Caie

My husband and I are spending our first anniversary in Atlanta and we've booked The Highland Inn in V-H for one weekend. We are vegetarians who like theatre and art and a good martini. That's about as far as I've gotten. It's so hard to plan an itinerary from the internet. Do you savvy people have some specific suggestions?
Thanks!

xxx

It is a great area, very artsy. It is also a primarily gay area.

Rachelle

ttt

jason

Atlanta is a fun town, and a great place to live. While the sightseeing in Atlanta is somewhat limited, the dining and bar scene is not limited at all. I consider there to be four main areas in Atlanta for eating/going out: Midtown, Buckhead, VA Highlands, and Decatur. I do not know much about Deccatur, but it is becoming increasingly popular. Here is the snapshot of the other three. Buckhead is the busiest dining/bar scene in the city. This is where blue-blood Atlanta lives. Buckhead has tons of places to eat, shop, and be entertained. The nightlife in Buckhead tends to be very preppy, and typically caters to the college crowd. Virginia Highlands is the most laid back of the three. This is the place you can go in jeans to a pub on Saturday night and not feel underdressed. The Highlands is not that big, as far as number of places. And it caters to an older crowd than Buckhead. Midtown is the "sophisticated" part of the city. This is where you wear your black, and this is where you're likely to find the good martini you mentioned. Midtown is the most urban of the three, and very cosmopolitan.

All that being said, I prefer Buckhead. It is the busiest of the three, and I always enjoy going there. I hope this helps. Have fun.

Debbie

Hi Caie,
I don't know what Jason considers old, but my friends and I are all in our 30's, straight and love to hang out in the Highlands (and Decatur too-- good restaurants, and a great place to hear live acoustic music is Eddie's Attic)...by the way, I'd say Midtown would be considered as more of the 'gay' part of town, especially neighborhoods around Piedmont Park. I agree there are some nice restaurants around Midtown--there's good eating all over the city. What we lack in tourist attractions, we make up w/food!

Another part of town not mentioned is Little Five Points--it's basically Atlanta's answer to NY's East Village/Soho.

You mentioned you are a vegetarian--I have a couple of recommendations for you: Cafe Sunflower (Buckhead), Flying Biscuit (Candler Park and Midtown)...there's loads of ethnic restaurants around as well.

As for theater--L5P has the Horizon Theater and Dad's Garage...You didn't mention when you're arriving but the Fox Theater in Midtown has Elton John's B'way play, Aida, starting very soon.

Check out www.accessatlanta.com It's a great resource for dining and entertainment

Debbie

PS Sambuca--good place for a martini and some nice jazz (Buckhead--on Piedmont Rd.)

RB

Check out the Magritte exhibit at the High Museum; www.high.org. Use MARTA to get around town; www.itsmarta.com. Decatur is fun for lunch- I think Indian Delights on Church St. is your best bet for vegetarian. Try the martinis at Highland Tap on North Highland Ave. For more info on ATL, another good site to search is Creative Loafing: www.atlanta.creativeloafing.com