are what we paid at the counter, and the ticketed ones move — we say "ticketed" rather than printing a number that will be wrong in a year. Times are how long it actually took us, including the queue. Nothing on this page is sponsored, no venue knew we were coming, and the two we would skip are ones we paid for first.