Atlanta is home to some well-known tours that many people want to mark off their list of things to do in the city. Visitors and Atlanta residents alike can enjoy a wealth of offbeat tours in the area as well. Whether you'd like to visit a monastery, wander through the woods looking for doll heads – or something in between – there's probably a tour you'll be interested in.
Try some of these eight most unusual tours to do in Atlanta:
Doll's Head Trail, Constitution Lakes Park. 1305 South River Industrial Blvd., Atlanta. 404-371-3005, www.dekalbcountyga.gov, www.facebook.com/constitutionlakes
You can probably tell by its name that Doll's Head Trail is a little different from your average hiking trail. Located at Constitution Lakes Park, it started with a single doll head placed by Joel Slaton after it was found in the park. Since then, the trail has grown to include other somewhat-creepy doll displays as well as art created from objects found in the park.
The park is open daily from dawn to dusk.
Credit: From tinydoorsatl.com
Credit: From tinydoorsatl.com
Tiny Doors ATL, https://tinydoorsatl.com
Tiny Doors are just what they sound like – six-inch tall doors that have been installed throughout Atlanta. The goal is to bring art to the community, so they're placed in public locations and are free to visit. Their creators try to place the doors within approximate biking distance of one another so you can take a Tiny Door tour.
To find the locations of the Tiny Doors, click here. You'll also find a map to help plot your route.
Credit: From exploregeorgia.org
Credit: From exploregeorgia.org
Walking Dead tours, http://www.exploregeorgia.org/itineraries/top-walking-dead-film-locations
"The Walking Dead" has become the most-watched series in cable history, and touring the sites where the series has been filmed is a popular activity for fans of the show.
ExploreGeorgia.org lists several sites in Atlanta, Senoia and beyond that Walker Stalkers will want to see, or you can take a more organized tour.
Credit: John Spink/AJC
Credit: John Spink/AJC
Monastery of the Holy Spirit, 2625 Hwy. 212 SW, Conyers, GA 30094
770-483-8705. http://www.trappist.net/plan-your-visit
This Trappist monastery was built in Conyers starting in 1944, and it took 15 years to complete. The tour is mostly self-guided, letting you explore the monastery's beauty at your own pace.
Admission is free, but donations are welcome.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED BY MORGANA WINGARD, COURTESY OF USAID
Credit: CONTRIBUTED BY MORGANA WINGARD, COURTESY OF USAID
David J. Sencer CDC Museum, 1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta. 404-639-0830. www.cdc.gov/museum/index.htm#.
Take a step inside the history and mission of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as you tour permanent and changing exhibits. You'll get to see interesting health-related items from the past, including a quarantine sign from the early 20th century and an iron lung. Modern-day healthcare and challenges are highlighted through other exhibits, such as one that celebrates the milestones of children with autism and another that investigates the Ebola Fever Virus.
The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Wednesday and Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursdays. It's closed on weekends and federal holidays. Admission is free.
Credit: From atlantafoodwalks.com
Credit: From atlantafoodwalks.com
Downtown Southern Food Walk, 866-736-6343.
http://atlantafoodwalks.com/tours/downtown-southern-food-walk/.
Explore off-the-beaten-path areas of downtown as you enjoy 15 tastings at seven food stops. Locations include Paschal's, unofficial headquarters of the civil rights movement, where you'll try one of Dr. Martin Luther King's favorite meals. You'll move on to Arden's Garden juicery, Smoke Ring for barbecue and Miss D's Pralines as you complete the 3.5-hour tour. The distance traveled is 2.5 miles with plenty of stops along the way.
Tickets are $65 for adults and $45 for children 10 and under and must be purchased in advance. Call 866-736-6343 for more information.
Credit: From deltamuseum.org
Credit: From deltamuseum.org
Delta Flight Museum, 1060 Delta Blvd., Bldg. B, Dept. 914, Atlanta. 404-715-7886. www.deltamuseum.org.
You've probably been to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, but you may not have seen the Delta Flight Museum located at Delta's headquarters just seconds away. You can tour historic aircraft dating back to the 1920s, walk on the wing of the first-produced Boeing 747-400 and fly the only public Boeing 737 flight simulator in the country. Guided tours, which explore exhibits and Delta's history going back to the crop duster days, are held on Tuesdays at 1 p.m.
Museum general admission is $15 for adults, and tours are free with this admission. The simulator costs $425 for 45 minutes of flight time.
Unseen Underground Walking Tour, www.facebook.com/Unseen-Underground-Walking-Tour-211158548933073.
Explore Atlanta's history with architect Jeff Morrison when he leads the Unseen Underground Walking Tour. The tour is a private event rather than a commercial tour, so it's conducted, as Morrison says on the event's Facebook page, "… when I feel like it …" It explores the earliest history of Atlanta as it goes through railroad tunnels, the Gulch and Underground Atlanta. It finds the sites of Terminal and Union stations and answers questions such as, "Is Underground Atlanta really underground?"
Check the Unseen Underground Walking Tour's Facebook page to see when new tours are posted. They aren't held very often and are quite popular.
