I have a different sort of trip for this city ...themed revolved around art - one of my most passionate hobbies / interests that I have.
I wanted to start off by saying how impressed I was with the airport in transportation system from the airport. The railway from the airport that dumps you out around the art district is not only clean but I felt extraordinarily safe even with my luggage.
Now regarding our theme, we started out touring the Atlanta Art Museum which had a special exhibit around coke. Now I've been to art museums all over the world and this wasn't the best or even close but it was a nice quaint museum to breeze through.
Following the art museum we headed off to the Swan ouse which was one of the plantation owners townhomes. It is named after the theme of the house. There's a swan in every room (painted ... sculpted. .) in addition there is a very small art exhibit from local artists attached to the gift shop which is in the car port portion of the home. There is a cute restaurant there and if you ask for it they will give you a tour. A lot of the furnishings there are original. Then make your way back to the actual house you might pass small house on the way. Believe it or not this was the children's playhouse. From the guide who is in character that greets you as you walk in to the beautiful painted bathrooms to mimic marvel you will feel transported back in time. Make sure you don't forget to check out the basement where they have a whole exhibit dedicated to the architect of this home. They have his drawings and also a small collection of antique furniture and collections.
For dinner a must is the Atlas which is connected to the Ritz Carlton. I suggest you have a drink at the hotel bar which has a very fun ambiance with jazzy entertainment then head over to the Atlas. The background behind the Atlas is that there is a British art collector who decided to build a restaurant around his art collection. I actually dined under of Van Gogh and Picasso! I had to ask my friend to pinch me!
If you get a later reservation, at the end of your meal ask for a tour of the restaurant they will also give you a printout of all of the artwork there as well.
We ended the trip by taking a leisurely walk through the beautiful botannical gardens there. They had the most beautiful picturesque display of flowers concentrated with tulips on our visit with fountains and a marvelous backdrop of the city of Atlanta.
