Traveling Around Atlanta, Georgia in Three Days

Planning on traveling to Atlanta, one of the South's most exciting cities? Bewildered by the number of options available? Here is a helpful three-day guide that covers all that Atlanta has to offer. Explore every nook and cranny of this Southern gem in three days.

Day one: Any tour of Atlanta beings with a drive through the heart of Atlanta, which is Peachtree Street, where you can catch a glimpse of some of the city's signature skyscrapers, including the majestic, gold toned Bank of America Plaza, the tallest building in any state capital. After driving through Atlanta's newer, vertically inclined financial district, take a side street and turn down Piedmont Avenue, where you'll find Atlanta's favorite breakfast joint, the Flying Biscuit, famous for its namesake delicacy.

Once your family is full of flour and green salsa, walk off your breakfast at Centennial Olympic Park, a red brick, tree filled beauty built for the 1996 Olympic Games. If it's warm enough, take a dip in Olympic-ringed fountains, which display colorful water shows at night. A short walk to the end of the park brings you to the doorstep of Atlanta's newest attraction, the boat shaped behemoth known as the Georgia Aquarium. The world's largest indoor fish tank, the aquarium is home to more than 600 aquatic species, including smiling Beluga whales and mammoth whale sharks.

After petting a few stingrays and picking up a minnow sized souvenir, for a fast and fair priced lunch, traverse Centennial Park to reach the CNN Center's food court, a glass filled atrium serving everything from pizza to Chinese. While you're there, take the CNN Studio Tour to get the behind the scenes look at the network's official broadcast studio, and try your hand at the anchor desk. If you're up for more downtown fun, visit the new World of Coke, where you can explore the city's signature drink by sampling Coke products from around the world, some delicious, and some less than savory

You must be pretty tired, so treat yourself to a grand dinner under the gold leaf dome of downtown's City Grill, or take a seat at Luxe and sample the hotspots decadent pastries and upscale American Cuisine.

Day two:

Start your day off right with a European style Sunday brunch of Babette's Cafe in Virginia Highland. With all the charm of a French farmhouse, enjoy some gourmet comfort food before beginning your trek to the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. When you arrive, take some time to admire the Great Hall, a four story, glass atrium that houses fossils of a one hundred foot plant eating Argentinosaurus and a carnivorous Giganotosaurus.

After you have enjoyed the museum's fascinating A Walk through Time exhibit, encapsulating 15 billion years of Georgian history,head on over to Underground Atlanta for some raucous fun. Formed by a maze of century-old railroad tracks, revel in Underground's bohemian past and pick up a puppet or funny hat from one of the antique pushcarts in Humbug Square. No trip to Atlanta is complete without lunch at the Varsity, the world's largest drive in and a hallowed symbol of Southern Americana. For a taste that's true Varsity, try the restaurant's signature onion rings or famous frosted organic cream shake.

Just a short drive own Peachtree Street is the Margaret Mitchell House, the elegant abode where the Southern literary star penned her international bestseller Gone with the Wind. Going the opposite direction down Peachtree Street, look to the right for a passing glance at the mighty red brick Georgia Tech Tower, visible just before reaching the Center for Puppetry Arts, a unique gem where you can catch a riveting' puppet production or a cool adult performance infused with wit and humor.

As the day unwinds and dinner approaches, try out the nearby fare of Atlantic Station, the city's newest revitalized community, built from the bones of an abandoned steel mill. Known for its high class retail shopping, Ikea superstore and one of a kind dining, try out Dolce for some Italian tapas, Strip for delectable steaks and sushi,or Rosa Mexicano for the best guacamole dip you'll ever taste.

Day three: It has often been said that Atlanta is a City of Trees, and few sites can compare to spending a morning at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, where you can revel in rare orchids, a tropical greenhouse, formal English gardens and wooded pathways. Atlanta's gathering place, the neighboring Piedmont Park, is also worth some quality time. The city's biggest park has plenty of duck ponds, running trails, bench swings, and of course, green space for lounging or grass tumbling.

you must have worked up an appetite after all that garden walking, so cross Piedmont Avenue and dine at South City Kitchen, where you can enjoy a fried BLT along with some fine people watching on the restaurant's brick patio, lined with pear trees. After lunch, take Piedmont to Boulevard, where you'll eventually end up in Grant Park, a green and old neighborhood where Victorian and Ween Anne homes with wide front porches abound. Don't forget to visit the hauntingly beautiful Oakland Cemetery, a nationally recognized Victorian Cemetery founded in 1850. Amidst Gothic mausoleums and simple headstones, you'll find the names of union and confederate soldiers, and Atlanta's favorite daughter, writer Margaret Mitchell.

Just across the street is the aptly named Six Feet Under, but don't let the name fool you, this legendary fish house features a jolly atmosphere and some very delectable seafood. The day's not over yet, so take a journey to Little Five Points, a bohemian conflagration known for its free spirited nightlife and whimsical shops like Junk's Daughter and A Capella Books. If window shopping and bar hopping aren't for you, walk a little further down Moreland Avenue and see what's paying at the Seven Stages Theatre, Horizons Theatre, or the Variety Playhouse, all famous for the independent entertainment they bring to the city.

If you catch a play or a concert and still haven't had enough fun, visit Five Points Athens Pizza House, a late night pizza joint that makes a mean pizza with all the carefree flair of a college town watering hole.

Well, that's Atlanta for you, if you were to squeeze such a historic and fascinating city into three days.