Georgia

Civil rights in Atlanta: key sites in Martin Luther King Jr's hometown

Atlanta, the cosmopolitan capital of the South, is the birthplace and final resting place of one of America's most pivotal and charismatic historical figures – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was here that King’s crusade for equal rights was born and bred. It’s often hard to imagine that the US Civil Rights Movement and the inconceivable injustices it fought against were front-page news in the not-too-distant past (as depicted in the hit film Selma, the famous marches to Selma, Alabama mark their 50th anniversary this year). But a surefire reminder is a tour through historical points of interest like those found in King’s hometown.

King’s early life centered on Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn district, which served as the cultural cradle of the city’s African-American community throughout the 1900s. Today, dwarfed by the towering skyscrapers of downtown, the area offers a fascinating and sobering glimpse into some of America's toughest struggles. Along with attractions in neighboring Alabama (Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma), Sweet Auburn stands as a preserved and poignant reminder how far we have indeed come – without letting us forget there is still work to be done.

Atlanta to LA road trip: following the Due Date route

In the film Due Date, Robert Downey Jr and Zach Galifianakis, as an expectant father and aspiring actor, race west from Atlanta across the south to LA. It’s a great route, and even better if you take it slow. Here are some of our favorite things to do at their main stops along the way.

48 hours in Atlanta

Atlanta, Georgia: a cosmopolitan juggernaut full of delectable restaurants, bohemian neighborhoods, trendy bars and world-class cultural attractions. Here’s how to play, eat and drink like the locals (and sleep like a tourist) over a weekend in the sass of the South.

Start at the thriving epicenter of this booming metropolis, Centennial Olympic Park: home to two of Atlanta’s most entertaining attractions, the nothing-short-of-awesome Georgia Aquarium (the world’s largest, by gallon count) and the World of Coca-Cola, where you can drink yourself silly on 60 sodas from around the world.