Atlanta in 1 Day: all you need to know

The city of Atlanta is known not only for its tall buildings, but also for its urban parks where you can go for a breath of fresh air. Whether you're interested in history, film, botany, botany or street art, there's something for everyone in the city. Be prepared if you want to see all there is to see and do in Atlanta in one day.

The tour I suggest includes four sites: Westside Park, the park that houses the reservoir made famous in TV series and movies; Centennial Olympic Park, built for the 1996 Olympics; the Marthin Luther King Historic Site, leader of the civil rights struggle for people of African descent; and the Atlanta Botanical Garden, where you can see numerous plant collections illuminated in a special way at night.

During your 1-day stay in Atlanta, you can't miss Westside Park, formerly known as Bellwood Quarry, where you'll see the reservoir made famous by appearances in series such as Stranger Things and The Walking Dead. The park is a real lung of the city, and offers a great panoramic view of Atlanta.

Westside Park, opened in 2021, is full of trees, green areas to enjoy a picnic, bike paths and playgrounds for children. I recommend you visit early in the morning so you have plenty of time to see other attractions. From downtown Atlanta, you can reach the park in about 16 minutes by car, or in about 40 minutes by public transport.

If you have already visited the city or are a fan of the series, you can take a Stranger Things tour in Atlanta or The Walking Dead tour, to see the places where many scenes from these series were filmed in Atlanta and many more curiosities about the series.

• Hours: 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. The Park Information Centre is open from 9am to 4pm.
• Location: 285 Andrew Young International Blvd NW, Atlanta.
• Admission: Free of charge.
• How to get there: From Atlanta International Airport you can get there in 30 minutes by car on Highway 285, or in an hour and a half by public transportation.

Centennial Olympic Park was built when the city was preparing to host the 1996 Olympic Games. It is an 85,000 square metre park with greenery, pathways, sculptures, a 61-metre high Ferris wheel, plazas and fountains.

It features the Fountain of the Rings, which is in the shape of the Olympic emblem of 5 interlocking rings. These rings are 8 metres in diameter and are made up of some 250 jets of water that reach a height of 10 metres. They are usually harmonised with lights and sounds several times a day and, as you can walk among them, many visitors take advantage of them to cool off in summer.

Around the rings are the 23 flags of the cities that hosted previous Olympic Games and surrounding them are the 8 Hermes Towers, 19 metres high, inspired by the towers that surrounded public spaces in ancient Greece.

If you want to tour the park without missing anything, you can listen to the audio guide of Centennial Olympic Park, although it is only available in English.

More information about Centennial Olympic Park

• Hours: All day. The Information Centre is open from 9am to 4pm.
• Location: 285 Andrew Young International Blvd NW, Atlanta.
• Admission: Free.
• How to get there: from Westside Park you can get to Centennial Park by car in about 10 minutes, or by public transport in 45 minutes.

Attractions near Centennial Olympic Park

Nearby Centennial Olympic Park are other popular tourist attractions such as the CNN studios, the Georgia Aquarium, the College Football Hall of Fame, the World of Coca Cola and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. Remember that with the Atlanta City Pass you can get discounted admission to the sites of your choice.

National Center for Civil and Human Rights

Among the sites near Centennial Park is the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, a place where you can learn about Atlanta's history. The history of the city is marked by the struggle for human and civil rights, whose main spokesman and defender was Martin Luther King until he was assassinated in 1968.

I recommend that, if you can't go inside, you should at least take a look at its modern architecture, with the two large curved walls that frame it. Also don't miss the large water sculpture at the back, with quotes from Margaret Mead and Nelson Mandela.

On the Centre's premises you can see interactive exhibits on the history of civil rights on all 3 floors of the Centre.

• Hours: Tuesday-Friday 12-5pm. Saturdays from 10 am to 5 pm.
• Location: 100 Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard, Atlanta.
• Admission: about 20 EUR for adults.
• How to get there: The National Center for Civil and Human Rights is about 500 metres from Centennial Olympic Park.

Two and a half kilometres from Centennial Park is the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site, where the leader was born and dedicated himself to the struggle for civil rights for people of African descent in the United States.

There you can visit several sites of interest related to Dr. King's life and work. I recommend that you first go to the Dr. King Historic Site Visitor Center, where you will be given information about the significance of these sites of historical, social and cultural value. Tours of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthplace are also organised there and are conducted on a first-come, first-served basis, with 15 people per tour.

There are usually a lot of people who want to see the house, so I recommend that you go as early as possible and sign up as soon as you arrive, as you may have to wait to see the house. Tours run every day, except some holidays, from 10am to 4pm.

