If it is not Atlanta, what Southern City has the best downtown? (Savannah: 2015, hotels)

[Clayton white guy]

There has been a long running thread trashing Atlanta's downtown. The poster laments downtown's short comings. Y'all know I love Atlanta being a native and all. Still, I wish we could combine the retail vibrancy of early to mid 80's downtown Atlanta (three downtown department stores-Rich's, Davison's, and Kessler's- many boutiques and specialty stores, and even two Woolworth's making a real downtown retail district) with the much cleaner and brighter feel of 2015's downtown. (New residents may not realize it, but downtown Atlanta has NEVER looked this good in my opinion) I digress; the question is: If Atlanta does not have the best downtown in the South, who does?

[Ant131531]

Savannah, Charleston, Nashville.

[AtlantaIsHot]

Tough question because to me they all have shortcomings... If asked to give an opinion, I would say that the biggest factor keeping Atlanta held back (if you consider it held back) is the fact that it is so fragmented. Buckhead has the retail, Midtown has the residential development, Downtown has the offices of government, hotels, attractions. If it had all happened together downtown, things would be different for sure.

[evannole]

Charleston and St. Pete. Tons of good food, art, culture and shopping in fairly compact spaces.

I would not want to live in downtown Atlanta, at least in its current form, but if I ever moved to Charleston or to St. Pete, I would want to be right downtown.

In my experience, downtowns of small-to-medium sized cities just tend to be more interesting, funky, vibrant and fun than many of their big city counterparts. There are many exceptions, of course - I love Boston and DC - but especially have a hard time truly enjoying some of the newer ones that have tried to manufacture things to do instead of letting their senses of place do it for them over time.

Don't get me wrong... I love the fact that the aquarium and the College Football HOF have come to downtown Atlanta, but those are tourist attractions, not things for residents to visit on a regular basis. For me, the area is still too spread out, too dominated by office buildings that are disconnected from their surroundings, and still hasn't found its personality. Midtown has found one, and it is great, but Downtown still has quite a ways to go.

[lem1985]

Downtown Atlanta looks and feel better now than it did before but I would say Savannah, Charleston and Nashville. Mobile, AL could've had 1 of the best downtowns but too much industrialization happened. They could've used the Mobile Bay waterfront as its prime selling point for tourists residents and companies to make it more vibrant.

[Mutiny77]

NOLA for a larger city with cities like Richmond and Louisville garnering honorable mentions (and although I've never been, I hear good things about San Antonio and Fort Worth as well). For smaller cities, there's Asheville, Charleston, and Savannah. Revitalized downtowns like Chattanooga and Greenville also deserve a mention.

[shunketsu]

The Old Salem and Arts District in Downtown Winston-Salem are pretty nice as well.

[cqholt]

Downtown NO was impressive, but I don't consider the French quarter part of downtown.

[JohnnyCatharsis]

Savannah, NOLA, Austin, Greenville, Chattanooga all have better downtowns than ATL.

[lovinthe404]

I would have to say St. Petersburg Fl. My brother lives there and I visit him often. Their downtown is very walkable and the diversity is amazing. They have an art district that will blow you away, not to mention the Dali museum which is breath taking. They have a, live music venue ( Janus Live) with ticket prices anyone can afford. And last but not least, all of the clubs are FREE, you pay for drinks and eatables. Don't know how many there are but I do know it's well over 20. The Sundial shopping district doesn't have the stores to complete with Buckhead, but the layout and design is fabulous. I gave you a lot of the most notable things and this isn't HALF of it. I love downtown Atl and once they get that walkable local vibe back, it will be a very desirable place to work, live, and play.