Covered in this Story:

• CNN Studios Tour
• World of Coca-Cola
• Underground Atlanta
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic District
• Fernbank Museum of Natural History
• Michael C. Carlos Museum
• Georgia's Stone Mountain Park
• Your DeKalb Farmer's Market
• Practical Information About Atlanta & Its Attractions
  

ATLANTA, GEORGIA, USA - The extensive media coverage focused on Atlanta for the 1996 Summer Olympics can only help increase traffic to this already popular tourist destination for years to come. The following article can help make the most out of a visit to this versatile Southern city.

CNN Studios

Georgia's most famous metropolis has a lot to offer tourists and a great place to start is at CNN (Cable News Network) Studios. Seven Networks are housed in the facilities including CNN International, Headline News, CNN Interactive and CNN Radio. CNN reaches 67 million households in the U.S. and 95 million households overseas. Visitors can get a first hand glimpse of the most technologically advanced news station in the world as well as see actual live broadcasts.

Informative and enthusiastic tour guides offer tours in seventeen foreign languages. It is advisable to make reservations for the tour in advance as this is a very popular attraction. CNN gives over 400,000 tours per year.

Regular tours take about forty minutes and there are six given every hour. In addition, two V.I.P Tours are given every hour. These run about an hour and a half and get much more in depth than the regular tour. They also include a snack stop and a meeting with a CNN on-air personality. Be advised that there is a lot of walking on the V.I.P. Tour (up and down seven flights of stairs).

In addition to touring the studio, visitors to the CNN Center can get free tickets to the popular CNN show Talkback Live, shop at the Turner Store for CNN, TNT, Headline News and TBS merchandise as well as souvenirs from many popular movies and television shows. Also in the complex are a variety of restaurants, shops and the Omni Hotel.

World Of Coca-Cola

Atlanta is also the home of the world's best selling soft drink Coca-Cola and a visit to The World of Coca-Cola is a must. This museum, which is a world of fun for all ages, traces the history of the drink through exhibits, audio/visual aids and films and houses the largest collection of Coca-Cola merchandise in the world as well as an authentic replica of a 1940's soda fountain --complete with soda jerk and juke box.

The highlight of the visit is undoubtedly the tasting room, where guests can sample the products. The high tech soda fountain that dispenses six domestic Coca-Cola products is as much fun to watch as the drinks are thirst quenching. Infrared sensors trigger overhead spotlights which automatically illuminate guests as they step up to the fountain. When a cup is placed down, an ultrasonic level sensor automatically senses the amount of ice and programs the soft drink portion accordingly. The action starts with a series of synthesized audio effects. Large Plexiglas tanks mix carbonated water with soft drink syrup. The liquid then arcs more than twenty feet across the room in a long, tight stream, which is filtered into a catch basin, toward a nozzle and finally into the cup! All of this is theatrically lit with neon chasers and spotlights.

Also in this area is "Tastes of the States," other soft drink flavors from the Coca-Cola company and the "International Lounge" which features free samples of eighteen Coca-Cola products that are found outside the U.S.

Underground Atlanta

Directly across the street from Coca-Cola Worldanother tourist mecca, Underground Atlanta. Formerly the site of an old railway depot, this location is the home of many shops and restaurants (even the infamous Hooters!).

Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic District

Atlanta also has a serious side. The great Martin Luther King, Jr. was born here on January 15, 1929 in a house on Auburn Ave. The house still stands and is open for visitors, as is Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. King served as co-pastor from 1960 until 1968. Also in the area of town known as Sweet Auburn is Dr. King's last resting place and the Martin Luther King Jr. Center For Nonviolent Social Change.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History

The Fernbank Natural History Museum is Atlanta's largest museum and the largest natural history museum to be built in the U.S. since the 1930's. This three year old treasure has taken the concept of the natural history museum and thoroughly modernized it. The atmosphere is bright and spacious. Many exhibits are hands on and interactive (both for adults and children), which makes for a fun, yet educational day. Even the limestone floor is part of the experience as it is the home of scores of fossils which lived from 150 to 180 million years ago! Fernbank is also home to an Imax theatre with films being shown daily on the hour.

Michael C. Carlos Museum

The Michael C. Carlos Museum, located on the main quadrangle of the gorgeous Emory University campus, is another fascinating Atlanta stop. Visitors will find a permanent collection of 15,000 objects including art from Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Near East, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania, as well as European and American prints and drawing ranging from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. The museum's architecture, designed by internationally renown architect Michael Graves, is not only aesthetically beautiful, but lends a feel for the geographical areas being highlighted by the art.

Georgia's Stone Mountain Park

Just sixteen miles east of Atlanta (and easily accessible by Atlanta's rapid-rail and bus system) is the 3200 acre Stone Mountain Park, one of the most visited attractions in the United States. The centerpiece of the park is carved onto the side of the world's largest exposed granite monolith.

