Travel destinations and information in Atlanta 2023: In recent years, Atlanta has become a major economic and cultural center, as well as an important hub of air traffic. Internationally famed businesses, including Coca-Cola and CNN, have their headquarters here. Don’t expect to find a quiet, romantic Southern city when visiting Atlanta. Instead, visitors will find a rather large, always busy, often congested, yet extremely vibrant American city of close to half a million souls, all seeming to want to be precisely where you are. That said, Atlanta is certainly not without its Southern charm.

Atlanta owes its existence to the railroads, the routes of which were determined by geography. Lying as it does at the southern extremity of the Appalachian Mountains, it became the gateway through which most overland traffic had to pass between the southern Atlantic Seaboard and regions to the west. In 1837 a spot near what is now Five Points, in the centre of the present-day city, was selected for the southern terminus of a railroad that was subsequently built northward to Chattanooga, Tennessee. The location was known first as Terminus and then as Marthasville; in 1845 it was renamed Atlanta for the Western and Atlantic Railroad. Several other rail lines had converged on the city by 1860. See extra details at Atlanta minimum wage.

Walk in the footsteps of one of history’s most important figures with a visit to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park. Here you’ll find the home where civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was born and raised. You can also head over to the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King was once a pastor. Fire Station No. 6 offers insights into the desegregation of Atlanta’s Fire Department. And at the Visitor Center, you’ll find engaging exhibits on the civil rights movement and the D.R.E.A.M. Gallery, featuring additional exhibits. Next door to Ebenezer Baptist Church stands the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Change. It has even more exhibits, as well as the tombs of King and his wife, Coretta Scott King.

Designed by architect Richard Meier and enlarged with three new buildings designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, the High Museum of Art is noteworthy both for its architecture and its extraordinary collections of art from the Renaissance to the present day. It is particularly known for its works by 19th-century French masters and an extensive collection of 19th- and 20th-century American art. There is also a significant collection of European paintings and decorative art, and newer additions include modern and contemporary art, photography, and African art. The museum forms part of the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center and hosts an annual film series featuring foreign, independent, and classic cinema.

You might be familiar with Zoo Atlanta because of its famed gorilla exhibit and residents. In fact, the oldest living male gorilla in the world, Ozzie, calls Zoo Atlanta home. Beyond primates, Zoo Atlanta allows visitors up-close-and-personal experiences with elephants, giraffes and lizards. However, the menagerie is probably best known for its giant panda habitat—complete with a webcam—where you can peek into the black and white bamboo-eating bears’ habitat adventures around the clock.

Atlanta’s place in the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s is marked by a beautifully conceived interpretation center/museum that places this epic struggle into the greater worldwide movement for human rights. The Center for Civil and Human Rights explores the history of Jim Crow laws with actual television newscasts, speeches, photos, videos, personal accounts, and interactive experiences that bring visitors into the struggle. Portraits and stories of their work honor men and women who lost their lives in the struggle. The Human Rights Movement gallery carries the story into the broader picture of human rights worldwide: Apartheid in South Africa, women’s rights, the rights of children and others, inspiring visitors to think about the rights of humans everywhere. Find additional info at https://tipsntoesmn.com/.