Simone

Will be in Atlanta for 2 days in nov. Do we need a car? Is it a place where parking is easy? Intend to go to the Aquarium, Coca Cola and Cnn tour on day 1 and Historical Center on day 2. Should we stay midtown? Pls help!

tomfuller

If you are arriving at Hartsfield airport this link will tell you the options to get downtown. Depending on your arrival time,
the train is probably the cheapest. http://www.atlanta-airport.com/groundtransportation/ Your rental car will likely be cheaper if you rent it downtown. Only rent if you can't get to what you want to see by public transport.
If you are arriving by Amtrak, you'll have to use a taxi to get downtown.

palmettoprincess

The first three of those locations are easy walking distance from downtown hotels and doable from the subway if you stay at Midtown or Buckhead/Lenox. I'm not an Atlanta expert, but I think Historical Center is accessible by bus. Atlanta is not known for having frequent bus schedules. It you only two days in town you might enjoy a car.

As for parking. The place has plenty of parking garages. Parking fees are like those in other cities the same size.

Sometimes hotels throw in free parking. The Doubletree in Buckhead is often run specials: free parking, free internet (free cookies).

Kay2

As mentioned above, Aquarium, Coca Cola and CNN are all close together, near a MARTA train station, near parking garages. You can easily stay in Lenox/Buckhead areas near a MARTA station and use the train to/from the airport and the downtown area while being close to restaurants, shopping and the Atlanta History Center.

The Atlanta History Center is located only a couple of miles from the Lenox Mall area, but I'm not sure if the lovely street it is located on (West Paces Ferry) has sidewalks. If so, it would be relatively easy to catch a bus down Peachtree Road and walk the .5-1 mile to the History Center. Otherwise, it would be a short taxi ride from the Lenox/Buckhead area.

A car is only needed if you want to travel outside the city to Stone Mountain Park or other areas that are not served by MARTA and that would be an expensive taxi ride.

bigbomoho

if those are your 3 most wanted places, id look for a hotel in the perimeter mall area--MARTA connwctions are great from there, and hotels are abundant and cheap,esp on weekends when buisness travel is down.Im not a fan of Coke experience, way too commwercial for me

abram

I agree with bigbomoho about the Coke experience--we thought it was a waste of time and money. We much preferred the MLK sites and the Carter Library & Museum.

Simone

Bigbomoho, what do you mean by the perimeter mall area? Is it the Lenox mall area?

palmettoprincess

The perimeter mall is further out than Lenox. There are many hotels. Some are close to MARTA and some have a shuttle to the station.

Lenox is more expensive but seems a better location for walking.

bigbomoho

Perimter Mall is a large retail/office area complwx north of the city. Its about 10 minutes by MARTA from Lenox Mall. If you do a google/maps search, put in Perimeter Mall, and therell be a search nearby on the map--click on hotels and all the hotels will show--you can do the same for Lenox--Agree Lenox is a nicer area for walking (more to see), but hotels at Perimeter are less expensive (more of them),Id say its a wash if youre goal is to go downtown on MARTA

starrs

I'd stay in Midtown. If there are two of you, you can try Priceline to get a good deal on a room. If there are more than 2 or you want 2 beds, try Hotwire. The 3.5 star on Hotwire in Midtown is the Hotel Indigo. The bathrooms are tiny but I love the hotel and the location. Near MARTA so you can zip downtown for your Day 1 activities. Downtown is dead at night. You can walk around Midtown and there are plenty of restaurant options. Piedmont Park is a great urban park if you want to walk around and enjoy the sunshine.

bigbomoho

I agree with Starrs--mid town has more of a city feel to it--Perimeter is more suburban

Simone

Midtown it is. Thank you!