World of Coca-Cola
An exposition showcasing the world's most popular soft drink, World of Coca-Cola sounds like a huge Coke commercial. And it is. But it's also one of the biggest attractions in the city and a must-see for anybody who's ever had a taste of the Real Thing (and who hasn't?). The vast three-story pavilion houses a massive collection of Coca-Cola memorabilia, along with numerous interactive displays, high-tech exhibits, and video presentations.The self-guided tour begins on the third level, where visitors are greeted by a Rube Goldberg-esque kinetic sculpture called "Bottling Fantasy." Exhibits trace the history of Coca-Cola from its 1886 debut at Jacob's Pharmacy in downtown Atlanta to its current worldwide fame. Highlights include a re-creation of a 1930s soda fountain (a jukebox on the premises plays Coke-themed pop songs of yesteryear like "Sweet Coca-Cola Bush," sung by Shirley Temple); a history of Coke's diverse advertising campaigns (did you know that Maxwell House's "good to the last drop" was originally a Coke slogan?); a video on the making of the "Hilltop Reunion" Coke commercial (it kicked off the "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" campaign); print ads featuring screen stars such as Jean Harlow, Claudette Colbert, Clark Gable, and Cary Grant; and an interactive audio exhibit that lets you listen to Coke commercials sung by pop stars. And there's much, much more; this experience is a total immersion in Coca-Cola.If you've worked up a thirst going through the museum, you can sample unlimited amounts of 40 Coca-Cola Company beverages at Club Coca-Cola, including 20 international drinks that are not sold in the United States (for example, a pineapple/orange/banana beverage marketed only in Kenya). The kids will go wild, but the drinks are on the house, so what the heck. The tour ends in the first-floor gift shop, which sells a mind-boggling array of Coca-Cola logo items -- everything from T-shirts to Coke polar bears. Allow about 90 minutes to drink it all in. Weekdays are the prime time to visit if you want to avoid long lines. This attraction will be moving to a brand new 35,000-square-foot facility in downtown Atlanta, across from Centennial Olympic Park, in late 2006 or early 2007.

Centennial Olympic Park
Centennial Olympic Park, one of the most enduring legacies of the 1996 Olympic Games, is a living monument to the city's memories -- both good and bad -- of that seminal event. Conceived as a town square, it represents the heart of the Olympic effort, the site where everyone flocked to celebrate the games. And when the games resumed after the bombing in the park that claimed two lives, it was where people gathered to try to revive the Olympic spirit.A 21-acre swath of green space and bricks, the park was carved out of a blighted downtown area. It was closed after the games and redesigned for permanent use before reopening in 1998. Once again the universal gathering place it was intended to be, it's an oasis of rolling lawns crisscrossed by brick pathways and punctuated by artwork, rock gardens, pools, and fountains. There are usually a few free events each month -- festivals, artists' markets, and concerts and other performances. Call for a complete listing of happenings.If you're visiting the park on your own, and not coming for a specific event, your first stop should be the visitor center on International Boulevard, in the southwest corner of the park, across from the CNN Center. This is where you'll find information about the park. If you bought a $35 commemorative brick in 1996, someone will help you locate it among the nearly 500,000 engraved bricks that were used to pave the plaza and walkways. Even if you didn't buy a brick, it's fun to wander around and read the names and messages (some pretty intriguing) engraved on them.The best part of the park is the fountain in the shape of the five interlocking Olympic Rings. It's the focus of a vast paved plaza bordered by 23 flags honoring all the host countries of the modern Games. If you're here in summer, you and the kids can frolic in the fountain (wear shirts and shoes, please), a good way to cool off in the sizzling Southern heat. Don't be shy-just about everybody in Atlanta has done this at one time or another. If getting drenched is not your thing, you can still enjoy one of the "concerts" put on by the fountains-timed water and light displays accompany seven different songs. The water jets, which normally shoot 12 feet into the air, can reach 35 feet during special effects.Located along the east border are the Quilt Plazas, five plazas of contrasting bricks that tell the story of the Centennial Olympic Games. The best "quilt" is also the most moving. Titled the Quilt of Remembrance, it pays respect to the bombing victims and contains colored marble from five continents. Be sure to read the inscriptions on its borders.Pricey Park Land--If you really, really, really had a good time at Centennial Olympic Park, you can have it all to yourself for a small fee. Though it's a public park, it's also a moneymaker managed by the Georgia World Congress Center, and parts of the park are sometimes rented for various business functions, parties, or other celebrations. There have even been a few weddings. You can rent the entire park for, um, $10,000. Call tel. 404/222-7275 for details.

