kanderson1965

After looking through options of places to visit on holiday next year, it stikes me that Atlanta consistanly has lower F fares on BA than elsewhere in the US. This begs the question is it an interesting place to visit for a week on holiday or is it more a place you are sent on business to. I am interested as to know why it retains an F service when other American cities do not.

Kgmm77

I wouldn't go out of my way to go to Atlanta as a destination. But it only 4-5 hours drive to Charleston and Savannah which are fantastic destinations. In the other direction the Smokeys are also beautiful.

dera

With the usual ATL traffic and the roadworks on I-20 etc. Charleston is 6-7 hours and Savannah around the same.

I would go out of my way to avoid Atlanta as a destination

KenJohn

Savannah is a foodie's paradise. Great restaurants and very pretty (thinks avenues and town square that would remind you of Gone with the Wind). Foodwise, think shrimps and grits, southern American BBQ (which we very different to what we regard as a BBQ in the UK and Australia), fried green tomatoes (surprisingly nice with balsamic vinegar).

Charleston really has that southern charm you expect to see in the US south. Would not really spend more than a couple of days there.

Atlanta was a real revelation to me. It is massive very loads of different suburbs. The posh upmarket area is called Buckhead where the upmarket hotels area. Good restaurants there but the real attraction of the area are all the departments stores in various malls located next to each other - it is like Disney World for department stores. There is a good train system called MARTHA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) that will get you there direct from the airport and links to various areas downtown as well. I would definitely visit again.

A two centre week like Savannah and Atlanta (Buckhead) might provide an interesting contrasts of experiences.

Visited all three locations last November.

kanderson1965

Oh dear this is not looking promising, but thanks for the heads up. I would not be driving, so sounds like Atlanta is a bit out of the way.

Edit

Thanks KenJohn (great FT handle BTW ) , seems a bit more promising, however may be a bit difficult not driving, unfortunately don't have much choice regarding this.

Madge Ishen

I put ATL on my list of places I'd like to visit because of the extraordinary garden sculptures:

http://atlantabotanicalgarden.org/ev...aginary-worlds

One day ...

dera

I'd say Charleston "trumps" Savannah foodwise. Both are worth 3-4 days easily.

Atlanta transit is MARTA, there is a racial slur about what it stands for. Not safe during certain times of day nor certain areas of town. Parts of Atlanta are very rough.

Buckhead is nice, so is Marietta etc. There just isn't much to see or do there. Like you said, loads of department stores etc. Gets very old very quickly.
Atlanta is Just Another Big City. Bit like Houston. It just lacks personality.

KenJohn

You really need a car for Altanta, even if you stick around Buckhead, or you will rack up a lot of taxi fares.

If you don't wish to drive, you are going to struggle of most parts of the US other than New York, Key West, Chicago or San Francisco. Its where my partner, who does not drive, will holiday without me.

There are easy flight connection to Key West from Atlanta. Just avoid it in the summer months as it is too hot. Otherwise, its about winter sun-bathing and bars. You can also fly to Savannah from Atlanta on Delta (slightly over on hour). Savannah is walkable

Crampedin13A

One thing about Atlanta is that if you are thinking of traveling to somewhere else in the Southeast you should be able to get a cheap flight to pretty well anywhere if you book far enough in advance. So you could fly BA F to ATL then spend the first night there and then fly to somewhere else that interests you the next day. Huge airport with a corresponding huge choice of direct domestic flights.

gengar

I pretty much agree with dera on Atlanta; I used to visit when I had friends there. IMO there is actually a pretty decent amount of touristy stuff to do, but I just felt like so much of it was overly touristy and totally lacking in substance (e.g., Coca-Cola Museum, CNN Tour) or even when there was actually some underlying substance, it was just presented in too cute a manner to be interesting (e.g., Georgia Aquarium, botanical gardens). (Although that shouldn't dissuade Madge Ishen from going - maybe I just get spoiled by having gone to IAHP exhibitions, like the Taipei International Flora Expo.)

I think it says a lot about Atlanta that the most memorable touristy thing I did was was the Stone Mountain Park laser show. Second would probably be the Atlanta Historical Center, which had some very beautiful gardens as well as cool exhibits on the 1996 Olympic Games and a museum of American Civil War artifacts (although of how much interest those would be to a Londoner/UK resident, I'm not sure). Ironically, both of these are well out of downtown, so tough to do without a car.

If the goal is to experience stereotypically southern American culture, I would definitely go to other, smaller cities which will be much more interesting. As others have noted, Atlanta could be a good gateway for that.

flabound

I like Atlanta, it has a nice vibe..I would also second Savannah , we spent Christmas there a few years back and had a wonderful time until we found that ga was dry on Sundays and New years eve was ....a Sunday !! also went all round Hilton head ,up into South Carolina...stunning

Abz0620

I have ATL on my list of places that it wouldn't bother me if I never went back for Business and I certainly wouldn't go for Pleasure. Not a city in which I felt safe - not particularly pleasant to walk around.

riced

I've lived in Atl for four years and apart from being a southern big city mecca of shopping, there are much better places to visit. As others have said, a good transit point. Its hot in the summer and surprisingly cold in the winter. If you want beaches and sun, head to florida. Otherwise, I can think of heaps of other more sophisticated, cosmopolitan US cities to visit.

Tim_T

ATL also has better avios availability than MCO, MIA and TPA, and a late flight time back to the uk (10pm ish), hence we are using it as a transit for our Florida vacation next summer.

thundercat

Why not use ATL as a stepping stone to somewhere else in the USA as there can be some cheap flights internally?

I used it to get back to the UK after a visit to New Orleans.