Atlanta

Think Atlanta and what come to mind are the Civil War, "Gone with the Wind," Martin Luther King, Jr., and Peachtree Street — the city has 52 streets named Peachtree. That is its heritage, but it is also a modern city. Visitors can don a newscaster's jacket and tape a "special news bulletin" at CNN. The Georgia Aquarium, the world's largest indoor fish tank, has a giant walk-through tunnel with whale sharks swimming overhead. Across the street at Centennial Olympic Park is the much photographed Fountain of Rings, a remnant of the 1996 Olympics. Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic District — King's birthplace home, Ebenezer Baptist Church and a ...

Think Atlanta and what come to mind are the Civil War, "Gone with the Wind," Martin Luther King, Jr., and Peachtree Street — the city has 52 streets named Peachtree. That is its heritage, but it is also a modern city. Visitors can don a newscaster's jacket and tape a "special news bulletin" at CNN. The Georgia Aquarium, the world's largest indoor fish tank, has a giant walk-through tunnel with whale sharks swimming overhead. Across the street at Centennial Olympic Park is the much photographed Fountain of Rings, a remnant of the 1996 Olympics. Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic District — King's birthplace home, Ebenezer Baptist Church and a Visitor Center that plays his famous "I Have a Dream" speech — is a potent reminder of Atlanta's tumultuous past. So is the huge, carved, granite monolith of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee and General "Stonewall" Jackson at Stone Mountain. The complex also boasts a resort hotel, rides, a nightly laser show and Crossroads, a re-creation of a 130-year-old town with craftsmen, town characters and live shows.

About the Expert

Roberta Sotonoff is coauthor of Eyewitness Top 10 Chicago and has contributed to many other guidebooks, including Fodor's Chicago, Fodor's Caribbean, Fodor's Caribbean Ports of Call, and Thomas Cook Traveller's USA.