15 Things to Do in Atlanta, Ranked
Atlanta spreads out, but the visitor city is tighter than the map suggests. Three of the biggest attractions share one downtown block beside Centennial Olympic Park, the civil rights sites cluster along Auburn Avenue in Sweet Auburn, and Midtown stacks a major art museum, a botanical garden and a two hundred acre park within a few blocks of MARTA rail. The BeltLine Eastside Trail stitches several neighborhoods together on foot, so plan by district and you can skip most of the driving.
The top 15, ranked
Ranked by how consistently each pick appears across official Atlanta sources, the local destination marketing organization, and recent independent roundups.
- Top pick
#1Best for The reason to come · #1 of 15Martin Luther King Jr National Historical Park
Historic siteSweet Auburn and Old Fourth WardOpen dailyFreeThe National Park Service preserves the block where King was born, preached and is buried, including the two story birth home on Auburn Avenue, the Ebenezer Baptist Church sanctuary where he served as co pastor, a restored fire station and a visitor center exhibit tracing the movement. The adjacent King Center holds the reflecting pool and the crypts of Martin and Coretta Scott King.
Local tipBirth home tours are small, free and first come, so stop at the visitor center desk early in the day to claim a slot.
- Top pick
#2Best for Families and rainy days · #2 of 15Georgia Aquarium
AquariumDowntownOpen daily$50 plusOne of the largest aquariums in the world holds more than ten million gallons across galleries built around whale sharks, beluga whales, bottlenose dolphins, sea lions and African penguins. The Ocean Voyager tunnel is the signature moment, a moving walkway under a tank big enough for rays and sharks to pass overhead, and the aquarium stays open every day of the year.
Local tipBook a timed ticket online well ahead and aim for the first entry slot, since midday weekends are the busiest stretch.
- Top pick
#3Best for Seeing how the city lives · #3 of 15Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail
TrailSweet Auburn and Old Fourth WardOpen dailyFreeA paved rail corridor turned linear park runs from the edge of Piedmont Park south to Reynoldstown, threading past Historic Fourth Ward Park, murals, breweries and two of the city's best food halls. It is the easiest way to see how Atlanta actually spends its weekends, and walkers, runners, cyclists and scooter riders all share the same wide path.
Local tipStart at Ponce City Market and walk south toward Krog Street for the densest run of murals and patios.
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#4Best for Context for everything else · #4 of 15National Center for Civil and Human Rights
MuseumDowntownClosed Mondays$25 to $50Reopened after a major expansion, this downtown museum links the American civil rights movement to global human rights work through galleries including Rolls Down Like Water, the Reconstruction era, and a children's gallery built for younger visitors. The lunch counter sit in simulation, where you wear headphones and try to keep your hands on the counter, is the exhibit people talk about afterward.
Local tipIt sits a short walk from the aquarium and World of Coca-Cola, so pair two of the three rather than forcing all three into one day.
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#5Best for The skyline photo · #5 of 15Piedmont Park
ParkMidtownOpen dailyFreeAtlanta's central park covers more than two hundred acres between Midtown towers and the Virginia Highland edge, with Lake Clara Meer, wide meadows, tennis courts, a pool and splash pad, and two dog parks. The northwest meadow gives the postcard view of the Midtown skyline rising over open grass, which is why half the city's festivals and photo shoots end up here.
Local tipEnter at the 12th Street gate for the fastest walk to the lake and the skyline view.
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#6Best for Lunch on the BeltLine · #6 of 15Ponce City Market
MarketSweet Auburn and Old Fourth WardOpen dailyFreeThe 1920s Sears, Roebuck warehouse on Ponce de Leon Avenue, one of the largest brick buildings in the Southeast, now holds a central food hall, dozens of locally owned shops and a hotel, all of it opening directly onto the BeltLine. The rooftop is the draw for many visitors, with games, a bar and a wide view over Midtown and the Old Fourth Ward.
Local tipRooftop access is ticketed separately from the food hall, so sort that out before you head for the elevators.
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#7Best for Art lovers · #7 of 15High Museum of Art
MuseumMidtownClosed Mondays$10 to $25The Southeast's leading art museum holds more than twenty thousand works across seven collections, with real depth in American art, photography, and folk and self taught art from the region. The building is half the appeal, a white porcelain enameled Richard Meier design from 1983 wrapped around a light filled atrium ramp, later doubled by a Renzo Piano expansion along Peachtree Street.