Completed in 1972 the figures of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee and General Stonewall Jackson and his horse cover three acres of the mountain's surface, making the "Memorial Carving" the world's largest bas-relief sculpture.

As impressive as the Memorial carving is, it is just the beginning of what the park has to offer. For a spectacular aerial view of Atlanta and the surrounding area, take the skylift (or if you're ambitious, hike) to the summit of Stone Mountain. The scenic Stone Mountain Railroad takes visitors on a five mile trek around the mountain's base, while a ride on an authentic paddle wheel riverboat brings back the feeling of the old south. The Antique Auto and Music Museum offers a nostalgic exhibit of collectibles. Stone Mountain Park is also home to a fully restored Ante-bellum Plantation, consisting of twenty buildings from eighteenth and nineteenth century Georgia.

Everyone will be happily kept busy at Stone Mountain. Kids and adults will be delighted by the Wildlife Trails, a natural animal habitat zoo and a petting farm. The sports complex features tennis, softball and baseball batting cages, bicycle rentals and a mini-golf course. For serious golfers, the park's 36 hole championship golf course was named one of the top 25 municipal courses in the United States by Golf Digest.

Stone Mountain Lake offers a variety of seasonal water activities including swimming, fishing and boating. There are also a variety of special events and festivals scheduled throughout the year.

You may be thinking that there is a lot to see in just one day at Stone Mountain, and you'd be correct. No problem, however, the park also has a 92 room Inn, a 249 room conference center and resort and a 441 site lakeside campground. Dining facilities within the park range from casual snacks to full course meals.

Your DeKalb Farmer's Market

Although the Atlanta area offers many more sites and attractions, one more is a must stop, especially if you're hungry. Your Dekalb Farmer's Market holds the honor of being the world's largest indoor farmer's market, and it's a very unique place to shop. Rather than many individual booths, this market is owned by one company who import their goods directly from the producers. The result is a market complete with foods and produce from all over the world. The market's employees, as well, come from places that span the globe. Each speaks at least two languages, many speak four or five. The languagesspoken are listed on each employee's name tags, making it easy for international visitors to get assistance.

Besides a huge and eclectic produce section, Your Dekalb Farmer's Market also has an extensive fresh and live seafood department, meat department, on premises bakery and flower shops and an extensive wine and beer section (I found several great wine bargains and hard to find items here).

You say you're staying in a hotel with no place to cook? No problem, the market also has a casual restaurant, featuring much of the exotic produce offered for sale, a fruit bar, pastry shop and fresh coffee. Also, if you're missing that special item that can only be found in your native country, there's a good chance it can be found here.

Needless to say, the Atlanta area has a lot to offer, even long after the Olympic Games have ended. Take some time to spend in this southern treasure.

For More About Your DeKalb Farmer's Market, Click here!

Practical Information About Atlanta

Atlanta's DeKalb Convention & Visitors Bureau -- 800-999-6055 or local 404-378-2525 or visit their web site at www.dcvb.org.

MARTA (Atlanta's public transit authority) for fare and schedule information call 404-848-4711.

CNN Studios Tour - For information and reservations call 404-827-2491. Regular tours take about forty minutes and there are six given every hour (9AM - 8PM). In addition, two V.I.P Tours are given every hour. These tours run about an hour and a half and get much more in depth than the regular tour. They include a snack stop and a meeting with a CNN on-air personality. Be advised that there is a lot of walking on the V.I.P. Tour (up and down seven flights of stairs). For more about the Studio Tour, visit the CNN website at www.cnn.com/StudioTour.

World Of Coca-Cola - For information visit the World of Coca-Cola website at www.woccatlanta.com.

Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site is administered by the National Park Service. When traveling southbound on I-75 or I-85 exit at Butler Street. Northbound vehicles should take the Edgewood/Butler exit. The route from the highway is marked. Open from 9AM - 5PM daily. For more information, visit the National Park Service website at www.nps.gov/malu.

Martin Luther King Jr. Birth Home - 404-331-3919
Hours: 10AM - 8PM Tours run every half hour.

Martin Luther King Jr. Center For Nonviolent Social Change - 404-524-1956
Hours: 9AM - 5:30PM

Fernbank Museum of Natural History - 767 Clifton Rd., NE, Atlanta. Call 404-378-0127 for information. Visit their website at www.fernbank.edu/museum.

Michael C. Carlos Museum - 571 South Kilgo Street, Atlanta. 404-727-4282. Visit the musem website at www.emory.edu/carlos.

Stone Mountain Park - 800-277-0007 (US) or 770-469-3311. Web site: www.stonemountainpark.org.

Your Dekalb Farmer's Market - 3000 East Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur. 404-377-6400. Open daily from 9AM - 9PM.