Road Trip Issue 2025: Atlanta

Even though I spent the first 23 years of my life in Georgia, I never spent much time in Atlanta. Since I grew up on the other side of the state, my family usually opted to travel to nearby Savannah for shopping and a taste of city life. 

When I made the four-hour drive from Nashville to Atlanta for this year’s Road Trip Issue, I quickly remembered what a sprawling behemoth of a city it truly is. The metropolis is home to an iconic skyline, vibrant public art and museums, the Georgia Aquarium, multiple professional sports teams, countless parks and a plethora of restaurants (plus some mean traffic). It’s impossible to experience everything Atlanta has to offer in one weekend, but I made an attempt at seeing what it was all about. 

Stay

I opted to stay at Atlanta’s historic Hotel Clermont in the city’s Poncey-Highland neighborhood. Built as an apartment building in 1924 and converted into a roadside hotel in 1939, the Clermont is now an Atlanta landmark with a full-service restaurant and rooftop bar showcasing a fantastic view of the city. My whimsical corner room included four bunk beds, a green couch and a tattersall plaid carpet straight out of a Wes Anderson movie. 

Notably located in the basement of the hotel is another Atlanta institution: Clermont Lounge, the city’s oldest strip club and famed cash-only dive bar known to be visited by celebrities and locals alike. 

Atlanta is home to a variety of other historic-turned-boutique hotels throughout the city’s unique neighborhoods — including Wylie Hotel, The Georgian Terrace and Candler Hotel. These lodging options, paired with a wide range of Airbnbs and bed-and-breakfasts, make it easy to find a special place to stay in the city. 

Do

Atlanta has museums aplenty. As a lover of history and art, I found it difficult to choose from its wide array offerings, which include the World of Coca-Cola, Center for Puppetry Arts, Fernbank Museum of Natural History and Jimmy Carter Library and Museum. Visitors can also take a look at Atlanta’s deep roots in the civil rights movement at places like the APEX Museum, the birth home of Martin Luther King Jr. and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. (The latter two are currently closed for renovations but are set to reopen this fall.) 

I ultimately decided to visit the High Museum of Art, which had an amazing special exhibit featuring work by Korean painter Kim Chong Hak. I made my way through the rest of the museum, which displayed everything from folk art by Georgia’s own Howard Finster to centuries-old European and African artwork and contemporary sculptures and photography. 

While it’s a bustling urban environment, Atlanta also has an extensive tree canopy. I took a stroll around Piedmont Park to enjoy some of the city’s nature. The brutal July heat definitely took its toll on me, but the park’s shaded trails — which surround a lake and are populated by plenty of roaming geese and other wildlife — offered respite. It also connects to the Atlanta Beltline, a 22-mile greenway-style trail that connects much of the city. While I couldn’t make it, friends in the area tell me the picturesque greenery at Atlanta Botanical Garden in Midtown is worth a visit. 

I also stopped by the historic Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta’s Grant Park neighborhood, where more than 70,000 people are buried. Simple headstones, ornate monuments and mausoleums make up the Victorian-garden-style cemetery — the resting place of country icon Kenny Rogers, Gone With the Wind author Margaret Mitchell and renowned golfer Bobby Jones. While I opted for a self-guided tour, the cemetery offers guided tours for $12. 

The Little Five Points neighborhood is a must-see, a colorful and eclectic mix of vintage shops like Psycho Sisters and Rag-O-Rama, record stores (shoutout Criminal Records) and music venues. 

 Atlanta has no shortage of restaurant options, whether you prefer dining at food halls like Ponce City Market and Krog Street Market or visiting the diverse selection of other local eateries. I had what was hands-down the best roast chicken of my life at Pollo Primo in East Atlanta Village. I savored the perfectly seasoned pollo asado with rice and beans and fresh tortillas on a lively outdoor patio. Gaja Korean Bar’s crispy Brussels sprouts and pork belly doused in gochujang honey were delectable, as was a punchy mezcal cocktail called Foggy Notion, made with hot honey and chili oil and a black lava salt rim. 

I also enjoyed a hearty bowl of yaki udon and pan-fried gyoza at OK Yaki and extra large thin-crust slices from Fellini’s Pizza. For brunch I headed to Home Grown GA, a retro country diner that provided comforting fried green tomatoes and country-fried steak. Joe’s East Atlanta Coffee Shop and Perc Coffee both provided a much-needed mid-afternoon caffeine boost. 

For drinks, I gathered some friends to go to Hotel Clermont’s rooftop bar, where I ordered a refreshing strawberry vodka fizz called the Gom Jabbar. (All the cocktail names were Dune references.) We also stopped at Pisces, a packed fog-filled nightclub with live DJ sets, plenty of strobe lights and dancing. 

As I began the trek back to Nashville and Atlanta’s skyscrapers faded behind me, I settled into the scenic drive back to Tennessee. Most routes take you through Chattanooga and in and out of the Appalachian Plateau. You’re also able to witness stunning views of the Tennessee River and Nickajack Lake. And, of course, you’ll get to see the ultimate roadside attraction: Atomic Mouse of Georgia, an 11-foot-tall statue of a mouse snacking on a wedge of cheese.

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