ATLANTA TRAVEL BOOKS

Atlanta attracts visitors both for holidays and business, with its plethora of entertainment, shopping and cultural attractions as well as innumerable top class convention and accommodation venues. Looking at the swarming city, home to more than three million people, today it is hard to believe that it was virtually destroyed when it burned to the ground during the American Civil War. It is now headquarters for many leading international companies, its skyline lit with gleaming skyscrapers. The downtown Peachtree Centre pedestrianised precinct covers 14 blocks of retail space, including three massive hotels, dozens of restaurants and imposing office towers.
Atlanta has not lost its pioneering southern spirit or charm despite its modern guise. The energy that was embodied in its famous sons, Martin Luther King, Jr and Ted Turner (founder of CNN) still crackles in the air and the genteel olde-world atmosphere still lingers in the residential neighbourhoods. Above all, Atlanta radiates a warm welcome in the true tradition of Southern hospitality.

BOOK TICKET AIRLINE  Click Here	RESERVE HOTEL ROOM  Click Here

Atlanta Video Guide

Atlanta History Center Video Guide

Atlanta History Center
Set in nine hectares (23 acres) of beautiful gardens, the Atlanta History Center is the ideal place to soak up some Georgian history. The main attractions are two historic homes, open to the public offering informative guided tours. The Tullie Smith House originally stood outside the city limits but has been relocated to the History Center, along with its outbuildings. The house was built in the 1840s and survived the near-total destruction of Atlanta in 1864 when General William Sherman burned almost every business and more than two thirds of the city’s homes during his infamous ‘March to the Sea’. It was once the home of yeoman farmer Robert Smith and his family, who owned 11 slaves and farmed on about 324 hectares (800 acres). The farmhouse is typical of most in Georgia at the time, despite popular belief that not all Georgians owned large plantations and mansions. The Swan House, built in 1928, is a grand Italianate mansion that is an Atlanta landmark, once the home of Edward and Emily Inman, heirs to a cotton brokerage fortune. The History Center also features several other historic buildings and exhibitions.

Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Video Guide

Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site
In January 1929 a baby boy was born in an upstairs bedroom of a house in Atlanta. Today the Victorian house is the centre of a protected site dedicated to the memory of that baby, Martin Luther King, who grew up to become America’s Nobel prize-winning Civil Rights leader. A half-mile stretch of Auburn Avenue, including King’s birth home, the Ebenezer Baptist Church where he preached, and the memorial tomb at the King Center where he is buried, has been designated a historic site, drawing hundreds of visitors every day. The exhibits contained within provide insight into the life and times of this much-revered man.

World Of Coca-Cola Video Guide

World Of Coca-Cola
In 1886 Jacob’s Pharmacy, a small drugstore in Atlanta, began selling a new headache and hangover tonic called ‘Coca-Cola’. In 1891, entrepreneur Asa Candler paid $2,300 to acquire the rights of what is now the world’s most valuable brand. The following year he founded the Coca-Cola Company. The five-storey multi-million Dollar pavilion is more than just a museum dedicated to Coca-Cola; it is an entire soft-drink experience. Thousands of Coke objects, trivia and memorabilia are contained among the interactive exhibits in this building, backed up by commercials, radio jingles, 3-D screen shows in stereo and plenty of neon lighting. Visitors can enjoy a two-hour tour on the 114-year history of Coke, culminating in a satisfying tasting session.

Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Video Guide

Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield
In 1864 Kennesaw Mountain was the scene of a bloody Civil War battle when General Sherman led his Union forces against the entrenched Confederate forces at the site, resulting in the death of more than 67,000 soldiers. The park consists of several thousand acres of protected land, covered with more than 17 miles (27km) of interpretive walking trails. The trails encompass historic earthworks and cannon placements, and notable markers and memorials have been provided to commemorate the event. A small museum at the site displays Civil War artefacts, and a visitor’s centre provides information about the battle on the site. This popular park is visited by more than a million people each year, many of whom come to picnic and enjoy the views afforded across Atlanta.

