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Delta Airlines Flights from Huntsville (HSV) to Atlanta (ATL)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Delta Airlines, which operates 5 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Huntsville (HSV) to Atlanta (ATL), departing between 7:10am and 3:00pm, and 3 additional non-stop flights, departing between 6:00am and 5:23pm on select days of the week. The average travel time from Huntsville, AL to Atlanta, GA is 58 minutes.
During your Atlanta vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Georgia State Capitol
It wasn't until after the Civil War (1868) that Atlanta became, once and for all, the state capital; its present capitol building, completed July 4, 1889, was hailed as a testament to the city's recovery. Modeled after the nation's Capitol, another neoclassical edifice atop a "crowning hill," its 75-foot dome, covered in gold leaf and topped by a Statue of Freedom, is a major Atlanta landmark. The building is fronted by a massive four-story portico with a pediment supported by six Corinthian columns set on large stone piers. In the rotunda, with its soaring 237-foot ceiling, are busts of famous Georgians, including signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The governor's office is off the main hall. The capitol building's public spaces are currently being restored to their 1889 grandeur.Grand staircases in both wings rise to the third floor, where you'll enter the House of Representatives, and, across the hall, the Senate chambers. The legislature meets for 40 days, beginning the second Monday in January (it can also be called into special sessions); all of its sessions are open to the public. The fourth floor houses legislative galleries and the Georgia Capitol Museum, with exhibits on cotton, peach, and peanut growing; cases of mounted birds, fish, deer, insects, and other species native to Georgia; rocks and minerals; American Indian artifacts; and more. Note, too, the museum displays on the first floor.Tours begin on the main floor, and this level also serves as an information center for city and state attractions. The tours take 60 to 90 minutes; allow at least another 30 minutes to browse around on your own after the tour. Highlights of the grounds are detailed in a brochure available at the tour desk. Note: For security reasons, your bag will be searched when you enter.If you're visiting in December or January, take note of two special treats: A beautifully decorated 40-foot tree adorns the rotunda at Christmas, and on January 15, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, there's a memorial program featuring speeches by local dignitaries, including the governor.
Oakland Cemetery
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this outstanding 88-acre Victorian cemetery was founded in 1850. It survived the Civil War and remained the only cemetery in Atlanta for 34 years. Among the more than 48,000 people buried here are Confederate and Union soldiers (including five Southern generals), prominent families, paupers, governors and mayors, golfing great Bobby Jones, and Gone With the Wind author Margaret Mitchell. There's a Jewish section (consecrated by a temple), a black section (dating from segregation days), and a potter's field (a section for unknown or poor people). Two monuments honor the Confederate war dead. Standing at the marker that commemorates the Great Locomotive Chase, you can see the trees from which the Yankee raiders were hanged; the Confederate train conductor Captain William Fuller is buried nearby. The cemetery is not only famous for historical reasons, but also because it is a virtual outdoor museum of Gothic and classical-revival mausolea, bronze urns, stained glass, and Victorian statuary.Almost every grave has a story. Real-estate tycoon Jasper Newton Smith had a life-size statue of himself erected on his grave so he could watch the city's goings-on into eternity. (The sculptor originally gave Smith a tie, but Smith, who never wore one, refused to pay for the piece until the tie was chiseled off.) Dr. James Nissen, Oakland's first burial, feared being buried alive; his will asked that his jugular vein be severed prior to interment. And John Morgan Dye was a baby who died during the siege of Atlanta; his mother walked through the raging battle to the cemetery carrying the small corpse. The smallest grave, however, is that of "Tweet," a pet mockingbird buried in his family's lot.A 5-year $15 million restoration aimed at reviving the cemetery as a park got underway in early 2003, and Atlanta residents certainly seem to be taking to the idea -- dozens of people jog and walk on the rolling terrain every day, and picnickers are a common sight. Leashed pets are welcome.Though you can visit whenever the cemetery is open, try to come when you can take a guided tour. It's a fascinating way to learn about the history of the graveyard and about graveyard symbolism (a lopped-tree-trunk marker indicates a life cut short or goals unachieved, rocks on a grave denote a life built on a solid foundation, a shell means resurrection, and so on). Every October, there's a celebration to commemorate the cemetery's founding, with turn-of-the-century music, food, and storytelling.
