Will y'all be here for a while? Take a day trip to Birmingham, the north Georgia mountains, or Tennessee. Each destination is less than 2.5 hours driving time from Atlanta.
• Amicalola Falls
• Birmingham, Alabama
• Callaway Gardens
• Chickamauga Battlefield
• Etowah Indian Mounds State Historic Site
• Fort Discovery
• Halls of Fame - Macon
• Helen
• Paradise Gardens
• Tennessee Aquarium
|
240 Amicalola Falls State Park Road, Dawsonville. 706-265-4703 80 miles from downtown Atlanta. |
Georgia's most visited state park is home to a 729-foot crystalline cascade that attracts 2 million gawkers a year. Hike trails to the base or the top of the falls - be on the lookout for pileated woodpeckers, whitetail deer and black bears. www.ganet.org/dnr/parks. |
Birmingham |
| Birmingham
Convention and Visitors Bureau 1-800-962-6453 145 miles from downtown Atlanta on I-20. |
The Alabama city has worked hard to entice tourists in recent years, erecting such attractions as VisionLand, a Six Flags-style theme park, and the McWane Center, a science and technology museum. Other must-see sites include the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the Birmingham Museum of Art. |
Callaway
Gardens |
| 205 N. Cherry St., Pine Mountain. 1-800-225-5292. 70 miles from downtown Atlanta. | The 2,500-acre botanical park north of Columbus features more than 700 varieties of azalea - many displayed in the 40-acre Azalea Bowl - as well as hundreds of other types of plants and a butterfly center where thousands of the insects fly free. www.callawaygardens.com |
Chickamauga
Battlefield |
| On U.S. 27, one mile south of Fort Oglethorpe, 706-866-9241. 92 miles from downtown Atlanta. | More than 600 monuments and markers depict battle lines and commemorate casualties at the Civil War historical site in the northwest corner of Georgia. The visitor center houses the Fuller Gun Collection, which features 355 weapons dating from the Revolutionary War through World War II. |
Etowah
Indian Mounds State Historic Site |
| 813 Indian Mounds Road S.E., Cartersville. 770-387-3747. 45 miles from downtown Atlanta. | Home to a flourishing Etowah Indian community from 1000 to 1500, these ceremonial mounds were used as burial places, priests' platforms and temples. The largest of the three grassy mounds stands 63 feet tall. ngeorgia.com/parks/etowah.html |
Fort
Discovery |
| 1 Seventh St., Augusta. 706-821-0200. 142 miles from downtown Atlanta. | Kids will love the 250 exhibits at this interactive science center, part of the east Georgia city's Riverwalk shopping and entertainment area. At the center, they can walk on the moon, get videotaped being chased by a dinosaur or fly a simulated jet. www.nscdiscovery.org |
Halls
of Fame - Macon |
| Georgia Music Hall of Fame - 200 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. 912-750-8555. Georgia Sports Hall of Fame - 301 Cherry St. 912-752-1585. 80 miles from downtown Atlanta. | Who's more important to Georgia, Ray Charles or Hank Aaron? You can debate that question on your drive to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, just steps away from each other in downtown Macon. |
Helen |
| Helen-White
County Convention and Visitors Bureau On Ga. 75 in White County. 1-800-858-8027. 75 miles from downtown Atlanta. |
Some say this Bavarian-themed village in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains is kitschy and commercial. Others love its specialty shops, including ones that sell handmade wares and holiday decorations, and its German-style beer gardens and eateries. |
Paradise
Gardens |
| 84 Knox St., Summerville. 706-857-2926. 90 miles from downtown Atlanta. | This distinctive two-acre arts environment was created by the Rev. Howard Finster, Georgia's most famous folk artist. Finster died in October, but Pardise Gardens is maintained as an attraction, along with a gallery featuring other folk artists. www.finster.com/paradisegardens.htm |
Tennessee
Aquarium |
| 1 Broad St., Chattanooga. 1-800-262-0695. 115 miles from downtown Atlanta. | This popular Chattanooga attraction is the largest freshwater aquarium in the world, holding more than 9,000 fish, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. After touring the 12-story complex, rest your feet and get an eyeful at the Imax 3D theater next door. Or drive up nearby Lookout Mountain to visit Rock City and Ruby Falls. www.tnaqua.org |
Video: Take a scenic tour
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