Atlanta
 

My husband and I are taking a very short vacation in October and are thinking about Atlanta. We would like to see the Georgia Aquarium and the Atlanta History Center. Can anyone recommend a hotel? Should we rent a car? Thank you in advance.

In March we took a long road trip in the SE and we enjoyed every other city more than Atlanta: Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, Charleston, Savannah, Asheville, Apalachicola, etc.

That said, we enjoyed the CNN Tour and I can advise you to not stay at the downtown Hampton Inn but have a meal at the nearby Ted's Montana Grill (that's Ted as in Ted Turner).

HTTY

The Marriott Downtown, the Georgian Terrace across from Fox Theatre, The W, Omni hotel is in CNN center, The Hyatt, or The Glenn is a boutique hotel.

Don't know what your price range is, but you can "name your own price" on priceline. I've gotten some really good deals there before. Anything in the Downtown, Midtown area will be close to most everything...but in case you don't already know..Traffic is horrible in Atlanta.

On renting a car...I guess it depends on how many days you are staying and how close attractions are to your hotel. Find where you want to stay first, then you will know if you can walk most places or take a cab. There are sooo many things to do in Atlanta! If you can look past the traffic, it's a lot of fun!

A good central place to stay is Midtown -- there are restaurants and such open in this area in the evening. Downtown can feel very deserted after business hours.

You should also be able to get to most all Atlanta attractions without a car if you're staying near a MARTA stop (Midtown or North Avenue or Arts Center if you're staying in the Midtown area). I did fine with just MARTA light rail, a couple bus changes, and some walking.

There are several good attractions in Atlanta, and a board search here plus looks at Fodor's and Frommer's online info will provide many good ideas.

Appalachicola better than Atlanta--they dont even have a movie ot bowling alley--Cmon!!Octis a great time ofyear to visit--heat is over--Aquarium is exc
ellent--leave yourself 3 hours.CNN is very good.The High museum has a Dali exhibit right now.Trees will be turning mid Oct,so a short drive to dahlonega might be fun as well.Agree staying in mid-town is best.have fun--ask us questions

Atlanta History Center would be a little difficult by public transport, but there are taxis if you want to avoid a rental car.

If you want to add in Stone Mountain Park or other suburban destinations, then you will need a car.

One possibility is to plan a day by rail (Aquarium, CNN, World of Coca-Cola, High Museum or other destinations that interest you) and then rent a car just for a day or two when needed to suburban destinations or the mountains for some leaf viewing. Sometimes it is cheaper to rent from an intown location rather than the airport because of taxes levied and if your hotel charges for parking, you'd save on that too.

What month? October?

We used to visit Atlanta when my daughter was a student there. I recommend the following sightseeing attractions, some of which may have been already mentioned:

Margaret Mitchell's house
CNN tour
Botanical Gardens
Martin Luther King Center
Carter Museum
World of Coca Cola
Aquarium

We used to stay at the Holiday Inn in Decatur. Atlanta has many very different neighborhoods. We especially enjoyed Midtown and Highlands. Five Points & Little Five Points is "hippyish", very different from the other neighborhoods. Buckhead has high-end shopping.

I wish I made a list of the restaurants we used to go to. I don't think we ever had a bad meal in Atlanta.

If you rent a car & have the time, you could drive to Helen, Georgia for their Octoberfest. The drive out there is pretty, & it's a fun day; the town resembles a Bavarian village.

Stone Mountain is certainly easier to reach with a car, but it's possible to get there via public transportation. Take MARTA Light Rail to the Avondale stop, then take the 120 bus to its last stop at Stone Mountain Village. Note that it's a sizable walk from this last bus stop to the park entrance, about a mile or so -- though I have done this, myself.

As Kay2 rightly points out, many Atlanta attractions can be reached via MARTA or bus.

I'd stay in Midtown too. It's nicer for getting out and walking around. Lots of restaurant options. Several nice hotel options. You can get some good 4* deals on Hotwire for Midtown. I like the W (formerly the Sheraton) because it's just a block from Piedmont Park - great for walking around and a great farmer's market on Saturday mornings.

If you are coming in October, definitely go to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. They have a great, fun exhibit "Scarecrows in the Garden" and local artists/businesses/etc each decorate scarecrows for the garden. They are fun, funny and amazing. October is usually perfect weather for Atlanta. The new canopy walk is open too.

http://www.atlantabotanicalgarden.or...recrows-garden

The Margaret Mitchell house is in Midtown as is the Fox Theatre. On Saturday mornings are $10 tours (1 hour)of the Fox. Gorgeous building, interesting history. If you happen to be in town when there's something playing there, even better.

