Neighborhoods
By day, a shopping heaven and party central by night, Buckhead has long been the place to see and be seen. Atlanta’s most affluent area, Buckhead is full of everything from sweeping Southern mansions and high-end shopping to progressive restaurants and hopping nightlife. If a great cocktail is the only thing that will pick you up after you shop ‘til you drop, Buckhead is the place for you.
With major venues and attractions within walking distance of tons of hotels, it’s no surprise visitors gravitate toward Downtown Atlanta, but ask the locals and they’ll tell you there’s much more than that. A few blocks from marquee games at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium and State Farm Arena is Castleberry Hill, a walkable neighborhood with some of Atlanta’s most undiscovered art galleries. Eat drink and be merry in the Luckie Marietta District, then take in performance art in Fairlie-Poplar. Explore the obvious and discover the unexpected in Downtown Atlanta.
Midtown Atlanta has long been known as the heart of the arts, and for good reason. It’s home to both the High Museum of Art and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, as well as many other cultural institutions, but Midtown Atlanta is just as well known for housing Piedmont Park, one of the largest green spaces in the city. The area’s trendy boutiques and chic nightlife lend style to Midtown, where morning, noon or night, there‘s always something going on.
Ansley Park Historic District is an early 20th-century suburban residential district that was developed in four phases between 1904 and 1913. It is located north of downtown Atlanta and west of Piedmont Park, between Piedmont Avenue and Peachtree Street. Completed by 1930, the neighborhood encompasses approximately 275 acres and includes single-family residences, apartments, and a church. It features a curvilinear arrangement of streets, numerous parks, and a wide range of eclectic and period architectural styles. Streets in the district are landscaped on either side like parkways. Carefully aligned curbs, smooth lawns, shrubs and trees border the streets through the Park. This streetscape blends with the landscaping of adjoining lots to create the appearance of a vast public park. The principal parks of the district are Winn Park and McClatchy Park. Both wind their ways through major parts of the suburb so that no residential lot is more than a 10-minute walk away. The Ansley Park golf course is situated along the banks of Clear Creek within the neighborhood.
Grant Park is the only neighborhood in Atlanta where you will find twin Giant Panda cubs. Aside from housing Zoo Atlanta, Grant Park is known as being a hip hangout for foodies and history buffs. The neighborhood is home to Oakland Cemetery, the final resting place of Margaret Mitchell, Bobby Jones and many former Atlanta mayors.
Castleberry Hill is a unique urban community with a strong historic identity. Many of the early 20th-century warehouse buildings have been converted to lofts and are now the predominate housing type. The population is culturally diverse and the area is continuing to grow in both the number of residents as well as retail and other establishments.
Little Five Points is one of Atlanta’s hippest neighborhoods. Shoppers head to Moreland Avenue’s indie stores for offbeat vintage clothing, vinyl and cool gifts, while young locals hang out at the dive bars, burger joints, and Ethiopian and vegan eateries that line the surrounding streets. The Variety Playhouse, a live music venue in a converted 1940s cinema, hosts an eclectic range of local and national acts.
Atlantic Station is an upscale commercial and residential area. At its heart is the open-air Atlantic Station mall, with popular fashion and home decor stores. Cultural institutions include the Millennium Gate Museum, with temporary art exhibitions, and the Robert C. Williams Paper Museum. Near the Georgia Institute of Technology campus, old-school diners serve breakfast and burgers.
Located within the neighborhood of Candler Park, just east of Little 5 Points, Candler Park offers 55 acres of green space. The park is home to a nine-hole golf course, tennis courts and a basketball court, along with a swimming pool and playground. Candler Park connects to Freedom Park for a walkable tour of Atlanta's storied sites, including the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. Candler Park also features some of Atlanta's best festivals, including the summertime Candler Park Music & Food Festival and the Fall Fest in Candler Park. During your visit, bring a picnic or grab a bite to eat at one of the many delicious nearby restaurants.
