Atlanta

Atlanta's food scene is the real reason to come — it punches well above its weight nationally. The chicken and waffles origin story runs through this city: Gladys Knight's Chicken & Waffles, The Colonnade, Busy Bee Cafe. Atlanta didn't invent the combination but it made it a thing, and the restaurants that built that reputation are still operating. The BBQ scene holds its own against any city in the South — Fox Bros Bar-B-Q on McLendon Avenue is the standard-setter, Heirloom Market BBQ brings a Korean-Southern fusion angle that works better than it has any right to, and Community Q in Decatur is the neighborhood anchor that locals actually go to on weeknights. The modern food picture is anchored by two food halls that actually deliver rather than disappoint: Ponce City Market in a restored 1920s Sears distribution warehouse on the BeltLine, and Krog Street Market in Inman Park, smaller and more neighborhood-facing, consistently good across its tenant mix. The civil rights history is genuine and important — not a tourist overlay but the actual geographic heart of the movement. The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site on Auburn Avenue includes the birth home, Ebenezer Baptist Church where King and his father both served as pastors, the King Center memorial, and the surrounding Sweet Auburn corridor that was one of the wealthiest Black business districts in America during the early 20th century. This is worth a half day and not merely a box to check. Auburn Avenue tells a story that is still unresolved and still relevant, and the National Park Service does an excellent job with interpretation. Piedmont Park anchors Midtown — 185 acres, a large lake, the Atlanta Botanical Garden on its north end, and a social scene that reflects the neighborhood's character. The Atlanta BeltLine is the infrastructure story of the decade: a 22-mile loop of multi-use trails built on former rail corridors connecting 45 neighborhoods, with the Eastside Trail from Piedmont Park to Krog Street Market being the most active and developed section. For a city built entirely around car culture, the BeltLine is genuinely revolutionary — you can walk from Midtown through Inman Park to Reynoldstown without crossing a major road. The World of Coca-Cola near Centennial Olympic Park is unambiguously touristy and also legitimately interesting if you are curious about branding, American corporate mythology, or the history of soft drink marketing. The Georgia Aquarium next door is one of the largest in the world and is a genuine anchor attraction — the whale shark and manta ray exhibits are singular. College football (Georgia Tech in the city, UGA 90 minutes east in Athens) and the Falcons/Braves drive weekend energy. Atlanta is also 90 minutes north from Chattanooga — excellent Tennessee Aquarium, Lookout Mountain, and a walkable riverfront. The traffic is genuinely brutal and not exaggerated: avoid I-285 at rush hour or route entirely around it. Use MARTA for the main north-south corridor and Uber/Lyft or the BeltLine for neighborhood movement.