When I am planning a trip, I usually try to find some unique attractions and activities that can’t be found elsewhere. So, when I planned a stop in Atlanta, Georgia, en route to another destination on a trip a few years ago, I picked out three unique activities that are uniquely Atlanta.
World of Coca Cola
My husband and I first visited the World of Coca Cola in the early 1990s. I fondly remember sampling the different soft drinks and knew our kids would like this experience. But before you get to the samples, you can learn a lot about the history of this worldwide brand of beverages and view exhibits of memorabilia.
We visited just before Christmas, so everything was decked out for the holiday season. It gave it a festive atmosphere.
And we got to meet the polar bear. 🙂
The engineer in me really enjoyed the exhibit about how Coke is bottled.
Other exhibits include the vault where the secret formula for Coca-Cola is secured and a 3-D theater. But the highlight for my daughter Corinne was the tasting experience where you can sample more than 100 different beverages from around the world. And she and Connor challenged themselves to try every single one of them (but they don’t recommend it).
CNN Studio Tour
While this attraction has been closed since March 2020 because of the Covid pandemic, I’ve decided to write about it anyway, in hopes that it will one day reopen. Until then, you can still visit the food court and view the iconic sign outside CNN Center.
The tour starts with a ride up the longest freestanding escalator in the world.
After that, we went on a 1-hour behind-the-scenes tour of CNN (Cable News Network). We saw working newsrooms and control rooms and learned about how news from all over the world gets processed and turned into a live broadcast. We also learned about the technology used including weather maps, teleprompters, and on-screen graphics. And afterward, the food court was a convenient place to grab a bite to eat.
Stone Mountain
The third attraction on my must-see list in Atlanta was Stone Mountain. It’s a fascinating mountain that was formed around 300-350 million years ago from the upwelling of magmas from within the Earth’s crust.
Stone Mountain has a Summit Skyride that takes visitors to the top of the mountain. That was a must-do for us.
Even though it was a cloudy day, the views from the top were amazing.
We could see the city of Atlanta in the distance.
Instead of taking the skyride back to the base, we decided to hike down. If you decide to try this yourself, be sure to take the walking trail down, so that you don’t slip and slide your way down the mountain. Trust me.
It was a beautiful hike.
From the bottom, we got a good view of the carving on the side of the mountain.
Stone Mountain Park offers a variety of other attractions plus lodging, so you could definitely make this into a longer trip.
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