Tray Butler - Moon Atlanta

Lasershow Spectacular at Stone Mountain

In the capital of the New South, the key word is new. Signs of renewal are everywhere. Electric-blue streetcars ferry passengers to new multimillion-dollar museums downtown. You can almost smell the paint drying on mixed-use developments from Inman Park to Buckhead. Conversations turn to news of film studios breaking ground or the forthcoming sports arenas.

Building booms have been all the rage here since the Reconstruction. Atlantas chosen mascot, a phoenix rising from flames, commemorates its Civil War torching and comeback as an engine of industry. Dubbed the City of Trees, Atlanta has felt more like a city of cranes since hosting the 1996 Olympic Games. Shiny glass skyscrapers keep popping up like clockwork.

The reputation for boosterism and unchecked sprawl might imply a fast-paced commuter culture. In truth, the quality of life in this network of diverse neighborhoods tends to be relaxed and gracious (though all bets are off during rush hour).

Many small-town Southern charms remain: festivals celebrating barbecue and dogwood blossoms, pitchers of sweet tea on restaurant patios, and the famous hospitality. Almost 40 million visitors come here annuallyeven more since the ATL emerged as a hip-hop powerhouse in the mid-2000s. The buzz these days is less Dirty South and more Hollywood South, all eyes on the thriving film industry.

Beyond the stadiums and studios, you can detect a quieter resurgence underway. Urbanist marketplaces fill once-dilapidated factories. Indie arts groups stage performances and paint murals in forgotten buildings. Biggest of all, the Atlanta BeltLine keeps gaining steam, redeveloping an abandoned railway corridor into vibrant public space. Maybe even future-focused Atlanta is learning how to feather its nest without incinerating the past.

Many first-time travelers to Atlanta never venture beyond Downtownand who can blame them? In the dense, pedestrian-friendly business district, several of the citys largest high-rise hotels sit within four or five blocks of attractions including CNN Center, the Georgia Aquarium, and the World of Coca-Cola. Heavy on conventioneers and commuters but light on locals, Downtown becomes a ghost town after dark. Check out the bars and restaurants of Edgewood Avenue or Cabbagetown for evening entertainment. Better yet, go farther afield to get a real taste of Atlantas idiosyncratic neighborhoods.

Georgia Aquarium

Midtown

With a critical mass of landmarks like the High Museum of Art and the Fox Theatre, Midtown