DeKalb is a collection of small communities, each with its own charm. Here is a sampling of spots favored by county insiders:

Decatur Square. Ponce de Leon Avenue, Decatur. The actual square surrounds the old DeKalb Courthouse, but "the square" in local vernacular also takes in a surrounding collection of eclectic shops and restaurants. In the mood for music? Eddie's Attic helps raise the profile of folk and rock acts and was an early venue for DeKalb's own Indigo Girls.

DeKalb Farmers Market. 3000 E. Ponce De Leon Ave., Decatur. Produce from anywhere in the world can be found here. The employees hail from all parts of the globe. The prepared food is popular for eat-and-runners.

Dunwoody Nature Center. 5343 Roberts Drive, Dunwoody. The center works to preserve 22-acre Dunwoody Park, featuring wetland, woodland and streamside trails, gardens, a picnic meadow and a shaded playground. The park is open sunup to sundown seven days a week. Admission is free. The Nature Center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

Buford Highway. Atlanta, Chamblee, Doraville. Need a travel agency specializing in Vietnam? You can probably find it, and more, along this ethnically rich thoroughfare. Food, merchandise and services are offered in dozens of languages along the main artery of a booming population of people who came from the Americas, Asia and elsewhere.

Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve. 3787 Klondike Road, Lithonia. Arabia Mountain is DeKalb's "other" granite outcropping (Stone Mountain, of course, is more famous) and home to unusual plant and animal life. The Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve offers walking trails and educational programs. A community alliance is working to make the mountain part of a large green space area in south DeKalb.