12 Best Sights in Atlanta, Georgia

Occupying 30 acres inside Piedmont Park, the grounds contain acres of display gardens, including a 2-acre interactive children's garden; the Fuqua Conservatory, which has unusual flora from tropical and desert climates; and the award-winning Fuqua Orchid Center. Check out the view from the Canopy Walk, a 600-foot suspension bridge 40 feet above Storza Woods. A variety of special exhibits take place throughout the year.

Life in Atlanta and the rest of the South during and after the Civil War is a major focus of this fascinating museum. Displays are provocative, juxtaposing Gone With the Wind romanticism with the grim reality of Ku Klux Klan racism. Located on 33 acres in the heart of Buckhead, this is one of the Southeast's largest history museums, with a research library and archives that annually serve thousands of patrons. Visit the elegant 1928 Swan House mansion and the plantation house that is part of Smith Family Farm. The Kenan Research Center houses an extensive archival collection. Lunch is served at the Swan Coach House, which also has a gallery and a gift shop. The historic Battle of Atlanta is depicted in Cyclorama: The Big Picture and is included in the admission price—just make a reservation to secure your spot.

This 21-acre swath of green was the central venue for the 1996 Summer Olympics. The benches at the Fountain of Rings allow you to enjoy the water and music spectacle—four times a day, tunes are timed to coincide with water displays that shoot sprays 15 feet to 30 feet high. The All Children's Playground is designed to be accessible to kids with disabilities. Nearby is the world's largest aquarium and Imagine It! Children's Museum. The park also has a café, restrooms, and a playground, and typically offers ice-skating in winter.

Don't miss seeing Centennial Olympic Park at night, when eight 65-foot-tall lighting towers set off the beauty of the park. They represent the markers that led ancient Greeks to public events.

The largest puppetry organization in the country houses a museum where you can see more than 350 puppets from around the world. The elaborate performances include original works and classics adapted for stage. Kids also love the create-a-puppet workshops. The Jim Henson Museum at the Center for Puppetry Arts houses most of the famed puppeteer's collection and includes rooms that re-create his early days, like his office and workshop.

A Gothic Revival–style building completed in 1922, the church came to be known as the spiritual center of the civil rights movement. Members of the King family, including the slain civil rights leader, preached at the church for three generations. Sitting in the main sanctuary on a quiet day when light is shining through the stained-glass windows can be a powerful experience. The congregation itself now occupies the building across the street.

One of a dwindling number of vintage movie palaces in the nation, the Fox was built in 1929 in a fabulous Moorish-Egyptian style. The interior's crowning glory is its ceiling, complete with moving clouds and twinkling stars above Alhambra-like minarets. Threatened by demolition in the 1970s, the Fox was saved from the wrecking ball by community activists. Today it hosts musicals, rock concerts, dance performances, and film festivals—with an optional rooftop VIP experience at the reservations-only Marquee Club.

Tours should be scheduled in advance.

With more than 10 million gallons of water, this wildly popular attraction is the nation's largest aquarium. The 604,000-square-foot building, an architectural marvel resembling the bow of a ship, has tanks of various sizes filled with more than 100,000 animals, representing 500 species. The aquarium's 6.3-million-gallon Ocean Voyager Gallery is the world's largest indoor marine exhibit, with 4,574 square feet of viewing windows. But not everything has gills: there are also penguins, sea lions, sea otters, river otters, sea turtles, and giant octopuses. The 84,000-square-foot Dolphins in Depth exhibit includes a 25-minute show (reservations required). Hordes of kids—and many adults—can always be found around the touch tanks. Admission includes entry to all public exhibits, shows, and galleries. Forty-five-minute behind-the-scenes tours start at $15. There are often huge crowds, so arrive early or late for the best chance of getting a close-up view of the exhibits.

Try to buy your tickets at least a week ahead. Online ticketing is best, with discounted rates and digital tickets you can print out at home.

The modest Queen Anne–style residence is where Martin Luther King Jr. was born and raised. Besides items that belonged to the family, the house contains an outstanding multimedia exhibit focused on the civil rights movement.

A limited number of visitors are allowed to tour the house each day. Advance reservations are not possible, so sign up early in the day.

This three-level, 43,000-square-foot, hands-on museum offers visitors a multisensory immersion into both the U.S. civil rights movement and global human rights efforts. Each exhibit is a force of its own: the quiet and vicarious look at handwritten journals and personal items from Martin Luther King Jr.; the jolting sensation of sitting in at a lunch counter, hearing the threats and slurs that young protesters would have; or the mirrorlike effect of one-on-one stories told by those who’ve suffered human rights violations—and the workers whose mission it is to triumph over them. The Rolls Down Like Water exhibit is superb, bearing the mark of its curator, award-winning playwright and film director George C. Wolfe. The center hosts one of the biggest celebrations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the world each December. And the building, itself a work of art reminiscent of folding hands, is steps away from parking and a brief walk to World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium.

A popular destination since the late 19th century, Piedmont Park is the perfect place to escape the chaos of the city. Tennis courts, a swimming pool, a popular dog park, and paths for walking, jogging, and rollerblading are part of the attraction, but many retreat to the park's great lawn for picnics with a smashing view of the Midtown skyline.

The old Sears, Roebuck & Co. building built in 1925 has transformed into Atlanta's hippest place to live, work, shop, and play, especially with the addition of a mini--amusement park on the roof. The historic property is adjacent to the BeltLine, with easy access to several neighborhoods. The 2-million-square-foot development—led by the same group who brought NYC’s Chelsea Market to life—is LEED Gold certified. Eco-friendliness aside, the real draw is the food hall. Walk through the crowds and among industrial-style spiral staircases and original concrete columns to devour coveted burgers from Holeman and Finch; Southern-style fried chicken at Hop's; and raw oysters from W. H. Stiles Fish Camp. The Dancing Goats Coffee Bar stays busy, especially when City Winery, a music venue and restaurant in its own right, is hosting events. The rooftop amusement park has all-ages favorites such as skeeball and minigolf.