ATHENS — — Thousands of people will drive here on a fall Saturday and never wander much beyond Sanford Stadium where 92,746 congregate to watch the University of Georgia football team. And that's a pity.

Athens — about 75 miles northeast of Atlanta — is a college town with more than a college. You can learn a lot about history and music, botany and architecture without stepping into a classroom. And it's a place you can go with your kids years before dropping them off in front of a dorm.

Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau (ENLARGE)

Downtown Athens features dozens of shops, restaurants and watering holes in a compact area.

Photos More information Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1-800-653-0603, www.visitathensga.com. Athens Downtown Development Authority, 1-888-353-1422 www.downtownathensga.com. Georgia travel stories [an error occurred while processing this directive] Photos: Travel / Southeast Galleries Latest deals! Back to: Travel | Southeast destinations Travel Guide Powered by

You can't, however, discount the influence of more than 30,000 college students. It's unlikely downtown Athens would be as vibrant otherwise, packed with boutiques and bookstores, bars and bistros. So what if some stretches of sidewalk smell faintly of stale beer?

Don't miss

• Follow the little bit of fauna with lots of flora at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. Five miles of trail ease through more than 300 acres, providing a glimpse of plants from across Georgia and around the world. The gardens are the only place you're likely to see such rare plants as the Florida torreya, an evergreen native to the Apalachicola River corridor, and the smooth coneflower, found in just two Georgia counties. Admission is free. 2450 S. Milledge Ave. 706-542-1244, www.uga.edu/botgarden.
• Sure, bus tours seem a smidgen hokey, but if you ride with Classic City Tours, you'll see more of Athens — and learn more local history — in 90 minutes than the typical undergrad does the whole six years he's there. The $15 tour starts at 2 p.m. every day at the Athens Welcome Center (280 E. Dougherty St.), in what is believed to be the oldest house in town. In addition to an eclectic mix of historic homes, the tour swings by the world's only double-barreled cannon and the Tree That Owns Itself (see below, right). 706-208-8687, athenswelcomecenter.com/tours.html.
• Beer is a big part of college life, we're told. Learn how it's made during a tour of the Terrapin Beer Co., a microbrewery in a warehouse north of downtown. The tours are held 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays. The tour is free. A tasting glass — and isn't that why we're here? — is $8, which buys you eight 4-ounce samples of brew. There is usually live music, too. 265 Newton Bridge Road. 1-888-557-2337, www.terrapinbeer.com.
• Bear Hollow Wildlife Trail is a small zoo tucked into Memorial Park south of downtown. Deeply shaded trails lead to wooden viewing platforms overlooking large enclosures holding black bears, river otters, whitetail deer and other critters native to Georgia. It's free. 293 Gran Ellen Drive. 706-613-3616, www.athensclarkecounty.com/bearhollow.
• It would be easy to spend a day — and most of the night — wandering Clayton Street, the spine of downtown Athens. The compact area has more than 65 specialty shops, 55 restaurants and three dozen watering holes. Metered parking is just 25 cents an hour. Many of the spots cater to students — campus is just the other side of Broad Street.

Where to eat

• Foundry Park Inn and Spa is just down hill from downtown. It's close enough to walk to the action, far enough away to escape it. 295 E. Dougherty St. 706-549-7020, www.foundryparkinn.com. On the grounds is the Melting Point, a nightclub where the emphasis is on live music you won't hear on MTV. 706-254-6909, www.meltingpointathens.com.

• Take I-85 north to eastbound Ga. 316. The Ga. 10 loop circles Athens. Hop on the loop from Ga. 316 and head east. Take Exit 8 and turn left. Turn right at North Lumpkin Street and right again at East Hancock Avenue.