Local tipRide MARTA to Arts Center station and you step out within a block of the museum entrance.
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#8Best for A slow green hour · #8 of 15Atlanta Botanical Garden
GardenMidtownClosed Mondays$25 to $50Thirty acres tucked against the north end of Piedmont Park pack in the Fuqua Orchid Center, a conservatory with tropical and desert houses, a Japanese garden, a rose garden and a children's garden. The Kendeda Canopy Walk is the standout, an elevated walkway that carries you through the treetops of one of the last remaining urban forests in the city.
Local tipThe Garden is closed Mondays, and a late afternoon visit beats the midday heat in summer.
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#9Best for A crowd pleasing hour · #9 of 15World of Coca-Cola
MuseumDowntownOpen daily$25 to $50Atlanta's most famous export gets a museum next to Centennial Olympic Park, covering the brand's history through vintage advertising and artifacts, a theater, a scent discovery room and the Vault of the Secret Formula. The finish is the tasting room, where you can sample dozens of drinks the company sells around the world, including several that will make you pull a face.
Local tipEveryone leaves with a souvenir bottle, so budget a few minutes at the exit rather than rushing the last room.
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10Best for Kids with energy · #10 of 15Zoo Atlanta
ZooGrant Park and CabbagetownOpen daily$25 to $50Set inside Grant Park, this compact and walkable zoo is known for great apes, with one of the largest groups of western lowland gorillas in any American zoo alongside Sumatran orangutans. Elephants, tigers, giraffes and a large reptile and amphibian house fill out the rest, and the scale means families can cover it comfortably in a morning rather than trudging for hours.
Local tipArrive near opening in summer, when the animals are active and the Georgia heat has not settled in yet.
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#11Best for A night out · #11 of 15Fox Theatre
TheaterMidtownOpen on performance nights, with daytime tours on a published scheduleVariesBuilt in 1929 as a Shriners temple before it became a movie palace, the Fox is a Moorish and Egyptian fantasy of arches, minarets and gilded detail seating well over four thousand people. The auditorium is styled as an open air courtyard under a ceiling of twinkling stars and drifting clouds, and daytime building tours let you see it without buying a ticket to a show.
Local tipTour slots and show tickets both sell out, so book on the theatre's own site rather than a resale listing.
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#12Best for A quiet walk with a view · #12 of 15Historic Oakland Cemetery
Historic siteGrant Park and CabbagetownOpen daily, dawn to duskFreeFounded in 1850, Oakland is a Victorian garden cemetery of forty eight acres that doubles as Atlanta's oldest public green space, full of brick paths, magnolias, mausoleums and sculpture. Golfer Bobby Jones, novelist Margaret Mitchell and Maynard Jackson, the city's first Black mayor, are all buried here, and the downtown skyline rises straight behind the headstones.
Local tipThe grounds are free from dawn to dusk, but the guided tours from the visitor center are what unlock the stories.
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#13Best for Understanding the city · #13 of 15Atlanta History Center
MuseumBuckheadOpen daily$25 to $50A thirty three acre Buckhead campus combines exhibition galleries with historic houses and gardens, including the 1928 Swan House mansion and a nineteenth century farm site. The centerpiece is the restored Atlanta Cyclorama, an enormous hand painted panoramic canvas of the Battle of Atlanta from the 1880s, presented in a purpose built rotunda with a digital show explaining how the painting was used and altered.
Local tipHouse tours run on their own schedule, so check times when you arrive rather than saving them for last.
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#14Best for Dinosaurs and forest in one trip · #14 of 15Fernbank Museum of Natural History
MuseumDruid HillsOpen daily$25 to $50Out in Druid Hills, Fernbank pairs a natural history museum with seventy five acres of old growth forest and outdoor exhibits, so a visit moves between dinosaur skeletons indoors and boardwalks under the canopy outside. A giant screen theater runs nature documentaries several stories tall, and the WildWoods play areas give younger kids somewhere to burn off the energy the galleries build up.
Local tipWear shoes you can walk trails in, because the forest and the outdoor exhibits are the part most visitors underrate.
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#15Best for A free downtown breather · #15 of 15Centennial Olympic Park
ParkDowntownOpen dailyFreeBuilt as the gathering place for the 1996 Summer Olympics, this downtown park still anchors the block that holds the aquarium, World of Coca-Cola and the civil rights center. The Fountain of Rings is the reason to linger, a plaza fountain in the shape of the Olympic rings that shoots water in choreographed shows and doubles as a free splash pad for kids in summer.
