Atlanta, GA: Day Two Of Sightseeing

At CNN Center, you can take a 55-minute studio tour of CNN and find out exactly what happens to make the news come alive on your TV. You might even get a glimpse of the news anchors while you’re there.

Check out the Georgia Dome, about four blocks west of CNN Center. If you’re in town at the right time, you might catch an Atlanta Falcons game, http://www.atlantafalcons.com/splash/
a basketball game, or the circus!

Walk north down Centennial Olympic Park Drive to a group of attractions that will bring out the kid in you. If you’re there in the middle of summer, when temperatures reach the high 90’s daily, you can cool off in the Centennial Olympic Park fountain. Children of all ages can be seen running through the water sprays that seem to come up through the sidewalk from nowhere. Although the fountain is closed right now due to drought conditions, it is hopeful that it will be reopened soon. 

Other things to do at the park include music performances at lunchtime, appropriately called Music @ Noon; concerts on Wednesday nights called The Wednesday Windown; and an Ice Skating Rink.

Another block down the road from Centennial Park is The World Of Coca Cola. With displays depicting the history of the famous soft drink that was invented in Atlanta, a 4-D theater, a fully functioning bottling line that packages 8 ounce bottles of Coke, and a tasting experience where you can sample more than 60 different products, it is truly a one of kind place to go. My kids loved visiting the old one years ago, and the new one is even more remakable.

Next door, the new Georgia Aquarium will be a highlight of your trip. It is the largest aquarium in the world, with eight million gallons of water and more animals on display than any other aquarium anywhere. The also have a 4-D theater, where you can experience the underwater world from their point of view of the animals. 

After an afternoon of fun, take a walk 3 blocks east up Baker Street to West Peachtree Street. Then, turn south for 2 blocks to Peachtree Center. My favorite place to eat here is Ninfa’s Mexican Restaurant, which originated in south Texas. There is also a Hard Rock Café, if you are a collector of their T-shirts or pins.

And finally, there are lots of restaurants to choose from for dinner before heading back out from the Peachtree Center MARTA Station on the North-South line.