Four Days, First Time

My daughter (20%26#39;s) and I will be in Atlanta at the end of the month. Hotels are set - 2 nights at the Georgian Terrace, 1 at Marriott Riverfront Savannah, then 2 at Four Seasons Midtown. (I%26#39;m using mostly reward points, not our usual budget!)

I%26#39;d love restaurant recommendations near those hotels for great food in casual (non-tourist) places.

Also - the most important Atlanta attractions are the Botanic Garden, High Museum, Fox Theatre, Atlanta History Museum, CNN, Centennial Park, Oakland Cemetery, Barnsley Gardens, Callaway Gardens, Little White House, and a hike in the Georgia mountains (Appalachian?). I%26#39;m thinking we%26#39;d start the first morning on a Trolley tour. Any advice on how to plan to fit all the destinations in? Should the Aquarium and Cyclorama be in there too? Am I being too ambitious?

Thank you!

Four Days, First Time

You will probably want to budget at least half a day each for the Botanical Garden, High Museum, and Atlanta History Center, so that%26#39;s 1.5 days worth right there. Plus Barnsley Gardens and Callaway Gardens, as well as the Little White House, are going to involve travel time to get there and back. At least Callaway and the Little White House are in the same general direction, so you could combine them on one day, but you%26#39;d probably have to devote most of the day to that, so you%26#39;d be up to 2.5 days without Barnsley Gardens.

The Fox Theatre only does tours certain days of the week, and generally only once per day at 10 am (Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday) and two tours, at 10 and 11 am, on Saturdays, so if you want to actually take the tour you%26#39;ll need to plan around that. Staying across the street at the Georgian Terrace means you%26#39;ll see plenty of the outside, but I do highly recommend the tour if you can work it in. You could do the Fox tour and then the CNN Center tour and also be able to see what there is to see at Centennial Olympic Park in about a half day, but it%26#39;d probably be a late-starting day as the Fox tour is the constraint -- you don%26#39;t have time to do the CNN tour before it, but by the time you finish it and can get anywhere else, it%26#39;d be mid-day.

If you have a Thursday that you could try to devote to it, you could do the Fox tour at 10 am, catch the Botanical Gardens after lunch, and then hit the High Museum before a late dinner -- the High is open until 8 pm on Thursdays.

For another day, you could start at the Atlanta History Center -- there%26#39;s plenty to see and do there, and I%26#39;ve never taken anyone who didn%26#39;t come away saying that they wished they%26#39;d had more time to spend there. Then hit the CNN Center for that tour, and whatever time is left in the day you can divvy up between Centennial Olympic Park and Oakland Cemetery (if it%26#39;s a Saturday or Sunday, there are ';Twilight Tours'; at Oakland from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pmwith a variety of different topics offered on different dates ( www.oaklandcemetery.com/twilightTours.html ).

That would fit all of your Atlanta activities into two days. I would recommend doing the Atlanta History Center early in your visit, as it%26#39;ll give you lots of context for the other things you%26#39;ll see and do around the city. Another day for Callaway/Little White House, and that leaves one day for whatever else you decide to do.

If you%26#39;re interested in hiking but don%26#39;t want to spend four hours round trip driving up into the North Georgia mountains to the Appalachian Trail, the trail systems in the various units of the National Parks Service%26#39;s Chattachoochee National Recreation Area are quite close to town and offer a variety of terrain from very easy to moderately difficult, with lots of scenic area in the woods, hills, and along the river. The Vickery Creek unit connects to the downtown area of the old mill town of Roswell just north of Atlanta, but once you%26#39;re on the trails you%26#39;d never think you%26#39;re within a mile or so of civilization. The Sope Creek unit offers perhaps the most interesting scenery, including the ruins of an old paper mill on Sope Creek that are a very popular spot. You can find maps of all 16 units and other information at http://www.nps.gov/chat/ .

Four Days, First Time

Restaurants near the Georgian Terrace...

Bazzaar www.bazzaaratlanta.com

Baraonda www.baraondaatlanta.com

Melting Pot www.themeltingpot.com

Steel Restaurant www.steelatlanta.com

Oceanaire Seafood Room www.theoceanaire.com

Mar Mac%26#39;s Tea Room www.marymacs.com

Not sure about the non-tourist setting; all of these offer tourism as well as local flair.

My thoughts on nearby restaurants:

The following restaurants are within about 6 blocks of the hotel. It is an easily walkable neighborhood. My top pick would be Ecco, an Italian influenced restaurant. It%26#39;s probably the furthest walk but well worth it. It also offers free valet so you can drive to the Fox if the walk is too far. I%26#39;ve never been disapointed by a meal there and it gets consistently excellent reviews.

Also, Baraonda is good for flatbread pizzas, although it is PACKED on nights when there%26#39;s a show at the Fox. Avra on Juniper and 5th has good Greek food, and Mitra next door is excellent for southwestern. I also like Noodle, and you%26#39;re not terribly far from the Vortex. There%26#39;s an English pub on North Avenue, Engine No. (something) that has a great atmosphere.

I would definitely second the rec for Ecco. I would also suggest Flying Biscuit for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Also the Steamhouse Lounge (W. Peachtree at 13th) has excellent seafood (quite relaxed atmosphere over nearby Oceanaire) and is just a few blocks from the Four Seasons. Also, for a nice meal, Trois is across the street and TAP is just down the street on Peachtree.