Underground Atlanta
In 1969, a group of Atlanta businesspeople decided to create an underground entertainment complex of restaurants, shops, and bars in the historic hub of the city, centered on the Zero Milepost that marked the terminus of the Western & Atlantic Railroad in the 1800s. The area had flourished until the early 1900s, until it became so congested that permanent concrete viaducts were constructed over it, elevating the street system and routing traffic over a maze of railroad tracks. Merchants moved their operations up to the new level, using the lower level for storage space. For most of the 20th century, it remained a deserted catacomb.The 1969 entertainment development idea was great, but unfortunately the complex declined and closed after a little over a decade. In 1989 -- after a public-private infusion of $142 million -- a larger, livelier Underground reopened to much fanfare, becoming once again an entertainment mecca and urban marketplace. Local civic leaders pinned their hopes for downtown revival on the complex, and for some time it looked as if the concept would work. But, beset by lease disputes, financial problems, and changes of management, Underground has failed to sustain its early promise, although the most recent management company may be making some progress. Occupying 12 acres in the center of downtown, Underground Atlanta sports oscillating searchlights emanating from a 138-foot light tower, an outdoor staging area used for performances and concerts, and the cascading waters of Peachtree Fountain Plaza. Underground offers nearly 100 retail operations and restaurants, many of them national chains. Markers throughout the complex indicate historic sites. Their origins are fascinating, so be sure to pick up an information sheet at the visitors booth and take your own self-guided tour. Humbug Square -- where street vendors and con artists flourished in the early 1900s -- has a colorful market with turn-of-the-century pushcarts and wagons displaying offbeat wares. The complex is still worth a look if you're in the downtown area, but keep in mind that it's mostly a tourist attraction at this point. It's still struggling to find its place in the urban mix, perhaps because locals prefer the shopping and entertainment areas in Buckhead and Virginia-Highland.The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau (tel. 404/222-6688) operates its most comprehensive center in Underground Atlanta, at 65 Upper Alabama St. Open Monday to Saturday 10am to 6pm, and Sunday noon to 6pm, it includes displays and interactive exhibits depicting the city's rich history. There's also AtlanTIX!, a ticket booth where visitors can purchase day-of-show half-price tickets to theater, dance events, and other live performances throughout the metro area.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Atlanta area, including:
Cheshire Motor Inn
This is the best kind of budget hotel, a small property run for decades by caring owners who offer homey hospitality and many personal touches. Situated on attractively landscaped grounds, the Cheshire offers simple, spacious, impeccably clean rooms. Many rooms have minibars, and half have pullout sofas, making this an especially good choice for families on a budget. Bathrooms are clean but basic. The famous Colonnade restaurant is on the premises, serving authentic Southern food. Don't be put off by the inn's location; Cheshire Bridge Road is an odd mix of sleazy bars and secondhand furniture and antiques shops, but the restaurant and motel are completely respectable.
Hilton Atlanta
If you want to stay in one of the downtown megahotels, this is a good choice. One of Atlanta's top convention hotels -- with 104,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space -- the Hilton is surprisingly upscale for a chain hotel. The rooms and bathrooms are very nice and quite large, and the rooms offer coffeemakers, minibars, and hair dryers, plus video checkout and account-review functions. Some of the suites have Murphy beds for extra guests. The Hilton's premier restaurant is Nikolai's Roof, a 30th-floor dining room offering spectacular skyline vistas. Multi-course prix-fixe French and Russian dinners are the specialty. Adjacent to Nikolai's Roof is A Point of View bar. Trader Vic's, a South Seas-Polynesian restaurant found at numerous Hiltons, offers its signature setting of palm trees and tiki torches, plus potent rum drinks. The Garden Terrace, a pretty lobby-level eatery centered around a vast fountain, serves buffet meals at breakfast and lunch and a Sunday champagne brunch. Adjoining it are the Cafe Express Deli (a 24-hr. facility) and Le Café, the Hilton's casual dining facility. Finally, there's the Bogart-and-Bergman-themed Casablanca Bar, whose big-screen TV attracts a sports-minded crowd.
Emory Inn
This delightful hotel, owned by Emory University, is popular with visitors to Emory and the nearby Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rooms, furnished with early American-style knotty-pine pieces, are attractively decorated. Nine rooms are accessible to travelers with disabilities.Facilities: Restaurant; outdoor pool; free use of a vast fitness complex on campus w/heated indoor pool, 12 lit tennis courts; basketball; indoor track; racquetball; and a full complement of Nautilus equipment; Jacuzzi; complimentary shuttle service to the Emory campus and hospital; airport shuttle on request; room service (during restaurant hours); coin-operated washers/dryers.
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