Atlanta might never have become the vaunted “City in a Forest” if not for Druid Hills. In 1890, Joel Hurt, who had already built Inman Park, hired famed landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted to transform 1,400 acres of farmland into “an ideal residential community.” In well-documented correspondence, the Olmsted firm convinced Hurt that setting aside wide expanses of greenspace would ultimately enhance quality of life and increase property values. The firm’s vision included a string of six linear parks down a central avenue. Curving streets, deep setbacks, and many acres-long lots laid the foundation for a verdant canopy of towering oaks, beeches, and elms—a pattern that later influenced the design of Ansley Park, Morningside, West Paces Ferry, and other sylvan streetscapes. Financial difficulties forced Hurt to sell his project to a conglomerate headed by Coca-Cola owner Asa Candler (for a “cool half million,” as the Atlanta Journal reported) before construction actually began in 1908. Over the next two decades, the city’s most prominent architects, including Neel Reid, Philip Shutze, and Leila Ross Wilburn, created stately homes for the likes of the Candlers, Woodruffs, and Riches. In the 1980s, the grand Tudor, Georgian, and Italian Renaissance mansions were jeopardized by a Department of Transportation proposal to run a highway through Shadyside Park, but residents rallied to help defeat the so-called Presidential Parkway—sparking a wave of neighborhood activism and preservation that has continued to benefit Druid Hills, which encompasses both national and local historic districts.
Although Decatur, Ga. is part of the Atlanta metro area, it is a city unto itself, with an identity all its own. At 19,000 people, Decatur sits just to the east of Atlanta, and it has become a favorite of single professionals, young couples and families thanks to its strong schools, low crime rate and beautiful historic homes.The county seat of DeKalb County, Decatur was founded in 1822 and named after Stephen Decatur, a naval hero most noted for his service in the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812. Even in its early days, residents preferred a small-town feel; when a railroad wanted to make the town the final stop on its line, residents rejected the offer. The railroad then moved to the settlement that would become Atlanta. After suffering a decline in real estate values during the 1960s and 1970s, Decatur is enjoying a resurgence. Downtown development efforts have led to a popular mixed-use district. The city's downtown is a busy hub, with activities year-round, including concerts in the community bandstand on the square (folks can bring their own picnic), a beach party every June featuring inflatable water slides, and a July 4 celebration that includes the Pied Piper Parade, a concert and a fireworks show. In August, the city hosts the BBQ, Blues & Bluegrass Festival.Residents and visitors also enjoy "Terrific Thursdays" - special shopping days throughout the year during which downtown's 30-plus stores and restaurants offer discounts and treats. Each December, the city hosts the Decatur Tour of Homes, featuring homes and other points of interest decorated for the holidays. Many city residents have chosen to live in the Oakhurst neighborhood on Decatur's southwest side, which has its own shopping village and slate of events. Also located in the city are the Gallery at South DeKalb Mall and the North DeKalb Mall, both traditional enclosed shopping malls that have undergone attempts over the years to reverse the decline often seen in these types of properties. Both Malls are anchored by a Macy's department store. Decatur has become well-known as a progressive city with a high level of civic involvement among residents. If you decide to move to Decatur, you'll be made to feel at home pretty quickly, at least on an official level. The city's government offers Decatur 101 classes from time to time, and any resident is welcome to sign up. The classes include a tour of city government buildings and presentations from department heads, a citywide scavenger hunt, and a Q&A with city commission members during a work session.
Like all of Atlanta’s unique neighborhoods, East Atlanta Village (EAV for short) is like stepping into another world. The pocket neighborhood off of Interstate 20 drives home the village namesake offering a small, hometown vibe with locally owned restaurants, boutiques, eye-catching art and live music venues. Yes, it takes a village -- literally. From tattooed hipsters and baristas to moody musicians and entrepreneurs, EAV’s funky vibes are a direct reflection of the diverse and creative inhabitants who call it home. Let’s discover the cool and eclectic neighborhood that is East Atlanta Village.
When you think about Atlanta nightlife, one destination always comes to mind – Edgewood Avenue. The vibe. The culture. This storied strip is a melting pot of excitement, and with a surge of bars and music venues setting up shop in Old Fourth Ward on Atlanta's Eastside, Edgewood has become an essential part of the ATL experience. It's a place to dive into a sea of good times emblazoned with amazing cuisine, lively entertainment and signature art that define the city, all built in a neighborhood steeped in history and legacy.