If you are interested in learning more about the life of Martin Luther King Jr and his struggle for civil rights, I recommend taking a tour with an expert guide who will tell you all about it in detail.

What to see at the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site

• The Martin Luther King Jr. Birthplace, located at 451 Auburn Ave.
• The Historic Baptist Church, where the leader was baptised and pastored, as was his father, Martin Luther King Sr. It was also the site of important meetings for the civil rights struggle. It is not open to visitors. It is located at 407 Auburn Avenue.
• The information panels displayed on the pavements in Dr. King's neighbourhood relate to his history. The residences were preserved to maintain the spirit of the neighbourhood where Martin Luther King Jr. lived, but you cannot enter to see inside.
• Fire Station No. 6, one of the first stations to promote integration between blacks and whites, now serves as a museum.
• The Carter-King Peace Trail, a 2km trail that pays tribute to the two Nobel Peace Prize laureates, President Jimmy Carter and Dr King. The trail crosses Freedom Park.
• The International Civil Rights Walk of Fame, which displays the actual footprints of prominent individuals in the struggle for civil and human rights, such as Rosa Parks and pacifist Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.
• Peace Square, with the beautiful International Rose Garden for World Peace and peace-related messages from school children in the city.
• The King Center, where the graves of Martin Luther King and his wife are located. Contains exhibits on Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and Gandhi. Located at 449 Auburn Ave.

Learn more about the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site Visitor Center

• Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except Christmas, New Year's Day and Thanksgiving.
• Location: 450 Auburn Ave NE, Atlanta.
• Admission: Free.
• How to get there: From Centennial Park you can take a bus to the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site, which will drop you off in about 10 minutes. There is also an underground line that runs nearby.

Another park not to be missed is Piedmont Park, located four and a half kilometres from the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic Site, a 15-minute bus ride away. It is a beautiful place to enjoy the sunset in the city of Atlanta, where you can take the best pictures of the city.

The park has trails, playgrounds for children, Clara Meer Lake in the centre, a botanical garden and restaurants and bars such as Willy's Mexicana Grill, which is open until 10pm.

A map of the park can be found on the Piedmont Park website.

• Hours: Every day from 6am to 11pm, except Christmas, New Year's Day and Thanksgiving Day.
• Location: 450 Auburn Ave NE, Atlanta.
• Admission: no charge.
• Directions: From the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic Site, you can take a bus to Piedmont Park, which will drop you off in about 15 minutes.

Atlanta Botanical Garden

One of the most beautiful sites in Piedmont Park is the 12-hectare Atlanta Botanical Garden, which you can visit both day and night. It is a site dedicated to plant conservation, which has been designed and cared for down to the smallest detail.

In the park you can see numerous collections of plants from all over the world, an arboretum, a Japanese garden and sculptures that are true works of art, such as the glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly and the famous Earth Goddess sculpture, created by Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal, which has become an icon of Atlanta.

At night, the lights are turned on and the park takes on a particular magic. Not to be missed if you visit Atlanta in December.

• Hours: daily from 9am to 4pm and from 5pm to 11pm, except holidays. Check opening hours on the Atlanta Botanical Garden website.
• Duration: The average length of a visit to the garden is 1.5 to 2 hours.
• Location: 450 Auburn Ave NE, Atlanta.
• Entry fee: around 15 EUR general admission, 25 EUR on weekends, 28 EUR for visiting the park at night.
• How to get there: from the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic Site, it's a 15-minute drive or a 25-minute bus ride to the botanical garden entrance.

In the evening, if your tour of the city hasn't tired you out, you can take the opportunity to try some of Atlanta's typical food, better known as Southern food.

Southern food highlights include pork barbecue, pork ribs dipped in hot sauce, fried chicken and Brunswick stew. But what I would recommend most is to end your day with one of Atlanta's best food tours.

Some of Atlanta's most renowned restaurants are The Establishment and South City Kitchen Midtown, both located near Piedmond Park.

In addition, in Atlanta there are many alternatives to enjoy at night, such as seeing a music or theatre show, or taking a night tour to see the lights of Atlanta, when the illuminated city looks with a different charm.

We have reached the end of the tour that I propose you to do in one day in Atlanta, with the most representative places in Atlanta. In addition, at each milestone of the itinerary you will find information on nearby sites so that you can also find out about other options. I hope you find this information very useful and, if you decide to spend a few more days in the city, you can enjoy the best tours of Atlanta.