Atlanta Botanical Garden Video Guide

Atlanta Botanical Garden
A highlight of the Atlanta Botanical Garden is the Fuqua Conservatory, a giant greenhouse enclosing different climate-controlled eco-systems that was financed by an Atlanta businessman in memory of his wife. A walk through the conservatory takes visitors from a desert into a steamy tropical jungle. Outdoors the gardens are criss-crossed with dedicated nature walks, bypassing many quiet spots designed for peaceful contemplation, as well as tasteful garden sculptures.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History Video Guide

Fernbank Museum of Natural History
As one of the South’s pre-eminent museums, Fernbank Museum of Natural History is a gateway for discovery and exploration, unfolding the story of the earth’s history, the physical universe, the environment and human culture through exhibitions, programs and films in the IMAX Theatre. Opened in 1992, Fernbank is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is ‘Atlanta’s Home to Dinosaurs,’ a reputation highlighted by Giants of the Mesozoic, a distinctive permanent exhibition which features the world’s largest dinosaurs.

Georgia State Capitol Video Guide

Georgia State Capitol
Besides housing the governor’s office and the state legislature, the Capitol preserves and represents Georgia’s rich and diverse history both inside and out. Named a National Historic Landmark in 1977, the Capitol is made of Indiana limestone and Georgia marble, with a golden dome that rises more than 240 feet from the rotunda floor. Free guided tours are available on weekdays. The Georgia State Museum of Science and Industry is housed on the first and fourth floors.

Centennial Olympic Park Video Guide

Centennial Olympic Park
This park, created for the 1996 Olympic Games held in Atlanta, has 21 acres of green space, rock gardens and artwork. The nearly 500,000 commemorative bricks that make up its main walkway were part of fund raising efforts for the Games. During scorching Atlanta summers, children frolic in the ground-level Olympic Rings, which periodically shoot streaming arcs of water in time to the seven light and music concerts put on throughout the day. Flags honoring the nations that have played host to the Olympics in the past surround the fountain.

Honda Battle of the Bands Video Guide

Honda Battle of the Bands
The Honda Campus All-Star Challenge supports the talent of Black College Marching Bands from America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). The Annual Honda Battle of the Bands Celebration Tour will take place in The Georgia Dome, Atlanta, on 29th January 2005 from 3p-7p. Last year, there was a massive crowd of 60,000 fans to cheer the teams.

Zoo Atlanta Video Guide

Zoo Atlanta
Just minutes from downtown Atlanta in historic Grant Park, this exciting zoo features the Southeast’s most impressive collection of wildlife from around the globe. Legend says that the zoo got its start when the owners of a traveling animal show went bankrupt and suddenly fled town. Today, popular exhibits include daily elephant demonstrations, orangutan feedings, and the recently-acquired Chinese pandas.

White Water Atlanta Video Guide

White Water Atlanta
The South’s largest water park is located about 20 minutes from downtown in suburban Cobb County, and is open weekends during May, then daily from June through August. In addition to water slides, wading pools, and all types of aquatic rides, the park offers Friday night “Dive-In Movies,” where guests watch first-run movies from inner tubes in the wave pool. Admission is calculated by height. This charge includes free admission to Six Flags’ American Adventures park next door.

High Museum of Art Video Guide

High Museum of Art
It is hard to miss this ultra-modern, stark white structure on Peachtree that houses Atlanta’s finest collections of classic and contemporary art. A towering atrium soars to four interior levels, with the galleries moving from 18th- and 19th-century collections near the ground floor to the cutting edge of art on the upper levels. The High has increased in size to 312,000 square feet with three buildings designed by renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano: the Susan and John Wieland Pavilion, the Anne Cox Chambers Wing for galleries, and an office building. The High plays frequent host to the most important touring collections as well, hosting exhibitions featuring artists like Pablo Picasso and Norman Rockwell. The High also displays old prints of Abe Lincoln and of General William Tecumseh Sherman.

BOOK TICKET AIRLINE  Click Here	RESERVE HOTEL ROOM  Click Here