Getting around Atlanta by car
 

We're arriving by train and taking a cab to our hotel. Is this a city where we can do A) Stone Mountain, B) CNN C) Coca Cola D) eating and shopping - by public transportation and tour bus? I can rent a car if necessary but for a weekend, I'd prefer not to do it.
If the better restaurants are in the suburbs I'll rent.

Thanks,
Marsha

I trust your hotel is downtown. The best restaurants are in the suburbs, though there are certainly good ones downtown such as Morton's, McCormick & Schmick, to name a couple, and midtown, e.g., Veni Vidi, Vici , all accessible by public transport. Your other named destinations are also so accessible, except Stone Mountain. Best shopping-Buckhead, Lenox & Phipps-both on/near Marta rail. Most locals drive most of the time.

I recommend getting a car with GPS (Hertz) as there are approximately 100 streets in Atlanta with "Peachtree" in their name.

I recommend eating at Agnes and Muriel's. It's a funky little retro place that serves delicious fried green tomotoes, buttermilk fried chicken, and pumpkin cheesecake. Yummy!

If you want to see Stone Mountain, you'll have to have a car. The surrounding park is HUGE, and buses do not run there. Trust me, it is well worth it! Try to see the laser show on the mountain in the evening!! VERY neat! 8-)

You could probably take a Gray Line tour or similar from your hotel to Stone Mountain, but I'd rent a car - especially if you're headed out there on a weekend. Weekday rush hour traffic can be brutal in the metro Atlanta area.

Stone Mountain is not hard to find - it's a few miles due east of Atlanta - and you can see if from the higher hotels in Atlanta.

Atlanta is drivable on the weekends. I'd print off Mapquest maps and be sure to have a cell phone and the number of your destinations so you can call in case you get lost.

If you are a woman traveling alone, I would definitely rent a car! Come to think of it...I would rent a car no matter what. You will spend more money on transportation and a great deal of aggravation trying to get around without one.

I don't know where you are coming from but the weather is warming and the trees and flowers are blooming already! Spring has sprung in Atlanta! The park will be beautiful. Have a great visit!