Atlanta History Center
The Atlanta History Center chronicles the past of Georgia and the Southeast, as well as the history of Atlanta, with a vast collection of photographs, maps, books, newspaper accounts, furnishings, Civil War artifacts, and decorative arts. It occupies 32 woodland acres, with self-guided walking trails and 5 gardens. Plan to spend the better part of a day here. And call ahead, or inquire on the premises, about lectures, films, festivals, and other events that take place here on a regular basis; activities range from sheep-shearing demonstrations to decorative arts forums. When you call, also check on house-tour times for the day of your visit (house-tours are described below). The Swan Coach House is a delightful restaurant on the premises.Note: House-tour tickets are limited and can only be purchased on the day of your visit. Arrive early to avoid disappointment.Begin your visit at the Atlanta History Museum, where you can buy tickets and get information about historic house tours and other activities. The museum is the single best place to go for a cultural record of the city and the South. The major permanent exhibit, "Metropolitan Frontiers: Atlanta, 1835-2000," traces Atlanta's history from the days of Native Americans and rural pioneer settlements to the present day. Displays, enhanced by hands-on discovery areas and informative videos, feature hundreds of photographs, documents, and artifacts. Included are an entire 1890s shotgun house, a fire engine that was used in Atlanta's great fire of 1917 (when 50 city blocks were ravaged by flames), a rare 1920 Hanson Six touring car; and a model of Atlanta's most complex interstate intersection, known locally as "Spaghetti Junction."Also on the center's grounds is the recently restored Swan House, the 1928 estate of Edward Hamilton Inman, scion of an old Atlanta family. The house and gardens were designed by renowned architect Philip Trammell Shutze and are considered his finest residential work. The formal gardens include terraced lawns and waterfalls, retaining walls with recessed ivy arches, and fountain statuary. Swan House is fronted by a classical colonnaded porte cochére leading to a circular entrance hall with Ionic columns and a dramatic floating stairway. In the entrance hall, you'll notice that the fanlight over the door features a swan, announcing the theme of the house. There is supposed to be at least one swan emblem or decoration in each room -- see if you can find them. The house is interesting not only architecturally, but also for its eclectic contents and furnishings, which comprise a veritable museum of decorative arts. It's a fascinating glimpse into the lifestyle enjoyed by upper-crust Atlantans in the early 20th century.Tullie Smith Farm gives a sense of the life of Georgia's mid-19th-century farmers. A two-story "plantation-plain" house built in the early 1840s, it was brought to Atlanta along with period outbuildings in 1972. This was no Tara-like colonnaded mansion -- just an everyday farmhouse whose occupants lived in rustic simplicity.Costumed docents give tours throughout the day, and there are frequent demonstrations of 19th-century farm activities. In a bedroom with a rope bed and a crib (always occupied by the youngest baby), a docent will demonstrate how to use a spinning wheel. The basket of pomander balls in this room was typical -- the 19th-century answer to today's air fresheners. You'll find weaving demonstrations in the back room. During cooler months, demonstrations of 19th-century hearth cookery take place in the whitewashed kitchen, where herbs hang from the rafters. Additional outbuildings are a barn, corncrib, root cellar, blacksmith shop, and smokehouse. The gardens and grounds are authentic to the period.Leave some time to stroll the gardens, most notably the forested mile-long Swan Woods Trail. It includes plants native to Georgia, plus the Garden for Peace, home to a sculpture by noted Soviet artist Georgi Dzhaparidze and Atlanta artist Hans Godo Frabel.Construction has begun on a new $10 million, 20,000-square-foot addition housing an exhibition about the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. The highly interactive three-level museum is slated to open in 2006 to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Atlanta games.

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