5 Best Things To Do in Atlanta

5 Best Things To Do In Atlanta - planning your trip to the ATL just got easier with this list of BEST things to do.

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As you may know, I took a brief hiatus from the blog in mid-March and early April for traveling. It wasn't my plan to leave the blog in a lurch but life got away from me at the time.

During our travels, we took a few days in Atlanta, a week in Florida, and a week in Mexico. I'll touch on those trips in future traveling posts, but today I want to focus on our days spent in Atlanta.

While we were in Atlanta we stayed at a studio condo in Midtown that we booked through Airbnb. It was small but perfect for us. Although we had our car, we took Lyft EVERYWHERE when we weren't walking. It was just easier and cheaper.

We visited a few other attractions including the Georgia Aquarium and Centennial Olympic Park, but they didn't make the cut. They are both neat places and are located by the World of Coca-Cola so they are pretty easy to add to your itinerary if you don't care about my opinion. 😉

5 Best Things To Do in Atlanta

World of Coca-Cola

First up is the World of Coca-Cola! Seriously, not everyone is a Coca-Cola fiend like me, but if you are then the World of Coca-Cola is a MUST and if you're not you should still add it to your must-see list. You have one of those, right?

The World of Coca-Cola is located in the heart of Atlanta right next to the Georgia Aquarium and across from Centennial Olympic Park. At the time of our visit, it was $17 for an adult to gain entrance.

Your World of Coca-Cola journey will begin with them handing you a Coca-Cola (Yes!) and then they'll herd you into a room full of Coca-Cola memorabilia and give you a Coca-Cola lesson. After that, there is a 5-minute Coca-Cola happiness video. I kid you not if the video doesn't make you want to split open with happiness then you are probably a robot. This was one of the highlights of the World of Coca-Cola for me! After the video, it is a self-guided tour.

The most exciting area of the World of Coca-Cola is the tasting room. In the tasting room, you can try your fill of Coca-Cola products from around the world, as well as from the good old USA. Yes, you can drink Coca-Cola until your heart is content or you vomit. It's AWESOME!

The next stop is the World of Coca-Cola store where you can buy Coca-Cola souvenirs and products until you go bankrupt. It is also AWESOME!

The World of Coca-Cola is truly an experience you'll only get in Atlanta and is TOTALLY worth a visit!

Zoo Atlanta

My hubby and I include a lot of zoos and aquariums in our travels. We have a Milwaukee Zoo Pass which allows us to get discounts to many different zoos/aquariums (Georgia Aquarium and Zoo Atlanta included). It's kind of our thing.

Zoo Atlanta was a must on our list and it absolutely should be a must on yours. Zoo Atlanta is very nicely laid out with all sorts of neat animals to see. They have your zoo standards, think elephants and giraffes, but they also have some very special areas that I've only seen at Zoo Atlanta.

First, let's talk about the apes. I LOVE the apes. It's one of my favorite areas to visit at my own zoo. Zoo Atlanta rocks this area. It's HUGE and they have so many apes of all sizes and ages. It's amazing and quite fun to watch the kids frolic and play with each other. I find them so human-like that it mesmerizes me.

Now let's talk about the truly special, the reason we HAD to go to Zoo Atlanta and the reason YOU have to go, the panda exhibit. Zoo Atlanta was the first time I've ever seen a panda bear and taking that a step further baby panda bears. It's AMAZING and SO worth seeing! They also have an awesome-sauce Asia section that you just don't get in Milwaukee (or any of the other zoos we've visited).

Zoo Atlanta is a sight you are going to want to see!!

Piedmont Park

Piedmont Park is the park to beat all parks and it's free. Personally, I've never seen a park like this and it stole my heart in a way I didn't think any park could. I wish I had Piedmont Park in my hometown.

Piedmont Park is massive. You can walk or rent bikes and take to the many, many, many different paved paths. You could go there regularly and take a different path every time. Your kiddos can play on the equipment. You can take a jog around the track. They've got a small dog and a large dog park. There are areas to take a seat and enjoy the beauty and there are even basketball and tennis courts. Honestly, my description doesn't do this park justice. It's truly AMAZING.

If you want to enjoy the great outdoors in Atlanta, Piedmont Park is the place to do it!

Ponce City Market

Ponce City Market is a very trendy-hipster shopping and eatery area. This isn't your typical shopping and food; it's like nothing I've ever seen before. I probably need to get out more.

Some of the shops are accessed outside, while others are accessed in a more mall style if the mall was an industrial building turned into shopping and restaurants. Personally, shopping isn't the selling point, it's the atmosphere and the food. They have Batter Cookie Dough Counter, King of Pops, and Honeysuckle Gelato to name a few of the dessert places.

The environment of Ponce City Market is an experience in itself and if you hit up any of the shops or the delightful food well then it's even better! Did you see the part where I said you can buy cookie dough?

Plus, you can leave Ponce City Market and pick up the Atlanta Beltline, my next best thing to do in Atlanta.

Atlanta Beltline

The Atlanta Beltline is essentially a paved path, but it's also so much more. You walk it. You run it. You skateboard it. You rollerskate it. You get the idea.

My husband and I left Ponce City Market and walked along the Atlanta Beltline to Mellow Mushroom (details on that next). It was a nice walk with a lot of people-watching. I enjoy people-watching; I am weird like that. Remember, I need to get out more. 😉

Atlanta Beltline is a nice place to walk while enjoying the outdoors and the Atlanta people. My husband and I LOVE to walk and the beltline was a nice place to do it. The paths are paved nicely and there is even outdoor art in some areas along the path.

One More For The Road

I am going to throw in one more, but because it's a restaurant I am sticking to my 5 Best Things To Do in Atlanta with this one addition, Mellow Mushroom.

Mellow Mushroom

There are several locations of Mellow Mushroom in Atlanta but I am zeroing in on the one located in Midtown. We walked there from Ponce City Market via the Atlanta Beltline. This pizzeria has indoor and outdoor seating; we opted for the great outdoors. We enjoyed a fabulous garlic pretzel appetizer and then an amazing pepperoni pizza. I mean seriously, it was the BEST, which is why it made it onto my 5 Best Things to Do in Atlanta even if it is the sixth thing on the list.

I would highly recommend Mellow Mushroom if you are in the area and are as obsessed with pizza, soft pretzels, and garlic (although they do have other food on their menu) as I am. 😉

And There You Have It

5 Best Things To Do In Atlanta: World of Coca-Cola, Zoo Atlanta, Piedmont Park, Ponce City Market, and Atlanta Beltline...plus Mellow Mushroom for good measure.

Atlanta is definitely a place worth visiting with a lot to do. We definitely intend to go back and hit up these 5 Best Things To Do In Atlanta again. We'll also try new adventures in both attractions and food!