MARTA runs north/south to downtown and Buckhead (airport too). You can hop on MARTA to head down to go to the Aquarium, World of Coke and CNN Center (take a tour) if you want. Some good restaurants down there too - but I'd rather sleep and walk around in Midtown.

You'll need a car to get to Stone Mountain - IMO. It's big (5 miles around the mountain) and having a car just makes it easier. Lots to do there. A car will be best if you are going to the Carter Center.

The High Museum is nice and the Dali exhibit is a treat. The High is a block from the W.

Lots of nice restaurants at all price points. We can help with recommendations.

October 9-10 is Gay Pride Weekend so the park will be full of activity and vendors and the parade is on Sunday down Peachtree. It won't be too crowded if you decide to stay in Midtown that weekend but just FYI.

If you DO have the chance to head up to the mountains, it will be beautiful but will be VERY crowded. Traffic can be a mess on fall foliage weekends. Worth doing, but not if you only have a few days on a weekend trip.

Another idea that is uniquely Atlantan -The Oakland Cemetery

There are special events in October

Oct 3 - Sunday in the Park

Oct 22 - 24 - Halloween Tour Tickets

Oct 30 - Run Like Hell 5K & Run Like Heck Fun Run

All are a lot of fun. It may sound a bit strange, but they are really a blast. I'll be there for the Halloween Tour and the Run Like Hell :-)

http://www.oaklandcemetery.com/index.html

We will also be in Atlanta near that time - Sep 30-Oct 4th if I may hijack a bit. Had some good hotel rates in Buckhead which inc pkg and breakfast, but have read so much about the pluses of staying in Midtown, I am now considering a change. Looking for acomodations for $150/less. We are mid-70s and one of us has bad knees, so am concerned about MARTA which I presume has plenty of stairs...
Any suggestions?

Marta stations have escalators (and elevator-thought they are usually a bit stinky!).Tough call between Buckhead and Midtown. Buckhead has the malls, shops & nice restaurants, some beautiful drives and some upscale spots. Midtown is a bit more of a youthful vibe and more central to downtown attractions but also has its share of restaurants and near the big city park-Piedmont Park. There are SO MANY deals now with hotels. The W Hotels are nice though perhaps pricier. The Glenn (downtown botique hotel) is cool & right near CNN, Olympic Park etc.

Conlet, if you are getting a good deal in Buckhead that included parking and breakfast, I'd stay there. I hate weekday Buckhead traffic, but you should be fine over the weekend. If one of you have bad knees, just use your car instead of MARTA. I like Midtown for walking around. IMO Midtown in more walkable and in Buckhead you pretty much need to drive everywhere. But Buckhead is a very nice area.

I just stayed at the Doubletree in Buckhead at a Hotwire rate for $59, $73 with taxes. Parking was extra, but it was a VERY nice hotel (3* rating) in the Tower Place complex and that has restaurants, etc. you would walk to if you wanted to in the evening.

There are a lot of 4* hotels that will offer rates less than $150 on Hotwire or Priceline if you are interested.

Thanks for the advice. I think I will stay with the Buckhead choice. Any Buckhead restaurant suggestions? We like all cuisines!

Tons of great places in Buckhead. What price point and what cuisine? Where's your hotel? - there may be something good in walking distance.

I have reservations right now at both Hyatt Place and Courtyard by Marriott in Buckhead. I have good deals but am also looking at a Hotwire pick that I think is Hyatt Place for $59 - my deals are not THAT good!
For restaurants - no major chains, (maybe Davio's), and not terribly fond of Middle Eastern food but will eat it. Like French, Spanish, Greek, just about everything else. We generally stay away from Italian unless it is outstanding only because we have lots of great Italian restaurants in our area. Looking for perhaps something unique to the area for at least one dinner. So many - it's hard to pick!

Kyma is a good upscale Greek restaurant. Almost next door is the Buckhead Diner, a perennial Atlanta favorite. I haven't been there in years but I used to love it. It's a "diner" in name only, it's one of the "most likely to spot a celeb" places in town.

Buckhead diner is very good--they have blue cheese chips as appetizer,outstanding and as far as unique, they also have a great veal pot roast (im brain locked and cant remeber the offical name)

Thanks, will check those out.