Local tipThe park hosts big events and occasionally closes sections for setup, so check the park site before building a day around it.
Where things cluster
A quick orientation so you can group stops instead of crossing Atlanta twice.
- DowntownThe visitor block: Centennial Olympic Park with the Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola and the civil rights center all within a few minutes of each other, and MARTA rail underneath.
- MidtownPeachtree Street towers wrapped around Piedmont Park, the High Museum, the Botanical Garden and the Fox Theatre. Two MARTA stations serve it, so this is the easiest base without a car.
- Sweet Auburn and Old Fourth WardAuburn Avenue and the streets east of downtown hold the King sites, the Ponce City Market warehouse and the busiest stretch of the BeltLine Eastside Trail.
- Grant Park and CabbagetownOld cottages, mill housing and shaded streets southeast of downtown, holding Zoo Atlanta and the Victorian cemetery that doubles as the city's oldest park.
- BuckheadWide residential streets and big lots north of Midtown, best known to visitors for the thirty three acre Atlanta History Center campus and its historic houses.
- Druid HillsAn Olmsted planned district of curving parkways east of the city near Emory University, where Fernbank sits against a large stand of old growth forest.
Make it a day
Auburn Avenue, the BeltLine and downtown
Start early at the Martin Luther King Jr National Historical Park on Auburn Avenue and claim a birth home tour slot at the visitor center. Walk north to Ponce City Market for lunch, then take the BeltLine Eastside Trail south past the murals toward Krog Street. Finish downtown at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, with Centennial Olympic Park and the Fountain of Rings on the way out.
East side one day, Midtown and downtown the next
Day one runs east: the King historical park, the BeltLine Eastside Trail, Ponce City Market and Historic Oakland Cemetery, with Zoo Atlanta in Grant Park if you have kids along. Day two goes vertical in Midtown with the High Museum, the Atlanta Botanical Garden and Piedmont Park, then drops downtown for the Georgia Aquarium or the civil rights center and an evening show at the Fox Theatre.
Map
Best time to visit
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Spring and autumn are the comfortable windows in Atlanta, with mild days for the BeltLine, Piedmont Park and Oakland Cemetery. Spring brings dogwoods and azaleas along with famously heavy tree pollen, so pack antihistamines if you are sensitive to it. Summer is hot and humid with afternoon thunderstorms, which is when the aquarium, the High and the History Center earn their keep, and winters stay mild enough that outdoor days still work.
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Atlanta things to do FAQ
Parking, timing, cost, and weather answers for a smoother visit.
How many days do you need in Atlanta?
Two full days covers the essentials comfortably. One day is enough for the King historical park, the BeltLine and one downtown museum, while a third day opens up Buckhead and Druid Hills.
Is the Martin Luther King Jr National Historical Park free?
Yes. The National Park Service site is free, including the visitor center exhibits and the ranger led programs, though birth home tour groups are small and the slots go quickly on busy days.
Do you need a car in Atlanta?
Not for most of this list. MARTA rail reaches downtown, Midtown and the airport, and the BeltLine Eastside Trail links several neighborhoods on foot, but a car or rideshare helps for Buckhead, Druid Hills and Grant Park.
What is the best area to stay in Atlanta for sightseeing?
Downtown puts you next to the aquarium, World of Coca-Cola and the civil rights center, while Midtown is better for the High Museum, Piedmont Park and quick MARTA access to both ends of the city.
Which Atlanta attractions are closed on Mondays?
The High Museum of Art, the Atlanta Botanical Garden and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights all close on Mondays, so build a Monday around the BeltLine, Piedmont Park, Oakland Cemetery, Zoo Atlanta or the Georgia Aquarium instead.
What is there to do in Atlanta for free?
Quite a lot of the best of it. The King historical park, the BeltLine Eastside Trail, Piedmont Park, Historic Oakland Cemetery, Centennial Olympic Park and walking into Ponce City Market all cost nothing.
Keep planning
Use these nearby guides to extend your Atlanta trip with a different pace and a clear next stop.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons. Credits: MSGT Joseph Pittelli, U.S. Air Force, National Park Service Digital Image Archives, Diliff, Marc Merlin, Marco Correa, Scott Ehardt, Keizers, Aleksandr Zykov from Russia, Daderot, w:User:Zpb52, Atlantacitizen at English Wikipedia, Julia Butler, Daniel Mayer, Hermann Luyken.
#10 Zoo Atlanta: O01326, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Square crop.