Atlanta: Things To Do

Atlanta Botanical Garden Covering 30 acres in Midtown’s Piedmont Park, this unique garden showcases both indoor and outdoor botanical wonders, including –rather unexpectedly – flora from tropical and desert climes. Midtown; 1345 Piedmont Ave.; 404-876-5859; www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org
family | garden

CNN Center Take a 55-minute behind-the-scenes tour of the news giant, then present the day’s top news stories on your own video at the Turner Store’s Interactive Area. Downtown; One CNN Center; 404-827-2300; www.cnn.com/tour/atlanta
family | tour

Georgia Aquarium The world’s largest aquarium boasts more than 100,000 animals (including five beluga whales) from 500 species in eight million gallons of fresh and marine water. Downtown; 225 Baker St.; 404-581-4000; www.georgiaaquarium.org
family | aquarium

High Museum of Art Thanks to an unprecedented partnership with Paris’ Musée du Louvre, this Richard Meier/Renzo Piano-designed museum’s “Louvre Atlanta” exhibition plays host to hundreds of the French institution’s works through 2009. Midtown; 1280 Peachtree St.; 404-733-4444; www.high.org
architecture | culture | art

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site This multi-building complex in Sweet Auburn encompasses King’s boyhood home and Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he and his father pastored. Sweet Auburn; 450 Auburn Ave.; 404-331-5190; www.nps.gov/malu
culture | museum | historic

New World of Coca-Cola Opened in 2007, this totally modernized incarnation of the popular attraction presents a bubbly array of Coke-related artifacts, a 4D theatre, a Pop Art gallery, and global drink samples. Downtown; 121 Baker St.; 404-676-5151; www.woccatlanta.com
family | tour

Six Flags Over Georgia Located 12 miles west of downtown Atlanta, this 230 acre amusement park offers rides for thrill seekers and young families alike. Batman and Superman rides are heart-pumping fun, but there are also over 20 rides for little kids, including a new Thomas the Train themed area. 275 Riverside Parkway; 770-739-3400; www.sixflags.com/overgeorgia
family | amusement park

Soul Food Museum This storefront establishment is less a museum than a cultural oddity, but it’s worth a visit to see Dr. Kenneth Willhoite’s collection of foods made or marketed by black Americans. Willhoite leads a 45-minute tour of the collection, which includes everything from an antique icebox to Aunt Jemima pancake mix to Crunk! energy drink. No reservations necessary. Sweet Aubern; 372 Sweet Auburn Ave.; 678-508-9478; www.naacaha.com/museum.html
museum | new | great value

Zoo Atlanta Zoo Atlanta sprawls over 40 acres inside historic Grant Park. Large and natural feeling habitats showcase more than 200 species of animals from giraffes to warthogs. In September 2006, Zoo Atlanta welcomed its most popular exhibit with the birth of baby panda Mai Lan. Grant Park; 800 Cherokee Ave., SE; 404-624-5600; www.zooatlanta.org
family | zoo