Travel recommendations (Atlanta, Pitts, Buckhead: rental car, rental, hotels)

[musicmanjrm]

Hello all. I will be taking a trip to Atlanta from Pittsburgh in either March or April to scope out the scene. I will be taking my girlfriend with me, and we're both excited to go to the Georgia Aquarium. Besides this, what are some other great places to visit?

There are actually two reasons for my visit 1) for vacation purposes and 2) to check out the city to see if it is some place that we'd like to move to in the near future. I'll be reading all the posts to get a better idea about other things such as crime, education, ect. You don't have to post those thoughts here, but for the sake of traveling, let me know of some "must see" places that I ought to visit during my trip.

Also, please let me know of your favorite night life hot spots. I'd like to book a hotel close to some place that we can walk back from, or is within walking distance of other hot spots (if that's possible).

One final question: Would you recommend getting a rental car, or is it easy enough to navigate the city using public transportation? Thanks for your input!

[atlantagreg30127]

I'll have to leave the party and night club stuff to others as I'm kinda over that now, but stuff to see and do...

1) The Aquarium (you got that covered you say).

2) The Atlanta Zoo (if it's warm enough)

3) The Atlanta Botanical Gardens (still lots of indoor stuff in bloom, etc).

4) Visit the Virginia-Highlands neighborhood. Neat village type atmosphere with lots of shops, individually owned restaurants, etc.


If you stay in the Midtown area where there are some restaurants, hotels, and clubs, keep in mind that lately there have been a few muggings there after dark, so if you're going to walk from clubs back to a hotel just as the two of you after dark, consider a cab or walk with a group if you're traveling with others. Also in case certain things freak you out keep in mind that Midtown is Atlanta's predominately gay neighborhood. There's lots of singles and young couples moving there too, but it still has a lot of gay folks, and if you like walking in and out of bars just keep in mind not to freak out if a couple of the ones you pick are gay bars. LOL. Not an issue for some - culture shock for others.

The city's rail system, MARTA, hits the major areas like downtown, Midtown, Buckhead (malls) and Perimeter (mall area too), but the Zoo and Botanical Gardens would have to be by bus (which stink here) or cab, unless you like a lot of walking. Their web site: MARTA - Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority

Also, just for the record and I'm not really trying to trash the town, but I know two people who are from Pittsburgh. One is a coworker, and one is younger (25) and attending Ga. Tech here now. Both of them after having been here a couple of years do say they prefer Pittsburgh. Of course, everyone is different, and some folks love Atlanta (I used to be one but these days not really). It's natural to want to try on other pastures, but look around and research carefully before commiting to a move. Atlanta is one of those "love it or hate it" kind of places and you certainly don't want to make a wrong pick when it comes to relocation. Just tossing that in.

Have a good visit here. I'm sure others will contribute more to see and do.