Inman Park is Atlanta’s first planned residential suburb and also Atlanta’s first electric trolley neighborhood. Created at the cusp of the twentieth century, this ideal Victorian neighborhood — curved streets, generous residential lots and verdant parks — was built upon the wrecked land of Atlanta’s Civil War battlefield, two miles east of Downtown Atlanta.
Inman Park was the brainchild of a renaissance thinker named Joel Hurt (1850-1926), who modeled the neighborhood after other trolley neighborhoods he had seen throughout the United States. In particular, Hurt, who now has Hurt Street named after him, had been impressed with the park-like neighborhoods created by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, and along with landscape architect James Forsyth Johnson, plotted Inman Park in the late 1880s.
Old Fourth Ward is a historic neighborhood in Atlanta. Located just east of downtown, in an area originally settled in the early 1800s, Old Fourth Ward (OFW – look for this sticker sported on the cars of proud residents!) is the birthplace of America's best-known civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Until recently, the main attractions to OFW have been based in history, such as the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, Ebenezer Baptist Church and the Sweet Auburn Historic District. Visitors can tour restored shotgun houses, Victorian homes and Craftsman bungalows in the neighborhood.
In recent years, OFW has continued to evolve and redefine itself. One big asset to the area has been the proximity to Freedom Parkway and the Atlanta BeltLine, which has inspired growth and community investment. An example of this growth is the Historic Fourth Ward Park, dedicated in the spring of 2011. This park encompasses 17 acres of new green space, a two-acre lake, playground, a state-of-the-art splash pad, an outdoor theater, athletic field and a world-class skate park. You’ll find one of the many entrances to this park at Glen Iris Drive and Rankin Street.
Also in Old Fourth Ward, you’ll find some incredible dining and nightlife. Venture down Edgewood Avenue for bars and other hot spots – you may even find a hidden speakeasy. Some of Atlanta’s top restaurants call OFW home, so come hungry.
Located just east of Downtown Atlanta, the Sweet Auburn district is steeped in history. Famously the birthplace of civil rights pioneer Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Sweet Auburn is the best place on Earth to connect with his enduring legacy. Not only does the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site engage visitors with an interactive center that explores King’s extensive legacy, in Sweet Auburn, you can even tour King’s birth home, as well as Ebenezer Baptist Church; the burial sites of King and his wife, Coretta Scott King; and the International Walk of Fame - an interactive memorial made of shoe prints from influential civil rights activists.
Walking the streets of modern Sweet Auburn, it is fun to imagine the neighborhood in its heyday. In the 1940s and 50s, Sweet Auburn flourished economically with scores of African-American-owned businesses, newspapers, churches, and nightclubs. The success even prompted FORTUNE magazine in 1956 to call Sweet Auburn "the richest Negro street in the world," a term originally coined by John Wesley Dobbs.
Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976, Sweet Auburn is experiencing a major upswing, investing in connectivity-boosting initiatives like the Atlanta Streetcar, which runs from the King Center to downtown’s Centennial Olympic Park. The annual Sweet Auburn Festival celebrates the past and the future of this neighborhood, attracting thousands of visitors annually. And the Sweet Auburn Curb Market has become a fun anchor for the neighborhood, providing a bustling and varied lunch option for nearby workers. Originally opened in 1918 and filled with a rich history of its own, the market has something for every palate, offering fresh produce, meats, and dairy from local and organic farms, as well as the wares of artisan shops and eateries.
Developed in the early 1900's, Virginia-Highland is known for its walkable blocks of bungalow homes and bustling shopping “villages.” The variety of goodies that you can find along the length of North Highland Avenue ranges from quirky home décor to artisan paper, hard-to-find books to outdoor apparel, antiques to trendy salons. And that’s not even mentioning the options for food. Prep your tummy for gelatos, Irish pub fare, fusion styles, seafood and more. On any given day of the week, you might find locals and tourists alike mingling for brunch at sidewalk cafes, sipping cocktails at lively night spots and browsing the clothing racks on display outside. In late summer, thousands of Atlantans descend upon Virginia-Highland for SummerFest, the annual festival that celebrates the season and offers a tour of homes. Another fun event held annually is the Morningside Mile Race & Block Party, which benefits the restoration of Historic Virginia-Highland Fire Station 19. Be sure to mark your calendar.