Making plans for a first date can be taxing. You want to have fun and get to know the other person, but you don’t always have a lot of money to spend or feel like getting dressed up.
Luckily, you live in a metro area that has something for everyone. Here are three ideas that are great for a first date.
Puttshack
1115 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta 30318. www.puttshack.com/locations/atlanta
A round of miniature golf is a decades old idea for a first date, but sweating in 90 degree weather is no fun. Welcome to Puttshack, at the Interlock on Howell Mill Road.
Puttshack is an indoor putt-putt course that tracks your game electronically, so no worries about score squabbles. There are nine holes on the course, and a game usually takes about half an hour.
After your game — or before, if you choose — enjoy a meal. Puttshack’s menu ranges from shareables to flatbreads to salads and sandwiches. They also have an extensive lineup of cocktails, beer, spirits and wine. Not a drinker? That’s cool. Get a hibiscus mock mule, peach free bellini or other yummy mocktail. You can also choose nonalcoholic beer, water or a soft drink.
Puttshack is open 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday-Wednesday, and 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Thursday-Saturday. A round of golf will set you back only $14 per person.
Oakland Cemetery
248 Oakland Ave. SE, Atlanta 30312. https://oaklandcemetery.com/
It sounds creepy, but hear us out. There is a lot of history, art and architecture in the Historic Oakland Cemetery. It’s also full of love stories.
Although the Love Stories of Oakland tour isn’t until Valentine’s Day, you can explore on your own to discover the romance behind some of the grave markers. “(P)erhaps nothing is as romantic as the marker by local sculptor Martin Dawe, erected in 2006 by Gerald Fazzari in honor of his wife, Deborah, who died at age 46 of breast cancer. The piece beautifully captures the couple’s nighttime ritual of Gerald combing his wife’s long hair before bed,” Suzanne Van Atten wrote for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2020.
You can spend as much or little time as you searching for famous residents of Oakland on your own, or you can spring for a guided tour, which usually costs around $12. The cemetery is open year-round from dawn to dusk and is free to enter.
Centennial Olympic Park
285 Andrew Young International Blvd NW, Atlanta 30313. https://www.gwcca.org/centennial-olympic-park
Grab some food at a nearby restaurant and head to Centennial Olympic Park for a picnic.
Afterward, explore the history of the 1996 Olympics, cool off in the Fountain of Rings, take a selfie at the Spectacular, or just sit and chat.
Did you or your date buy a commerative brick used to build the park’s walkways? You can find where you brick was placed by using this online tool, then take a selfie once you find it at the park.
Want to relax a few minutes while enjoying spectacular views of downtown? Head over to Skyview Atlanta on Luckie Street (across the street from the park).
Twenty stories above Centennial, the ferris wheel has 42 climate-controlled and private gondolas. Each $17 general admission ride last 7-12 minutes. The best part is you don’t have to share your ride with strangers, so you and your date can have some privacy.
If you want to sweeten the pot for your date, get the “Love is in the Air” package, which includes two adult tickets and a box of chocolates. That will set you back on $33 plus tax, which is a dollar less than just two adult tickets.
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